Lost 95+% of my note file

Chester McFarland
Chester McFarland Member Posts: 6 ✭✭
edited November 2024 in English Forum

I started Logos 4 on my laptop and noticed almost all of my note file (1000s of entries) was gone! I checked my office computer and it was the same. I did nothing on Logos that remotely came close to causing this. Tech support had no solid answers though they suggested it may have been due to a system restore I did on my laptop a few days ago. Anyone have a word on possible reasons for the delete, or if I could retrieve the notes?

Comments

  • Jack Caviness
    Jack Caviness MVP Posts: 13,636

    If you cannot get a satisfactory answer from Tech Support, recommend that you send a message to bob@logos.com—he is CEO. Seem to remember that it has been stated that Logos has the means to restore this. Worth a try anyway. 

  • Dave Hooton
    Dave Hooton MVP Posts: 36,339

    Tech support had no solid answers though they suggested it may have been due to a system restore I did on my laptop a few days ago.

    That is not acceptable as v4.5 introduced a backup of notes that Tech Support could use to recover lost notes (if necessary the backup files can be obtained by undoing your Restore).  Support would  use the various .bak files in \Logos4\Documents\randomId\Documents\Notes

    Dave
    ===

    Windows 11 & Android 13

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I don't think Tech support (albeit a member of) thinks too long on statements like that, and the implication for the stability of the software. Do a restore and loose your notes? Well, ok ... 95% of them anyway. Glad I don't have any notes in L4 so I can do a restore if I need ... sorry about that guys/gals. (I'm guessing that logic, hopefully, was just a late-afternoon tiredness ... ).

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

  • Bradley Grainger (Logos)
    Bradley Grainger (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 12,191

    The Logos sync server has a backup copy of your notes (from before they were deleted); I've asked a developer to advise me on how we can restore these for you.

    For now I would advise against adding new notes to "Bible Notes", or trying to recover information from a ".bak" file; doing so may make recovering your notes more difficult.

  • Ronald Quick
    Ronald Quick Member Posts: 2,997 ✭✭✭

    It's good to hear that Logos does have a backup copy of each user's notes.  However, is there any way that I can make a backup of my own notes?

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,845

    Ronald,

    You can back-up your file found here: C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Logos4\Documents\{random}\Documents\Notes

    The problem is restoring it. AFAIK there is no procedure we can follow to do that task.

    Local backup and restore is something Logos needs to give us the capability to do.

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Ronald Quick
    Ronald Quick Member Posts: 2,997 ✭✭✭

    Local backup and restore is something Logos needs to give us the capability to do.

    I agree.  I can see this being essential for someone in the mission field who doesn't have reliable internet access and the only way they could restore their notes would be from their backup.

  • TCBlack
    TCBlack Member Posts: 10,980 ✭✭✭

    Local backup and restore is something Logos needs to give us the capability to do

    This continues to be a primary reason why most of my notes are not in Logos. I've tried. I've really tried. But I am *ahem* spastic about backing up critical data.

    Hmm Sarcasm is my love language. Obviously I love you. 

  • Bradley Grainger (Logos)
    Bradley Grainger (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 12,191

    We're still working on this issue, and I should hopefully have more news early next week.

  • TCBlack
    TCBlack Member Posts: 10,980 ✭✭✭

    We're still working on this issue, and I should hopefully have more news early next week.

    Glad to hear it. I hope Chester's notes return.

    Hmm Sarcasm is my love language. Obviously I love you. 

  • Sir Maru
    Sir Maru Member Posts: 178 ✭✭


    It's good to hear that Logos does have a backup copy of each user's notes.  However, is there any way that I can make a backup of my own notes?


    If you open your Note file in Logos 4, you can then export it to Word.  However, if you have to get it back, you would have to copy and paste it back note by note.

    There should really be an import functon to complement the export function.

    After the notes are exported, they could be uploaded to a personal document at the Amazon site and used on your Kindles.  They could also be pasted into the AcroBible Android App for the Kindle at the AcroBible web site and then synced to the Kindle Fire.

     

  • Room4more
    Room4more Member Posts: 1,730 ✭✭✭

    This is good and bad: good in the sense that HQ may be able to help u recover lost notes, which means that they probably have a mega-server to handle the load; bad in the sense that it may prove difficult to accomplish a recovery….

    DISCLAIMER: What you do on YOUR computer is your doing.

  • tom
    tom Member Posts: 3,213 ✭✭✭

    TCBlack said:

    Local backup and restore is something Logos needs to give us the capability to do

    This continues to be a primary reason why most of my notes are not in Logos. I've tried. I've really tried. But I am *ahem* spastic about backing up critical data.

    This is one of the reasons why I still enter in all of my notes into L3 - it gets backed up.

  • Ed Ball (Logos)
    Ed Ball (Logos) Member, Logos Employee Posts: 119

    Hi, this is Ed, a Logos developer.

    We have recovered a large number of deleted notes for the "Bible Notes" document.

    The notes may have been deleted because of a (now fixed) bug related to the "Remove Duplicate Notes" command. If you now have duplicate notes, you may want to run "Remove Duplicate Notes" again.

  • JimTowler
    JimTowler Member Posts: 1,383 ✭✭✭
    Hi Ed Ball,

    Will Logos please add an export and import feature for Notes and other user data.

    Those that wish, can export as often or as little as they like, and those that don't need, can let the current Sync with Logos handle their needs.

    The Sync to Logos Cloud is NOT a backup. Its just a sync!

    I consider the lack of an export/backup to be a critical failure of the Logos product and deeply impacts how I feel about the products and company. Is anyone listening?
  • Bradley Grainger (Logos)
    Bradley Grainger (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 12,191

    JimT said:

    Hi Ed Ball,
    Will Logos please add an export and import feature for Notes and other user data.
    Those that wish, can export as often or as little as they like, and those that don't need, can let the current Sync with Logos handle their needs.
    The Sync to Logos Cloud is NOT a backup. Its just a sync!
    I consider the lack of an export/backup to be a critical failure of the Logos product and deeply impacts how I feel about the products and company. Is anyone listening?

    Yes, we are listening to the requests posted here in the forums and on UserVoice (see "no sync" and "backup" for example).

    The Logos4\Documents folder can be backed up by any off-the-shelf Windows backup software (and there are several free options available).

    Regarding Export, we are not currently planning to implement any more Export functionality than what is already available in the Print/Export panel.

  • John Fugh, Jr.
    John Fugh, Jr. Member Posts: 651 ✭✭

    The Logos4\Documents folder can be backed up by any off-the-shelf Windows backup software (and there are several free options available).

     

     

    I currently use carbonite to backup my mac which automatically includes the documents on logos 4.  The problem is, Bradley, restoring the data if there is a problem.

  • tom
    tom Member Posts: 3,213 ✭✭✭

    The Logos4\Documents folder can be backed up by any off-the-shelf Windows backup software (and there are several free options available).

    I currently use carbonite to backup my mac which automatically includes the documents on logos 4.  The problem is, Bradley, restoring the data if there is a problem.

    And this is a big problem.  It is too hard to restore from a system backup.

  • Room4more
    Room4more Member Posts: 1,730 ✭✭✭

    Ed Ball said:

    Hi, this is Ed, a Logos developer.

    We have recovered a large number of deleted notes for the "Bible Notes" document.

    The notes may have been deleted because of a (now fixed) bug related to the "Remove Duplicate Notes" command. If you now have duplicate notes, you may want to run "Remove Duplicate Notes" again.

     

    I was hoping someone would comment on this - I made a duplicate note and then waited about an hour and restarted L4, attempted to use this command, assuming it works like the scan command. Restarted L4 and the duplicate note was still there....had to manually delete it.

    So would you further explain this process.....did i miss something?

    Thanks.

    DISCLAIMER: What you do on YOUR computer is your doing.

  • TCBlack
    TCBlack Member Posts: 10,980 ✭✭✭

    The Logos4\Documents folder can be backed up by any off-the-shelf Windows backup software (and there are several free options available).

     

    Is there than an import so that our backed up files can be restored?

    Hmm Sarcasm is my love language. Obviously I love you. 

  • Jack Caviness
    Jack Caviness MVP Posts: 13,636

    TCBlack said:

    The Logos4\Documents folder can be backed up by any off-the-shelf Windows backup software (and there are several free options available).

    Is there than an import so that our backed up files can be restored?

    Good question TC. Without an import feature, backup become an all or nothing proposition—which is only a small step above useless.

  • Robert M. Warren
    Robert M. Warren Member Posts: 2,459 ✭✭✭

    I currently use carbonite

    John:

    I used Carbonite also and it is a fine product, with this one really, really big caveat:

    If you delete a file, accidentally or not, it will be available for restoring for 30 days. After that, you're toast (or the file is, anyway).

    I was astonished to discover this. After all, does one usually discover the accidental deletion of a file within 30 days? I doubt that I would in many cases.

    Just a general FYI, and I'm not disparaging the Carbonite product; I found it to be the easiest to use and one that requires less attention..

    macOS (Logos Pro - Beta) | Android 13 (Logos Stable)

    Smile

  • Dave Hooton
    Dave Hooton MVP Posts: 36,339

    TCBlack said:

    The Logos4\Documents folder can be backed up by any off-the-shelf Windows backup software (and there are several free options available).

    Is there than an import so that our backed up files can be restored?

    I'm surprised that Bradley did not clarify restoring files from a backup, especially where documents have been deleted:

    • no caution about recovering individual document databases/files vs restoring the complete \Documents folder.
    • no mention that Sync might remove the "lost" documents and you're back to square one!

    In fact, there can be no secure user recovery unless Logos provides a tool that works at both ends  eg. it tells the server to mirror the backup  or to accept documents from the backup unless the server copy is newer!

    Dave
    ===

    Windows 11 & Android 13

  • tom
    tom Member Posts: 3,213 ✭✭✭

    In fact, there can be no secure user recovery unless Logos provides a tool that works at both ends 

    [Y]

    If you ask me, we cannot backup our data for L4 because of this.  If we cannot restore our data from our backup files, what good are our backed up files?

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭✭

    But we knew that in late October 2009. I'd assume the beta testers well before that. And the designer at the start. This was a conscious decision.

    I still say Libronix3 was a good design. May have had some IE issues, but I uniformly always got my books before Logos4 people did. And everything is nicely backed up and tested.

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

  • tom
    tom Member Posts: 3,213 ✭✭✭

    DMB said:

    This was a conscious decision.

    And it was a poor decision (IMHO)
  • Allen Dearing
    Allen Dearing Member Posts: 28 ✭✭

    It sounds to me I have made a bad choice. I wanted an up to date Bible Study tool so I went with Logos 4 and started transfering my thousands of pages of files from Quick Verse (they abandoned notes before a Windows 7 compatible program came along).  I am copying and pasting thousdands and thousands of notes - about to finish Exodus. 

     

    BUT now the problem hit me.  Up until yesterday I was able to right click a word to highlight it and pull up a menu - select add note and then paste the note and it be attached to that word.  Starting yesterday I can only add notes to an entire verse - even though the old notes I have added are still showing up on words.  I can not for the life of me think of anything I did and have checked and rechecked all options - Any people have an idea what I am doing wrong?

     

    Allen

  • Allen Dearing
    Allen Dearing Member Posts: 28 ✭✭

    Forgot to say, I am wondering if in some way I switched the note from a file specific to New Kings James Version to one that is generic for all Bible translation, but can not figure how to check that and also not certain why new notes are not showing up in all versions of the Bible Then.

  • JT (alabama24)
    JT (alabama24) MVP Posts: 36,523

    Allen - I am on my iPad, so I can't give any screen shots. When you add a note, you have two choices of note type. You can create a note by selection OR by reference. On the right hand side of the contextual right-click menu, you will see these tabs. A note by REFERENCE will appear in ALL versified resources (bibles, commentaries, etc.). A note by SELECTION (i.e. adding a note to a word) will appear ONLY in the resource being used. Both kinds of notes can be located in the same note file.

    macOS, iOS & iPadOS |Logs| Install
    Choose Truth Over Tribe | Become a Joyful Outsider!

  • Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)
    Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :) MVP Posts: 23,165

    Starting yesterday I can only add notes to an entire verse - even though the old notes I have added are still showing up on words.  I can not for the life of me think of anything I did and have checked and rechecked all options - Any people have an idea what I am doing wrong?

    Adding notes to an entire verse sounds like adding notes by reference, which can appear in all Bibles and Commentaries with that reference.

    I am wondering if in some way I switched the note from a file specific to New Kings James Version to one that is generic for all Bible translation, but can not figure how to check that and also not certain why new notes are not showing up in all versions of the Bible Then.

    When notes are added to specific highlighted words, currently notes only appear in that resource.

    Wiki has => Notes (ver 4.5 & up) that has screen shots showing notes being added by selection and by reference.  In right click menu, selection and verse reference are the top two lines on the right side.

    Keep Smiling [:)]

  • Allen Dearing
    Allen Dearing Member Posts: 28 ✭✭

    Thanks for all the information.  I see now where I had changed the setting and it is back to where I wanted it.

    Still concerned about not being able to back up and restore at will notes.  I remember a year or so ago a company that the government shut down for having copy righted material on it in addition to many companies storing their data on it and the companies have not been able to get their data back.  The Cloud is great for some things, but not for others and I think basing your entire program on people being able to access the cloud to even install it is an unwise business move that might have huge ramifications down the line.  Customers might not be fully up to date, but a hard copy install disk with everything on it for each basic form of the software would be much better - then if people want to upgrade they can when and if they want to.

    Allen