Autosave+

Autosave+ is a simple but reliable autosaving tool for Autodesk Maya, designed to address some of the quirks and limitations of Maya's native autosave feature. It’s not a groundbreaking tool, but it can make your workflow a little smoother and help you avoid data loss when it matters most.

Why Use Autosave+?

Maya’s built-in autosave is fine for basic use, but it has its limitations:

• It only saves the scene, ignoring important external files like .xgen data.
• It can interrupt your playback or workflow at inconvenient times.
• It doesn’t give you much control over how or where your files are saved.

Autosave+ improves on these areas by:

• Saving Everything: It does a full scene save, ensuring .xgen files and other dependencies are stored alongside your scene.
• Pausing During Playback: If you’re animating and there is a playback, autosaving automatically pauses untill playback finishes, avoiding Maya crashes.
• Flexible Saving Options: Save files next to your scene or in a custom folder. Whatever works best for your setup.

Key Features

• Incremental Saves: Autosave+ creates uniquely named versions of your file, so you can easily track progress or roll back changes.
• Customizable Preferences: You can adjust the autosave interval, choose where files are saved, and even enable a prompt to confirm saves.
• Playback-Aware: It stays out of your way when the timeline is playing.
• Built-In Cleanup Tools: Find and manage old autosave files quickly from the interface.

Installation

1. Download the autosavePlus.py script.
2. Drag and drop the drag_and_drop.py file into the Maya viewport.
3. Follow the prompts to locate and install autosavePlus.py.
4. A new "ASV+" button will appear on your active shelf. Click it to open the Autosave+ UI.

How to Use

1. Disable Maya default autosave behavior from Maya>Preferences>Files/Projects
2. Open the UI from the shelf button.
3. Configure your preferences (like the save interval or location).
4. Click "Start Autosave+" to enable autosaving.
5. That’s it — your work will now be saved automatically at regular intervals.
6. Change autosave+ folder depending on your active project and hit Save Preferences.

How to always run Autosave+ each time Maya initializes?

1. Go to your userSetup.py file (usually in maya/scripts/userSetup.py), if you don't have this file, create one yourself
2. Copy and paste this code into userSetup.py

Autosave+ was built with simplicity and practicality in mind. If you’ve ever been frustrated by Maya’s native autosave or lost work due to an overlooked dependency, this tool might be a small improvement to your workflow.

Contributions, feedback, and suggestions are always welcome!