# Save status & unsaved work Source: https://meptools.com/docs/save-status/ ## Two places your work can be Every tool keeps your work in up to two places: - **On this device** — a local copy in the browser you are using, written continuously as you edit. It exists for everyone, including guests, and needs no account. - **In your account (the cloud)** — a saved project, listed on [/projects](/projects) and on your [dashboard](/dashboard). This needs a signed-in account with a verified email. The local copy is crash recovery and a staging area, not a second save location. It lives only in that browser on that device, it is never synced between devices, and — as described below — it can be swept. If work matters, it needs to be in your account. ## The save-status chip Every tool shows one chip in its header that says where the document on screen currently is. Click it to open a short explanation and, where there is something to do, an action. When something has gone wrong the panel opens on its own. ![The save-status chip reading "On this device", opened to show "Saved on this device only" with a Save action](./_assets/save-status-chip.png) | Chip | Meaning | | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **On this device** | The work is only in this browser. As a guest the action is **Sign in**; with an unverified email it is **Resend verification email**; with a verified account it is **Save**. | | **Saving to cloud…** | A save to your account is in flight. | | **Cloud saved** | The last cloud save completed and nothing has changed since. | | **Edits pending** | The project is in your account, but newer edits are only on this device. Autosave will pick them up; the action is **Save**. | | **Offline** | A save failed because there is no connection. Your work is safe on this device and saves when the connection returns. | | **Cloud save failed** | The save was refused or the request failed for another reason. Your work is safe on this device; the action is **Retry**. When the server answered, the panel shows a **Reference for support** you can copy. | | **Cloud save blocked** | You are at your plan's project limit, so this project cannot be saved. The action is **Manage projects**. See [Projects & saving](/docs/projects#project-limits). | | **Cloud save paused** | Someone (or another tab or device signed in as you) saved a newer version of this project after you opened it. The action is **Choose what to keep** — see [Save conflicts](#save-conflicts). | | **Project too large** | The server refused the save because the project exceeds the maximum size for one cloud project (about 1 MB). Nothing was overwritten. Remove some content and save again. | | **Device save failed** | The browser could not write the local copy — this device may hold nothing of your latest work. Save to the cloud or export now. | | **Not saved** | Another tab changed this document, so this tab's local write was refused. Your version is still open here. | | **Unsaved work loaded** | Work from your last visit was found on this device and opened. **Keep** or **Discard**. | | **Restored edits** | Edits newer than your cloud copy were found on this device and opened. **Discard** reverts to the cloud copy. | | **Your work moved to your account** | Work you did before verifying your email was saved to your account as a project. **Open** takes you to it. | The chip is the only place the app reports save state; there is no separate banner or File-menu status line. ## The File menu Every tool's **File** menu has **New**, **Load project**, **Save** (**Ctrl+S**), **Autosave** (On/Off), **Save as**, and **Rename**. Guests see **New** and **Sign in to save** only. Tools may add their own entries below these — Plant Room Studio, for example, adds its import and export items there. ## Autosave Autosave is **on by default**. Once a project exists in your account, it saves about 10 seconds after you stop making changes, with a 60-second cap so a long editing session is still saved periodically. It also flushes when the tab loses focus or is hidden. Closing the tab triggers a final save attempt, but a closing tab can cancel it — the chip will read **Edits pending** the next time you open the project, and the edits are still on the device. Turning autosave **off** in the File menu persists in this browser. It also turns off the automatic move of unsaved work into your account after verification (below); an explicit **Retry save** ignores the toggle. Autosave does not run while a project is locked (over your project limit) or too large. ## Unsaved work "Unsaved work" is work that exists on this device and is not tied to a project in your account — for example, what a guest did in a calculator, or a new document you never saved. The app keeps **one piece of unsaved work per tool**: the newest one. You will find it listed as **Unsaved work — on this device** on the [dashboard](/dashboard) and at the bottom of [/projects](/projects) once you are signed in, each with **Continue** (opens it in the tool) and **Delete** (permanent, with a confirmation). ### Coming back to a tool When you reopen a tool and the local copy is newer than what is in your account, it is loaded automatically and the chip announces it (**Unsaved work loaded** or **Restored edits**). Choose **Keep** to carry on, or **Discard** to drop the local copy — for a saved project, that means reverting to the cloud version. ## What happens when you verify If you did work as a guest and then create an account, that work is claimed by your new account the moment you sign in, and moved into your account once your email is verified: 1. Each piece of unsaved guest work becomes a **saved project**, named after the work's name or **Untitled project**. The tool you are currently in goes first; the rest follow newest first. 2. Only as many are moved as your plan has **free project slots**. Anything beyond that stays on the device with the state **Kept on this device — project limit reached**, until you delete a project or upgrade. 3. Work belonging to a tool that is no longer available is skipped and stays on the device. 4. A failed upload is retried automatically. The dashboard shows **Your work isn't saved yet** while that is outstanding; the getting-started panel inside the tool offers **Retry save**. The **Getting started** card on the dashboard tells you beforehand how many pieces will move and how many will stay. The move only takes work you did **as a guest** — a document you started while signed in is yours to save explicitly, so it never spends a project slot without you asking. Work in a tool you still have open is left alone until it has been idle for about ten seconds. ## What can delete on-device work - **Retention:** any local copy untouched for **30 days** is removed the next time the app starts. - **Signing out** removes this account's local copies from the device, including unsaved edits to a saved project. Work you did as a guest before creating the account is kept. Save before you sign out. - **Discard** on the chip, and **Delete** on an unsaved-work row. - Clearing site data in the browser, or using a private window that is then closed. Deleting a saved project or deleting your account also removes its local copy. ## Save conflicts If a newer version of the project was saved to your account after you opened it — from another tab, another device, or another session — the app refuses to overwrite it and the chip reads **Cloud save paused**. A dialog, **Someone else saved this project**, offers: - **Open the newer version** — discards the edits on this device and loads what's in your account. - **Save mine as a copy** — keeps both: your edits become a new project. Nothing is saved until you choose. The dialog can be closed and reopened from the chip. ## Related - [Projects & saving](/docs/projects) — the project library, limits, and locked projects - [Your dashboard](/docs/dashboard) — where unsaved work and the getting-started steps appear - [Account & security](/docs/account) — verifying your email