How to remove useless autosave blend file in the tem folder in Windows

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1

Hi there,

This is just a tutorial for those who would like to keep temp folder tidy and manage the computer memory. So In the Blender 2.73 the autosave file saves the original name of your file so for e.g. if you have monster.blend saved, Blender will save it as monster-RandomNumber.blend in the tmp folder [ATTACH=CONFIG]356750[/ATTACH].

And every time you work on the same file Blender will save the file with new change but with different RandomNumber. With this you will have a lot IMHO trash files something like:
monster-9098.blend
monster-4093.blend
monster-5200.blend
monster-0098.blend

So if you don’t want to clean them by hand like me do this:

  • Setup a blender temp directory that is unique i.e. c:\blend_temp

  • Create a folder to store the quit.blend (I really don’t understand this file so better keep there) I have C:\codes

  • Set blender to save it’s autosave files there.

  • Create a batch file to delete the files. open notepad and type in the command

copy C:\blend_temp\quit.blend C:\codes
del c:\blend_temp\*.* /q
copy C:\codes\quit.blend C:\blend_temp
del C:\codes\*.* /q

Save the file somewhere you will know how to find it. like c:\del-blend-temp.cmd

Run it when you want to clean your tmp folder.

As always have good day and happy blending :slight_smile:

2

Since Blender temp files handling appears to be broken by design, do the simple and easy thing and disable it.

Save often and, maybe, raise the number of saved copies (something that is under your control).

1 Like
3

I don’t think autosave is broken… it works as intended. some cleanup is required though and it could definitely be improved.

If autosave is disabled and blender crashes you may loose work. Yes saving often is a good idea but sometimes one can get wrapped up in the work and forget. This is where autosave can save a lot of time and work.

I would suggest that each time the file is saved and closed the autosave files for that blend should be cleaned up. If blender crashes then the cleanup will not occur and the files will be there until they are either recovered or manually removed.

Currently I am using both the saved copies and autosave although I have not had a blender crash in months.

As always your mileage may vary.

4

The intention itself is wrong. And basic human decency would be to at least allow the user to set the autosave location. Blender’s unabashed adoration towards the C drive, makes me grit my teeth. There’s a reason this software hasn’t risen over it’s small-time status despite having so many competitive features - because basic features like undo and autosave are broken by design.

5

Maybe you could check your file paths in user preferences. You can put your temp files wherever you want.
Autosave is not broken.