Frequently Asked Questions

My backup won't complete. I've deleted some old notes from past shows, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. How do I get my backup to finish?

On current iOS/iPadOS versions, a backup that totals more than about 600 MB will usually fail. The most common cause of an oversized backup is a collection of large Script PDF files you no longer need. Deleting old notes or history entries has little effect, because it's the PDFs that take up most of the space. Here are two ways to bring the backup size down.

Option 1 — Remove old PDFs from within MovieSlate

1. Go to the Script Dept setup screen and tap Choose Script PDF.
2. Tap the Edit button.
3. Tap the red minus button next to each older PDF you're finished with (for example, scripts you've already sent reports for, or revised-pages PDFs you no longer need).
4. Tap the checkmark button when you're done, then try the backup again.

Option 2 — Use the iOS Files app (keeps the files)

1. Open the Files app and tap On My iPad in the sidebar.
2. Tap the MovieSlate folder, then the Scripts folder to see all your script PDFs.
3. Tap Select, tap the circle next to each file you want to remove, then tap the trash icon.
4. Try the backup again.

1. In the Scripts folder, tap Select and choose the older PDFs.
2. Tap and hold one of the selected files until the pop-up menu appears, then choose Move.
3. In the Save window, tap On My iPad, tap New Folder, name it something like Old Scripts, and confirm.
4. Tap Move at the top-right. The files leave MovieSlate's Scripts folder but stay safely on your iPad.
5. Try the backup again — it should now be under the size limit.