Help Index → Working with Node View and Raw JSON → Use case 16
Raw JSON’s light reports tab synchronization to Node View. Modified Data Saved tracks edits since live load or verified save. Live Save Loaded reports retained live-source identity, not whether edits are saved.
Before you start
- Compare labels, not colors alone. Do not type or save merely to test indicators.
- Use a successfully loaded live save when comparing normal loaded-state behavior.
- Before any sync, Pretty Print or structured refresh, copy EACH pending Raw JSON pane’s complete text to a separate external file. Successful tab sync refreshes ALL Raw JSON panes and can erase pending text elsewhere.
- A parse error can leave the old tree with a green sync light; an empty [] is silently ignored. Neither green nor a completion notice proves the intended value applied. Preserve text, compare the exact value in both panes, then correct/retry or deliberately reload; Pretty Print can overwrite failed text with the old model.
Steps
- If several panes contain wanted pending work, preserve ALL before any refresh. If applying it, reapply and verify one non-inventory tab at a time; never simply sync each changed tab. Keep inventory text externally and reproduce supported changes with structured tools instead.
- Read Live Save Loaded in the main status area. Green means a live save is loaded or has been saved live; it can remain green while edits are unsaved. (control reference)
- Read Modified Data Saved. Green means no changes have been recorded since the live-load or verified-save baseline. It is not a continuous comparison against the disk. (control reference)
- Inspect the Raw JSON synchronization light in each tab with pending work. A red tab light means its text has not been synchronized to Node View. (control reference)
- For wanted non-inventory text, follow the preserve-all then one-tab sequence and inspect the exact intended values. A green sync light with red Modified Data Saved can be normal, but can also follow a failed parse with an old tree; do not infer success from colors. (control reference)
- Only if you intend to commit the edits, use File > Save NMS Save File, confirm the correct slot/context and require the verified success notice. Otherwise leave the edits in memory or discard them by deliberately reloading. (control reference)
Expected result
- Synchronization can turn the tab light green while the saved-data light remains red.
- Formatting and editor events can conservatively record changes even when you believe only whitespace changed. No live source also prevents a green saved baseline.
What changes, and when to save
Inspecting lights writes nothing. Sync changes app memory. Only separately confirmed live saving writes game files; clipboard export and full backup do not clear unsaved editor status. A refreshed pane is not proof that pending text survived; compare the intended values with your external copies before authorizing a live write.
Check the result
- Check the intended data as well as the lights. A green sync light is not a game-schema validation result.
- After a successful live load or verified live save, confirm the expected baseline indication; do not use it to infer that external programs have left the files unchanged.
Important details and recovery
- External changes are not continuously monitored. Keep the game and other save writers closed.
- Green saved status is not proof of game acceptance or a substitute for an independent backup.
- Inventory Raw JSON synchronization is currently defective: it adds index-keyed data inside inventory dictionaries instead of replacing the intended records. Do not sync or Pretty Print inventory text as an editing workflow; keep it externally, use supported structured inventory tools, and inspect actual Name, Slots and unexpected fields before saving.