Auto Save / Crash Recovery for WYSIWYG

In addition to some of the architectural / behind the scene features we discussed in previous articles, we also came up with very interesting ideas that aim to improve users experience for the next version of our forum software.
 
One feature that stands out which everyone will benefit immediately is the Auto Save / Crash Recovery capability we build into the Rich Text Editor.
 
At this moment, as a rule of thumb to prevent loss of effort, it has always been a good idea to keep a copy of your post locally (notepad, e.g.) before submitting. It is because anything can happen during the HTTP POST process (browser crash especially common with multiple tabs open, network problem, etc.), and you can potentially lose a good half hour of your typing if you are not being cautious.
 
Actually, all web apps that promote user communication are plagued with this problem, but it is especially true for forum software because users usually compose longer messages here compared to say a comment box for photos or someone's profile.
 
In light of this common issue, we have created an Auto Save / Crash Recovery feature for the Rich Text editor in version 4. This feature is integrated into the toolbar for the editor, making it easily accessible and is also fully automatic.
 

Features and Benefits

The Auto Save (draft) / Crash Recovery feature has the following benefits:

1. The editor automatically saves your message at a preset interval(admin configurable);
2. You can also manually click on the editor Save button to perform a manual save without waiting for the auto feature to kick in;
3. You can keep multiple drafts for a period of time (admin configurable, i.e. deleted after x days);
4. It works on regular message posting, quick reply as well as PM;
5. You can browse your saved drafts and quickly recover any one of them with a mouse click;
6. The data is saved on the server, so you can close the browser at will and get back to your message any time you wish;
7. Draft is automatically deleted when the message is safely posted to the database;
8. Optional: Admins and Moderators can Keep a draft for future use by making it permanent (not affected by automatic clean up and remain intact after the message is posted)

With this feature, users will enjoy a peace of mind without any fear that the effort going into a message may be lost because of some computer glitches. It is also very convenient without the need to engage in some cumbersome and inefficient tools (e.g. Notepad with possibility to lose all formatting) to save messages as a precaution.
 
Thanks for your time, and feel free to browse the following screenshots for a sneak peak into this handy feature you will find in Version 4.