Reconcile + No Snapshot: post-import reconciliation and restore caveat

When you import Episodes into an existing script book, Slima runs a Reconcile step at the end so the imported scenes' characters and locations link to the right entries in your existing bible. "No snapshot" is a separate notice that can appear after you replace an episode's scenes with an imported file, when no pre-replace version snapshot could be created.

What Reconcile is

When you import Episodes, the scenes you bring in mention character and location names. Reconcile's job is to connect each of those names to the matching entry in your existing Character Bible / Locations — so a person who appears in the imported scenes is recognised as the same character you already have, not a stray duplicate.

Reconcile shows two counts at the top:

• Auto-linked: N — names it matched on its own (an exact match within the series, or a name you'd already listed as an alias)
• Needs your decision: N — names it couldn't link confidently, listed for you to resolve

When Reconcile runs

Reconcile is not a standalone tool and there is no entry for it in Series settings. It runs automatically as the last step of the Episode import flow, after the imported scenes have been written. The import dialog simply switches to the Reconcile panel; you finish reconciling there before the dialog closes.

Reconcile UI

The panel is split into Characters and Locations. Each section lists only the names that still need your decision — anything auto-linked is already done.

For each unresolved name you get one row:

• The imported name on the left.
• A dropdown of candidate bible entries to link it to. Close matches are labelled, e.g. (fuzzy) for a near-miss spelling or (other scope) for a match in a different season/episode scope.
• A + Create new character / + Create new location option, for when the name really is someone new.

There are also Create all as new characters / Create all as new locations shortcuts if none of the imported names belong to existing entries.

Once every row is resolved (or skipped for later), click Finish linking.

"Replaced, but no snapshot"

This notice is specific to the replace flow: when you drop an import file onto an existing episode row to overwrite that episode's scenes. Normally Slima creates a version snapshot just before the replace so you can roll back from Version Control. If that snapshot can't be created, the scenes are still replaced, but you'll see a one-time "Replaced, but no snapshot" dialog.

The most common reason is that your plan doesn't include automatic snapshots — Pro keeps a pre-replace version automatically, so the dialog offers an Upgrade Pro button. Less often it's a temporary version error (for example the book has no active version branch yet, or the snapshot service hit a transient error).

It's a one-time message, not a permanent flag on the book. The episode's new scenes are saved either way; you just don't have an automatic roll-back point for that specific replace.

If you see it

• On Pro, this normally won't appear; if it does, the warning will name the reason (e.g. no version branch yet).
• Keep a manual backup of important work before destructive replaces — see Bulk-import from .slima backup.
• Dismiss the dialog and keep writing; only the automatic roll-back point for that one replace is missing.

Prevention

• Export a .slima backup before a destructive replace, so you always have a restore point.
• Initialise version control for the book first if you want automatic pre-replace snapshots.

Reconcile matching notes

Reconcile only auto-links names it's confident about — an exact match within the series, or a name you'd already saved as an alias. For everything else, including near-miss spellings (surfaced with a (fuzzy) label), it never decides for you: it leaves the name in the Needs your decision list so you choose the right bible entry or create a new one.

Note that Reconcile matches character and location names — duplicate episodes are handled earlier, during import: if an imported file collides with an episode that already exists, that step lets you choose Overwrite, Append as next, or Skip this file.

Related

• Import script to new book
• Episode single + bulk import
• Bulk-import from .slima backup
• Auto-version rules