Saving and reopening a session
Save every open tab, filter, sort, and mask as one file and come back to it exactly where you left off.
You can save your exact workspace state to return to it later. This is useful when you are working on a complex analysis and need to pick it up another day.
Saving a session
To save your current workspace, choose File > Save session. (Cmd+S is Save, which writes your changes into the file you opened; it does not save a session.) This creates a single .bigxl file on your computer.
This file saves every tab you have open. It remembers all its filters, sorts, edits, and masks. It also saves column widths, timeline branches, and notes. The session file only stores metadata and state. It does not store a copy of your data. This keeps the session file small and fast to save.
Reopening a session
To reopen a session, press Shift+Cmd+O or click File > Open session. Every tab reopens exactly as it was. You will see the same filters, the same sort, and the same masked columns. You will also return to the exact same position in your timeline.
File paths and portability
A session file remembers where each source file lives on your disk. It does not copy the actual data into the .bigxl file. This means the original files must still be in the same location when you reopen the session.
If a file has moved, BigXL tells you which one is missing. You can then open it fresh. If a file has changed size since the session was saved, your steps are restored but flagged. This flag tells you the data may have changed. Your previous steps might not mean the same thing on the new data.
What gets saved in a session
A session file captures almost everything you see in BigXL.
- Open tabs The tabs you have open and their order.
- Timeline tree The full timeline tree with all branches.
- Active views Active filters, sorts, and masks on each tab.
- Column layouts Your column widths and frozen columns.
- Data changes Your cell edits and computed columns.
- Notes The notes added to your timeline steps.
Workspace auto-restore
BigXL also saves your workspace automatically in the background. If you close the app and reopen it, it offers to restore all the tabs you had open. It restores their timeline state as well.
This background auto-save happens without you doing anything. It is separate from a manually saved .bigxl session file.