# Separate Save and Export features

**URL:** <https://discourse.slicer.org/t/separate-save-and-export-features/3018>\
**Category:** Support\
**Created:** [May 30, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/separate-save-and-export-features/3018 "2018-05-30T13:48:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![lassoan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/lassoan/32/13_2.png) [@lassoan](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/lassoan)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/separate-save-and-export-features/3018/1 "2018-05-30T13:48:13Z")

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Users are often confused by the complexity of save dialog and that they have to choose file formats and decide what files to overwrite. Saving to MRB simplifies things: everything is saved, and only a single file is used. However, it is not easy to discover this option (people don’t even know that single-file save feature exists).

Should we split the current “Save data” dialog to two independent features (listed separately in the menu)?

- Save scene: save as MRB, use only a simple file selector
- Export data: current save data dialog, maybe with MRB option removed

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**Author:** ![jcfr](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/jcfr/32/17825_2.png) [@jcfr](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/jcfr)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/separate-save-and-export-features/3018/2 "2018-05-30T13:58:56Z")

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> Save scene: save as MRB, use only a simple file selector

The dialog could also indicate that MRB are zip files and that using “Export data” allows more granularity by saving each file independently

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**Author:** ![ihnorton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/ihnorton/32/9_2.png) [@ihnorton](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/ihnorton)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2018, 4:44pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/separate-save-and-export-features/3018/3 "2018-05-30T16:44:13Z")

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+1 to clarifying Save vs Export

MRB has double steps of writing to temporary directory and then compression, which can be slow for large scenes. I would suggest to turn off compression, or default to “save to folder” even in this simplified dialog. Perhaps with the folder name corresponding to the MRML filename.

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**Author:** ![pieper](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/pieper/32/8_2.png) [@pieper](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/pieper)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/separate-save-and-export-features/3018/4 "2018-05-31T00:10:17Z")

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I would vote for using a single dialog but with mrb selected by default, and then with a radio button that allows saving individual items.

@ihnorton’s idea of saving the volumes uncompressed when they are going into an mrb is interesting and should be easy to test. I also like offering options to easily organize the data even if it’s not being zipped.

(Slightly related note, I also would like to see the mrml scene loader provide a method to specify the path to any data file that isn’t found at the path specified in the mrml file, i.e. because someone moved or renamed it.)