Saving, history and backups
Updated 6 min readWorks without an account
FloorGen saves every change as you make it, in this browser and, when you are signed in, in your account. Undo history steps back through your edits, Version history keeps restore points of the whole project, and a backup file keeps a copy of every project outside the browser.
Autosave and sync
- On screens 1280 px and wider, the top bar shows Saving… while a change is written and Saved once it is in this browser; on narrower screens a dot shows it, amber while saving and green once saved. There is no Save button.
- Signed in, each save is also uploaded to your account a couple of seconds later and appears on every device you sign in on. The foot of the projects page sidebar shows when it last synced, and its account menu has Sync now.
- Offline, FloorGen keeps working on this device’s copy and syncs when you are back online.
- As a guest, projects are Saved in this browser only. Back them up, or sign in to keep them in your account. See Guest or account.
If a save fails
When FloorGen can’t write a change to this browser, a red Not saved chip takes the place of Saved and stays until a save works. Hover it for the reason, for example Not saved — Browser storage is full. A message also says Could not save: … Retrying….
- Step 1: Try again
Click Retry on the chip. If another tab saved newer work, the chip offers Reload instead, to load that version.
- Step 2: Keep a copy
Click Export project file on the chip to download the project as a
.floorgen.jsonfile, so nothing is lost. - Step 3: Follow the reason
For Browser storage is full, delete projects you no longer need or remove them from Trash with Delete forever, then click Retry. For Browser storage is blocked in this window, a private window may be refusing storage; open FloorGen in a normal window. Where the reason says to reload the page, reload it.
The same project in two tabs
- Open a project that is already open in another tab and both tabs say This project is also open in another tab — edit it in one tab at a time.
- If you then edit in both, the tab with the older copy can’t overwrite the newer one. It says This project was changed in another tab. Reload to see the latest version — edits here are not being saved. Click Reload and carry on in one tab.
- After FloorGen updates in another tab, an older tab says FloorGen was updated in another tab — reload to keep saving. While storage is being upgraded you may see Close other FloorGen tabs to finish updating storage.
Undo and the edit history
Press ⌘Z to undo and ⌘⇧Z to redo, or use Undo and Redo in the top bar; their tooltips name the step. To jump back several steps at once, right-click Undo or search for History… with ⌘K, then click the step to go back to. Undo keeps your last 100 steps in this project.
Restore an earlier version
- Step 4: Open Version history
Open the account menu at the top right and choose Version history…, or click Version history in the Project settings panel (⌥1) or Project details. FloorGen keeps a restore point when you open a project, every 30 minutes of editing, and before big changes such as starting from a template or deleting a floor or design.
- Step 5: Keep a version by hand
Click Save a version now and name it, for example “Before the kitchen move”. You can also name any automatic version.
- Step 6: Restore it
Restore as a new project saves the version as a new project, named after this one with “(restored)” at the end, and keeps this one open; click Open in the message that appears to switch to it. Replace the open project with this version swaps it in once you click Replace; what it replaces is kept as a version named “Before restoring a version”.
To remove a version, click its Delete this version button and confirm with Delete version. Each project keeps its newest 20 automatic versions and its newest 50 named ones; older ones are deleted as new ones arrive. Name an automatic version to keep it longer.
Back up every project
The Files group in the projects page sidebar (Files & backup on a phone) protects your work outside the browser:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Back up all projects | Downloads every project, traced images included, as one floorgen-backup-YYYY-MM-DD.json file. The line under it says when you last backed up. |
| Restore a backup… | Reads a backup file and puts its projects back. |
| Import .floorgen.json | Adds one project from a project file. |
| Save into a folder… | Chrome and Edge only; the row is hidden in other browsers. Every autosave also writes a .floorgen.json file per project into a folder you choose. The row then reads Synced to “Plans”, with your folder’s name, and Last written…, Writing files… or Waiting for the next save under it. Sync now writes them at once and Unlink stops it. |
If the browser pauses folder access, the row says Your browser paused folder access.; if a write fails, Last write failed. Click Reconnect and allow FloorGen to write to the folder again.
In the editor, the top bar shows the folder too, for a folder named Plans: Synced to Plans · 2 min ago, Linked to Plans or Syncing to Plans…. When access is paused it turns amber and reads Reconnect folder, and after a failed write Sync failed · Retry; click it to reconnect or try again. On narrower screens only its icon shows.
Recently deleted
A deleted project waits in Trash on the projects page for 30 days, with Restore and Delete forever. See Your projects.
Questions
Can the browser delete my projects?
FloorGen asks the browser to keep its storage, and the projects page sidebar says whether it agreed. If it did not, the browser may clear its copy when space runs low; your account keeps the synced one, and a backup file keeps everything.
I have the project open in two tabs. Is that a problem?
Edit in one tab at a time. FloorGen warns you, and a tab with an older copy stops saving rather than overwrite newer work. Reload it to pick up the latest version.
How many versions does FloorGen keep?
The newest 20 automatic versions and the newest 50 named ones per project. Name a version, or use Save a version now, to keep it past the automatic limit.
What if the page closes before a save finishes?
FloorGen keeps a quick copy of the last change and applies it the next time you open the project.
I edited the same project on two devices. Which one wins?
FloorGen merges what it can. Where the edits clash, the account’s version is kept and this device’s version is saved as a restore point in Version history, so nothing is lost.