Recommendation: Save to the hard disk (in a non-synced folder), then copy the complete file to the synced folder afterwards using your file manager.

(Programmer's note: saving pieces in temporary files, or saving using file append rather than opening the file and using one continuous write operation, can contribute to this) the complete file gets finished on the hard disk, but the incomplete chunk file finishes being uploaded/saved a second or two later), and the sync program can decide the incomplete cloud file is newer than the complete file on the hard disk, resulting in overwriting the complete file on the disk with the incomplete file on the cloud server. The sync operation can potentially block other chunks being written. write out a layer, do some processing, write out another layer), a sync program (to Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, some auto-backup and versioning software, etc) can result in a sync operation after one chunk has been written but before the whole file is finished, resulting in an incomplete file on the cloud storage. Recommendation: If you can save all the significant information in more than one format, do so. In this case, save at important points as. Disk space is a lot cheaper than my time and mental health. A good version control system will also do this for you, but sometimes it is easier to just to Save As and increment the filename yourself (see also sync problems below). I'm paranoid, I tend to have about one per half-hour of work, and often have different versions of a project well into the double figures. So file01, file02, file03 (or fileA, fileB, fileC). Recommendation: You should have at least one file for every stage (pencilling, inking, etc) or for every hour of work. Save in stages (applies to any software):

Love your technology, but don't trust it. You've learned a valuable lesson but, like many valuable lessons, it comes at a significant cost. I'm afraid the file is probably corrupted and you've lost your work. You've spent hours on a single project, saved it, but when you open it again later FireAlpaca either crashes or it open with empty layers, or only one or two of the many layers that should be there, or like an older version of the file. This question has come up a few times recently, so the answer seems worth preserving.

Firealpaca drawing program