Troubleshooting and support

The SaveKeeper button has not appeared

SaveKeeper starts a few seconds after the main menu appears, between about 4.7 and 6 seconds in our testing. If you open Load Game straight away, wait a moment and open it again. If the button never appears, check that SaveKeeper is subscribed and enabled in the game's mod list, then restart the game.

SaveKeeper keeps asking about a safety backup

Not now, closing the window, and a backup that did not finish all leave the question open, so it comes back. Answer it with Create Safety Backup or Skip for This Version. If SaveKeeper could not record your answer, it says so and asks again next time. See Version safety backup.

A backup failed

• "Your save files changed while the backup was being made": the game was probably still writing a save. Wait a moment and choose Retry.
• "A file couldn't be read" or "Some items can't be read": another program, such as a sync tool or antivirus scan, may have a file open. Close it and try again.
• "contains a link to another place": your SaveGames folder has a link or junction in it. SaveKeeper does not follow links, so it cannot make a complete backup.

In every case the unfinished backup is not kept and your save files are not changed.

Not enough free space

SaveKeeper checks the space it needs before it starts, keeps some free for the game's own saves, and tells you both numbers when there is not enough. Free up space, empty the Trash, remove older snapshots, or choose a backup location on another drive.

My backup location can't be used

The Overview tab says why. The usual reasons are an external drive that is not connected, a folder SaveKeeper cannot write to, or a folder inside the game's SaveGames folder, which SaveKeeper never uses. Reconnect the drive or press Change.

"Check this save before loading"

SaveKeeper found that the save file is empty, incomplete (it was not fully written) or damaged (its data does not match its own checksum). Nothing was changed. You can go Back, open Show snapshots to restore an earlier copy as a new save, or Load anyway. See Snapshots.

SaveKeeper won't touch a save

If a save's information file points to a different character's folder, or names a different save, SaveKeeper leaves it alone rather than risk acting on the wrong files, and says so. This usually means files were copied or renamed by hand.

"A save with that name already exists"

SaveKeeper never overwrites a save. Choose another name; the suggested one ends in (restored) or (copy). Names are compared ignoring case and accents.

A file ending in .partial

If a backup was interrupted, for example because the game was closed while it was writing, a file ending in .partial can be left in the backup folder. It is not a backup, SaveKeeper never lists it as one, and it is safe to delete.

"Needs your attention" on the Overview tab

An operation was interrupted, for example by the game closing mid-move. Every file still exists. Put back returns everything to where it was; Finish completes the operation. SaveKeeper does not guess on your behalf.

A save I deleted on one computer is still on another

That can happen with Steam Cloud on more than one computer. See Steam Cloud and more than one computer for exactly what we measured.

After a Big Ambitions update

SaveKeeper 0.1.0 was validated on Big Ambitions build 3682. On a different build it still works, but the check before loading only notes what it sees instead of stopping the load. If an update changes the game's buttons in a way SaveKeeper does not recognise, SaveKeeper stops intercepting them and the Overview tab says that the game's own delete is permanent again. Look for a SaveKeeper update.

SaveKeeper's windows look too large or too small

SaveKeeper's windows scale with your screen resolution, not with the game's UI zoom setting, so they can look larger or smaller than the game's own menus. They still work normally.

Where the log is

Press Open Logs on the Overview tab. The file is SaveKeeper.log in the logs folder inside SaveKeeper's folder. It does not contain your user name.

Getting help

If something is not working, open a ticket (what to include). Please include:

• your SaveKeeper version (shown on the version safety backup, and on this page: 0.1.0);
• your Big Ambitions build (shown at the bottom of the main menu);
• your operating system: Windows or macOS;
• what you were doing, for example deleting, restoring or loading which save;
• the exact message SaveKeeper showed, or a screenshot of it;
• SaveKeeper.log, attached to the ticket.

Open a SaveKeeper ticket