Opening, Closing and Backing Up the Origin Project File

Opening, Closing and Backing Up the Origin Project File When you start Origin, a new project file opens displaying a single workbook. The workbook contains a single Origin worksheet window. The workbook is a type of Origin child window; other types include graph, matrix, layout page, function graph, and notes windows. Excel workbook windows -- while not an Origin child window type -- can also be opened and saved with the Origin project file.

A project file is the container for all of your data -- graphical and tabular data, as well as your notes and your analytical results.

Note: Origin has two different data recovery features -- autosave and backup. They work differently and independently of each other. In short, autosave is most useful for recovering from program crashes and power failures, while backup is most useful for recovering data when you have a project file that will not open. Both are documented below.

1 Opening and closing the Origin project
2 What is (and isn't ) saved with the Origin project file?
3 Turning on the autosave feature
4 Creating a backup of the project file
5 Recovering the contents of a damaged Origin project file

Opening and closing the Origin project

By default, a new project (.OPJ) file is created each time you start Origin. This new project file is simply named UNTITLED (see, Starting Origin with a Specific File). If you try to exit Origin without saving the new project file, Origin opens the Save As dialog box, prompting you to choose a path and file name for the OPJ.

To open a project file:

From the Origin menu, choose File: Open.
Set the Files of Type drop-down list to OPJ, browse to the project file, and click Open.

Click the New Project button on the Standard toolbar to open a new project (If a project is already open, you are prompted to save the contents of the current session).

To save a project file to the current project file (named on the program title bar):

Choose File: Save Project.

Click Save Project on the Standard toolbar.

To save the contents of the current session to a new path and/or file name:

Choose File: Save Project As...
Specify a Save In folder, File Name and Save as Type OPJ.

Note: You can modify and resave ORIGIN.OPJ so that it becomes the default Origin project file (the file that opens when Origin runs). Specify ORIGIN.OPJ via the Start New Project drop-down list on Open/Close tab of the Options dialog box.

What is (and isn't ) saved with the Origin project file?

Saved	all child windows on your screen. all child windows in other Project Explorer folders. data import filters that have been saved in child windows. data and Metadata contained in the child windows. the contents of the Results Log. the left-hand panel of the Command Window (the command history). internally saved Excel workbook files. Project variables. appended third-party files.
NOT Saved	deleted child windows. The right-hand panel of the Command Window (the command line). temporary datasets (these are identified by a leading underscore character in the dataset name). externally saved Excel workbook files.

Turning on the autosave feature

Origin has an autosave feature. While working in your Origin project file, the autosave feature periodically saves project contents to a temporary file in the \Autosave subfolder which is located in %Userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\OriginLab\81\TMP folder. Note that the Application Data folder is a hidden folder. To access the \Autosave folder, click Start menu in Windows desktop, select Programs: Originlab: Originlab 8.1: Autosave. Alternatively you can click Start menu in Windows desktop, select Run, and type %Userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\OriginLab\81\TMP\Autosave in the Open drop-down list. If you experience a program crash or power failure, you should be able to recover the bulk of your work by browsing to and opening this temporary file. If you exit the Origin project and/or the Origin program normally, Origin "cleans up" by deleting the temporary file. Autosave is turned on by default.

In order for the auto save feature to work:

You must have saved the project once -- that is, you must have given it a name.
Once you save a project, the project must be modified (note that even a moved window is considered a modification) since your last Save/Save As/Open or no temporary file is created.

To enable or disable the autosave feature, or to adjust the period of time between autosaves:

From the Origin menu, choose Tools: Options.
Click the Open/Close tab.
Select the Autosave project every x minutes box and adjust the period between autosaves, as needed.

To recover the contents of this temporary file after a crash or power failure:

Browse to the \Autosave folder.
Search in the \Autosave folder. It should contain a single Origin project file with a name like MYFILE-1234567.OPJ.

Creating a backup of the project file

The autosave feature as previously described, is most useful for recovering from a program crash or power failure. Occasionally, you may try to open your Origin project file and find that it cannot be read by Origin. In such cases, you may be able to recover your project contents using a second method of data recovery. This method is independent of the autosave feature.

When you save an Origin project file, a copy of the file -- minus whatever changes you might have made since last saving the file -- is written to a file named BACKUP.OPJ. This file is saved to your User Files folder. If, for some reason, your modified file should become corrupted, you should be able to roll back to the previous version of the file -- the version that existed when you last opened the file -- by opening an Origin project file with the generic name of BACKUP.OPJ. This feature is enabled by default.

To enable the creation of this backup project file:

Give your Origin project a name (i.e. save the project file).
From the Origin menu, choose Tools: Options.
Click the Open/Close tab.
Select Backup Project Before Saving.

Recovering the contents of a damaged Origin project file

If you cannot open your Origin project file, you may be able to recover the contents of the project file, minus whatever changes were made to the project file since the time that it was last saved. This assumes that you have elected to create a backup of your project file, as outlined above.

To open the back up project file:

Run Origin.
Choose File: Open or click .
Browse to the User Files folder.
Choose BACKUP.OPJ and click Open.