@gshorser Greetings. I’m sorry to hear about the issues you have experienced. Unfortunately there are various issues that stem from Windows 10 itself that could have played part in this as well as using the old version 0.6.5. Let me explain:
- The most recent version is 0.6.6 on all platforms. Please download and use this as soon as you can since it comes with a basic crash recovery feature as well https://pencil2d.org/download
- Please visit and read this Windows 10 exclusive guide [Guide] How to Train Your Pencil2D (Windows) it will help you prepare your computer to use Pencil2D or any other third party app that might not be signed or come from the Microsoft App Store. It is known that Win10 might actively block processes from unsigned apps leading to potential loss of data while saving. The antivirus annotation is also key, particularly with Windows Defender or industrial strength A / V tools
- Please look at our recovery guide Pencil2D Project File Corruption Prevention / Partial Recovery Guide the procedures are time sensitive as temporal files get overwritten quickly under Windows 10. Try the procedures and as a last resort look into the “experimental recovery” category.
- The loss of work you have experienced is most likely guaranteed if the drawings are not showing, because Pencil2D saves the files into a zip package (PCLX) and then unpacks whatever it stored last time you saved. While the guide above mentions this, it is never recommended to save over the same file only as a digital animator or artist you must create backup files to fallback in case of technical failure.
This is something that is not a Pencil2D requirement but something one has to make a habit of. I have personally lost many files over the years to commercial applications (it hurts more when you’re a paying customer
) and even with the best technology and money, not even companies like Adobe or Autodesk have realized a proper way to counter data loss in hese cases.
So what i’m saying here is that, prevention is the best way to battle these issues, however we are looking into ways to further improve the survival of data once users are afflicted with any potential condition that might cause harm. Nevertheless these improvements will take time and we encourage everyone to really make a habit of saving multiple backup copies to represent their milestone achievements within a project.