How To Emit a Clean File From An @file Tree

[tbp1...@gmail.com]

I've had a few cases where the external file for an @clean tree went missing.  This causes the file to be empty with no recovery unless there is a backup.  This makes me want to turn all of them into @file trees.  But there are times I want to emit a clean file - no sentinels, etc.

Most recently this came up because I wanted to put some Leo outlines under source control (not on GitHub; on my own computer).  I didn't want to also put the external files in the repo, but they were @clean files and they could end up being the wrong versions if I changed to a different changeset for the outline.

I don't want to put the external files under source control but leave the Leo outline not controlled, because I have a lot of non-file information in the outline.

I know of two ways to save clean files when their parent node is an @file node, both a little clumsy:

1. Temporarily change the tree to an @clean tree, save, then change it back.

2. Put a dummy collection node immediately under the @file node, with the actual file's tree under that.  Clone that node to an @clean node and save.  Then delete the @clean node.

Either way works, but it seems that there should be a better way.  Am I missing something?  If not, this is a feature I'd like.  Something like a new command write-tree-as-clean. There is a question about what the written file should be named so as not to collide with the original, but that doesn't seem hard to solve.
 

[Edward K. Ream]

On Sat, Apr 3, 2021 at 5:06 PM tbp1...@gmail.com <tbp1...@gmail.com> wrote:

I know of two ways to save clean files when their parent node is an @file node, both a little clumsy:

I think keeping backups is the best way.  Sure, Leo could have a 'write-at-file-as-at-clean' command, but that would be featuritis, imo.

Edward

[tbp1...@gmail.com]

It was a backup that first got me to realize the problem.  Actually, it was a transfer to a new computer.  All my files used to be on the C: drive and on the new one I used the D: drive.  At the same time, I had thought I didn't need to transfer everything I had,  because some of it was old anyway, or (I thought) could be reproduced from the Leo outlines. 

Quite a while later, I opened up an outline and all the @clean files were blank.  Eventually I realized that I needed to go through all of them and change the paths of the @clean nodes to the D: drive, and try to get the external files I could from the backups I had used to transfer everything.  I didn't succeed for all of them, but at least got most of them back.

My main use case, though, is that I need to produce some of my files clean - because they may have to be read, modified, or compiled by non-Leo users.  It's the source control issue of controlling both the outline and the derived files that I'm mulling over.  Of course, the easiest way is to source-control both, and maybe I'll start doing that.

[Edward K. Ream]

On Sun, Apr 4, 2021 at 9:20 AM tbp1...@gmail.com <tbp1...@gmail.com> wrote:

Quite a while later, I opened up an outline and all the @clean files were blank.  Eventually I realized that I needed to go through all of them and change the paths of the @clean nodes to the D: drive, and try to get the external files I could from the backups I had used to transfer everything.

Hmm. The .leo file contains copies of all @clean trees--that's the difference between @shadow and @clean. So the data are always there (in the outline), or should be.

Edward