I am just curious as to if anyone has had similar experience.
First, I probably should state my assumption ( might be wrong ) of how Houdini opens and saves hip files.
If we have the option set, when closing a file a pop up window displays and asks if we want to save and close, discard and close or cancel.
My assumption has always been, that if we discard and close, that hip file will still be available as it was when we just opened the file; the only difference being whatever work we have done up to that point in closing since opening will be lost.
And I'm not considering whatever set up we have for auto-back ups every so many minutes ( whatever we have set for that ).
I mention this because I set my .env file with HOUDINI_EXTERNAL_HELP_BROWSER = 1.
A tip I picked up from the forum that someone mentioned for another that was having problems with Houdini Help files.
I used that because from time to time I find the help file system a little buggy too.
So I started using the help file through my browser as a result from the .env setting.
Still, I would receive pop up error console messages when I used the help system like that, but I would just minimize it because at least I was always getting some info as opposed to like before when I got many blanks.
So I continued to use the help system like that.
But today, for some reason I couldn't save my work that I had done on my hip file because I would get an error saying there were too many ‘help’ files open. And just to add to this, I saw alot of python related messages, and I could be wrong but I think I saw some QT ones as well.
So, I had to close my hip file as ‘discard and close’ losing an hours worth of work, ( So I thought ) because it simply would not let me save and close.
So, after closing my file, I go to open it again to do the work again I had done.
But the file is no longer on my system. Anywhere.
I even looked in the trash bin, thinking some python code may have deleted my file, and that I might find it there and simply restore.
But no, not even there.
Luckily I had some back up files in another folder with a different name.
But I find this very bizzare and strange.
It brings up some other experiences I've had where I did a keyboard save with ctrl + s. And the message shows in the lower left saying file has been saved with the date/time stamp that confirms in my mind it was, when I glance over to look at the computer clock.
And I might have doen several of these manual saves over half an hour, but then if I close the file and re-open it, it's like all the saves never happened. I'm back to where I was when I first opened the file earlier.
Doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes it does.
Hard to replicate and submit as possible bug. When it may just be my system and not Houdini.
And that file that totaly disappeared today - was one I was working on for about a month. So it wasn't just a new one with work not being saved properly.
Just wondering if anyone has had similar experiences?
