Data loss prevention
Prevention of data loss is achieved in FreeMind in the following functions or features:
- Confirmation before deletion: when the user invokes the deletion function, he is asked for a confirmation. The deletion function can lead to a deletion of large branches of data, as one node can represent equally well a paragraph, a section of an article, an article, a folder with articles, or a category of articles. Confirmation before deletion is only implemented in 0.9.0 series.
- Automatic backups: FreeMind creates automatic backups of open mind maps for the case of crash; see Autosave.
Preventing accidental deletion
Deleting nodes and branches in FreeMind
Since version 0.8.0, it is possible to delete a whole branch of nodes by pressing DELETE. When a user accidentally presses DELETE and does not notice that, they may loose considerable amount of data. For users using FreeMind as a knowledge base or a semi-structured database, being able to delete whole branch at one keystroke is problematic and unusual; in filesystem browsers, users are asked for confirmation before the file is deleted by the system.
However, some users use FreeMind as a mind mapper and are glad to be able to delete nodes just by pressing DELETE.
There are several solutions to this problem.
- Add user option to enable or disable confirmation before deleting of nodes and branches (depending on model type)
- Store all deleted nodes and branches in a kind of trashcan associated with every mind map
- Ask for confirmation only for nodes with children
- Ask for confirmation only for nodes with more than p children
The confirmation would be requested both for keystrokes DELETE and CONTROL + X, that is the actions Delete and Cut.
