When I create a project, I almost always use the same project name and subfolder. The only problem is I might already have a folder with that name. It would be nice if the app would show a warning like “This folder exists. Do you want to use this folder?” It might even be beneficial to include a warning like “existing files may be overwritten” Otherwise, the existing “game.json” file is going to be lost.
Hey Keith! Thank you for your topic.
This one looks indeed a little tricky.
Would you mind just showing me (either with a picture, or replicating the hierarchy with text) the structure of a Project local file? Starting with the parent so I can better picture what you’re saying about nesting and similar folders.
Thanks!
I put my projects in my document/Gdevelop projects/. If I add a project named elevator, I change the end path to match, in this example i would manually type the folder name elevator in the path box so it woyld be my documents/gdevelop projects/elevator. If the …elevator folder happens to exist Gdevelop would currently use this folder and overwrite the existing game.json file without any notice. I’m just asking for at this point when I click [create project] there would be a pop-up saying “this folder or game.json exists. Are you sure you want to use it. Existing files will be overwritter”. That sounds wordy but I hope you get my point.
Yes, I realize I could use the [choose path] button but then I would have to manually add a new folder. Apologies if my sequence isn’t accurate, I’m on my phone. I’ll post pics later but I hope this comes across clear.
I do my best to use descriptive project and project folders to prevent something like this but I will create a quick project just to test something. My folder is full of the genericly named and sequentially numbered default Gdevelop folders. I have no clue what’s in them because no matter what I name my project, the JSON file is alway game.json.
I’m on my phone. I can add a snapshot of my project folder later. It’s filled with folders name kong clone, logic test and the like. Without a descriptive folder name, they all look alike.
I’m just asking that if the folder already exist that the app gives a warning before overwriting any existing game.json file.
I’ll add pictures or a video link later.
Here’s a screen recording of me creating a project, adding a few objects and saving the project. I then create a new project and paste the same folder name as the previous project. As soon as the new project is created the old game.json file is overwritten and all the previous game data with it. I then reopen the newly created project without saving anything showing that the old project is gone.
Does it happen a lot? No. But it only has to happen once for someone to lose a project. The alternative and maybe preferred way is to use the [choose folder] or the numbered default folder title. The default number folder name makes it difficult to find a project and the [choose folder] requires me to navigate to the location, create a folder, name it and then select it. Copying and pasting the folder name is much quicker.
This is the problem the default or suggested folder name has created. Which one has my bowling game? Unless there are images. I can’t tell without opening each one. All of the project files default to game.json. It would be nice if the json file matched the project name.
