Easy to lose element changes if don't Save

[mikewhit]

Several elements contain lists of details (e.g. database Table Columns, see Create Columns in EA Help; also Requirements, Scenarios ...).

If you are modifying an already existing list, it is quite easy to type in changes, then mouse-click to the next item in the list, "edit" that, and so on, without realising that unless you pressed Save, your edit changes are lost immediately you click onto that next list item.

However, if you try to OK from the dialog having made an edit, you are warned about unsaved changes, but only for the currently selected item.

Would it make sense to hold ALL changes made for all edited rows until you press Save or OK, perhaps colour/background highlighting rows with unsaved changes. Save would allow you to save each row individually, OK would remind you about unsaved changes, and you could opt to save all edited unsaved items at once.
[build 731]

[thomaskilian]

Hi Mike,
I guess you're after this: http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=suggestions;action=display;num=1064217607, right?

[mikewhit]

No, Thomas, that discussion deals with diagram editing, and undo/redo, Ctrl-S saving etc.

My point regards the editing of fields within an element properties dialog box, in particular any which have the New and Save buttons.

I am saying that (perhaps) the dialog box should retain (unsaved) edits made to this type of item, and not lose them if you change focus to another item.

Try it with (e.g.) a Requirements tab - add two entries abc (Save) and xyz (Save).

Then click on abc, change the Notes field to zzzzz, then click on xyz, then OK. Result - no change to abc's Notes.
If you'd OK'd after typing zzzzz, EA would have prompted you about unsaved data.

Obviously in this trivial case you can see the data was not saved, but in more complex elements (Table Columns in the original post) you can't see all field contents in the listing.

I am just suggesting a way in which EA could support the user in achieving his desired result - and not accidentally losing data. It might also allow speedier edits to be made, since you wouldn't need to keep Saving if you could do that for everything at the end, with OK.