Undo and history¶
OpenTag's desktop session history records supported changes to local audio files. It is separate from pending tag edits, text-box undo and remembered format strings. Read the operation name in the Edit menu before restoring anything: history follows the session's recorded operations, not just the files you have selected now.
Choose the right recovery route¶
| State to recover | Use | What to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Text just typed inside an input | That input's normal undo shortcut | This edits the text box; it is not file history |
| Unsaved tag-panel or Extended tags changes | Edit → Discard pending changes, or deliberate correction | Discard applies to selected pending edits; it cannot recover an earlier saved file |
| A recorded Save, rename, tag removal or action | Edit → Undo … | Read its label, file count and any history notice |
| The last successful Undo | Edit → Redo …, when available | A new recorded change normally clears Redo |
| A file sent to the system trash | The OS trash's restore command | This is outside the tag Undo journal |
| An external program's edit, permanent deletion or older session | Your independent backup/recovery process | Do not assume an OpenTag step can restore it |
The saved-format lists called Manage history… are reusable text histories. Clearing one does not undo file edits. A configuration backup also does not include session Undo snapshots or your audio files.
Practice Undo and Redo on one saved title¶
Use a copied ordinary local audio file, initially saved with TITLE =
Paper Boats. Keep other file-changing applications closed for this exercise.
- Select the practice file and change its title to
Paper Boats - Practice. It is pending until Save tags writes it. - Choose Save tags and check that the save succeeded. Open Edit and read Undo Save tags (1 file).
- Finish any active text edit and focus the file list. Choose that Undo menu item, or use Cmd+Z / Ctrl+Z.
- Check the operation result and the restored title,
Paper Boats. - Read Redo Save tags (1 file) and choose it, or use
Cmd+Y / Ctrl+Y. The saved title becomes
Paper Boats - Practiceagain.
The count describes audio-file records in that history step. A step can cover several selected files, and chapter rows can refer to one underlying file. Do not infer one independent Undo step for each row or button click in a multi-file operation.
Saving a different title with the same number of characters still creates an Undo step when the save keeps the file size and modification date unchanged. Undo restores the previous tags; Redo reapplies the save, subject to normal history limits. A request that writes nothing adds no step and keeps an existing Redo step.
This also applies when a recorded action renames a file or moves its folder before saving its tags. Undo can restore the previous location and tags; Redo reapplies the recorded location and saved tags together. This concerns recorded converter/action operations, rather than the separate Move files to… command.
Resolve pending edits separately¶
Suppose the title above was saved successfully, then you typed another title without saving. Undo can restore the recorded disk state while that newer pending title remains in the application. The pending display is not proof that Undo failed. Saving it afterward can overwrite the restored result.
Before Undo, decide what to do with pending changes:
- Save only those you genuinely intend to keep. This can create a newer history step, so read the menu again afterward.
- Discard unwanted pending changes deliberately for the intended selection.
- If uncertain, record the intended values separately and inspect the current saved file before choosing either route.
Undo does not restore list membership. Files already removed from the list stay out even if a history operation restores their disk contents. Reopen those files to inspect them. Conversely, changing the selection does not restrict an existing history step to only that new selection.
Text inputs retain native typing undo. If a shortcut appears to change the field text instead of the file, finish/cancel the text edit and use the explicit Edit-menu item with the file list focused.
What the journal records¶
Supported local Save operations, tag removal, embedded-cover changes, metadata converters, file/folder renames performed by converters/actions, and the built-in tag utilities use the journal. Action groups can combine several effects into one labeled step. Its label describes the operation; it is not a list of every field changed.
For recorded file writes, restoration puts back the captured file state. It does not recreate removed metadata by writing whatever tag formats are now checked in Options. The read policy can still affect which restored values are displayed. This differs from assuming that only the currently displayed tag block was retained. Check tag-block reading and writing when files contain several blocks with different values.
Some supported operations also record explicitly captured output images, including action Export Cover and supported source-import cover writes. Their existing image can be restored, or their newly created image removed, when that recorded step can replay. This is a specific side-file capture path, not a promise that every external output belongs to file history. Ordinary text/CSV exports, playlists, arbitrary action export output, configuration files and changes made by external tools need their own backups. Check the action's output scope before assuming an export will disappear on Undo.
File-list removal, desktop Copy/Move/Delete commands and default playback are not recorded tag-Undo operations. Undo of an older tag save is not a reversal of a later unrecorded transfer or deletion.
Handle partial errors and changed files¶
A recorded batch can restore some files while reporting that others could not be undone. The journal checks recorded filesystem state before replay and can refuse a file changed outside OpenTag, a missing file, an occupied old rename destination or a failed snapshot/restore. Do not bypass an error by deleting the file at the destination.
Read the complete result, not just Undid …. A refused file is not necessarily available for another attempt through the same history step; Redo can retain only the successfully restored part. Preserve both versions and use your backups if the history no longer offers the required state. These guards do not establish universal detection of every external change, filesystem alias or concurrent writer. Avoid editing the same files in two applications during a recovery attempt.
A failed or canceled batch is not automatically rolled back. Completed writes can remain, while files never processed can retain pending edits. Inspect per-file errors and the current Undo label. Undo is a subsequent recovery action, not a substitute for checking partial completion.
Session and storage limits¶
The current defaults retain at most 50 recorded operations and 2 GiB of snapshot data; older steps can be removed as limits are reached. These are retained-storage limits, not a fixed limit on the sum of the audio files' lengths. Some staged metadata writes share unchanged file storage, while other rewrites can require a whole-file snapshot. A large operation can therefore be unavailable for Undo even when a small edit was available.
On Unix-family platforms, snapshot admission also checks that at least 2 GiB would remain free on the journal volume. The inspected implementation does not apply the same free-space query on every platform. Do not fill a volume on the assumption that history will always reserve space for you.
Snapshot/storage failure normally does not stop the requested file operation. OpenTag can report cannot be undone while the operation itself succeeds, or record only part of a batch. The previous Undo label is not proof that the latest operation has a recovery copy. Read notices immediately and keep an independent backup for changes that must survive quitting.
History is scoped to the running application session. Restarting does not load the old stack; stale session snapshots are cleaned separately. Do not browse or delete the live undo cache to manage history, and do not treat it as a durable backup archive. Provider documents use separate access and recovery mechanisms and are not covered by this desktop local-file journal.
Redo is different from Repeat¶
Redo has priority on the shared menu item and shortcut while an undone step is available. When there is no Redo step, OpenTag can offer Repeat for the available last action/group execution.
- Redo replays a recorded result from the history stack.
- Repeat runs the remembered action/group again against the current applicable selection. Expressions, source values and side outputs can be evaluated again; the outcome need not equal the earlier run.
Read the current label every time. Do not press Cmd+Y / Ctrl+Y expecting Redo after changing other files: it may now mean a new action run. Selection, source access and pending-edit rules still apply to Repeat.