Pages deleted my document

[roadog527]

I was using my Pages app working on a document that I started last week. I had hours invested in the project. It was 21 pages long. This morning, I opened the document and found that, inexplicably, the document had reverted back to the first version of the document, only 2 pages long. I lost hours and hours of work. It's as if it went back to the first day I started working on it a week ago. I had not intentionally deleted anything. There is no explanation for this. And, when it made this change, it instantaneously synched to the Cloud and my others devices lost the work as well. I've never seen this. Fortunately, I had made a duplicate version in Pages for another purpose, so I did not have to rewrite the whole project (would rather pull my teeth with pliers). But I'm scared now NOT to duplicate every important Pages document I have, which seems silly and a waste of space. But, I will definitely do it. Any ideas what the heck happened?

 

[twerppoet]

No idea what happened, but this kind of thing does happen.

Unfortunately this is the weakness of the sync method. It makes for a poor backup solution, since a mistake or glitch gets propagated to all other devices and iCloud fairly quickly.

To combat this I like to send copies of my important documents to another cloud service. I like Box.com, because it supports the WebDAV import export option built into Pages (and the other iWorks apps). But you can use DropBox too, by using the Open In Another App option.

If you happen to have a Mac, have it synced to your iCloud account, and use TimeMachine to back it up, then there is a way for you to retrieve the older document. The folders that are used to sync your iCloud documents are backed up by TimeMachine. I can give more details if this is an option for you.

 

[roadog527]

Thank you for your reply. If I'd deleted my doc, that would be one thing. Just so disconcerting that it happened so unexpectedly and for no apparent reason. I will definitely be treating my important documents more carefully. Leave nothing on Pages that you can't afford to lose. Sad reflection on the app.
AND, I sure wish iPads had a recycle bin...but that is another thread.

 

[twerppoet]

I agree, it's too bad that iCloud isn't more dependable. But even if it was as solid as a rock, it's never a good idea to place important documents in just one container. As a retired IT tech, and on this forum, I've seen far too many sad stories when you don't have a decent backup workflow. And in the case of Pages, unless you've got a Mac and TimeMachine (or other way to backup the Mac) then your only choice is to do it manually.

Of course you could choose to restore from your iPad's backup, but since that's an all or nothing proposition it's rarely worth the effort. You also have to be prompt, since automatic backups can overwrite the old file overnight.

This is why once a month (or so) I do manual backups in iTunes on a computer to supplement my automatic iCloud backup. It gives me a fallback position, where I may lose some stuff, but at least not everything.

Experience has made me paranoid about all computers.

 

[Ibill]

I just use Pages as a work station. Because it isn't password protected I send the work to Drop Box to be saved. It is password protected and goes to my iPad, iPhone and Widows computor. Always a copy available.

 

[J. A.]

It's possible to set up a password for the documents in Pages individually: