I'm not sure why you can't edit them online; have they since been declared Invalid? I've no experience of an invalid arc (plenty of still working but knackered due to patch changes ones!) but is the Edit button greyed out for you?
If it's not, click Edit > Save As Local, then open C:\Where Ever CoH Is\Missions and there'll be a copy of the file there again. However you'll still have to manually copy any changes back into the published version, AND remove what ever is making it invalid if so before the changes will stick. An Arc over 100% for instance won't save any changes until it's back below 100% again.
I believe invalid arcs can still be edited, they just can't be played; the OP has the opposite problem.
If you have two accounts, you can only edit a published arc from the account that published it. The only other reason I can think of is some kind of bug, and for that you would have to contact support.
Just a thought: what happens if you change your global handle? Does it automatically change the global handle listed on your arcs?
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
I can't edit it, though I can unpublish it but I suspect that would destroy it forever.
If you are on the same account that created it, and it gives you the option to unpublish it, you should be able to edit it. If you can't, I would go to an AE building, then /bug it and /petition it. (The 2 systems are supposed to talk to each other, but don't always do so.) When the GM shows from the /petition, explain things to him. He will probably tell you you need to talk to tech support out of game, but it is always worth starting at the bottom.
And you are correct, if you unpublish arcs, they are removed from the servers completely. If you don't have a local copy, they are just removed from existence. So if you want the arc, don't unpublish it before saving a local copy! (There probably is a backup someplace on the NCSoft servers, but I would not want to take a chance that they can find it and put it back.)
Justice Blues, Tech/Tank, Inv/SS
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Fighting The Future Trilogy
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Your arcs are "Paragon Maid Service" etc...? If so, I can see them, and successfully start them, but I cannot as yet find where they may be stored locally for me so I can play them... if at all. I think the GM route is the only way forward, as I've never come across an arc that was valid, but couldn't be accessed for editing.
Out of curiousity, which way are you attempting to open it so can be editted? In other words, are you not seeing the Edit option or can you see it and the option simply isn't working?
Her arcs are not stored locally on your system when you play them. Not any more than the Posi TF is stored on your local system. The only things stored on your local system are things like custom mobs and missions you create.
Justice Blues, Tech/Tank, Inv/SS
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Fighting The Future Trilogy
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Hm. I could've sworn that when you go into edit a published arc, even if it isn't local, and the "save as" function saves a local copy back to your computer.
If you cannot edit a published arc, there may be another issue, as published arcs are saved on a server, not your computer.
You have the option on the MA UI to "Save locally and continue editing". If you hit that one, it prompts you for a file name, then saves the file and you keep editing, but no changes will be made to the online version. I use that button when I have finished updating a published work, so I can keep the latest version on my local machine.
There is no option that allows you to save a local version and continue to edit the live version for republishing. You either make all your edits and re-publish, leaving the editing screen, or save locally and do not make any changes to the published version.
It sounds like she is not even seeing the edit button on the UI, which I believe someone else reported having as a problem in the last few weeks. Found it. Doesn't look like they know exactly why it started working correctly.
Justice Blues, Tech/Tank, Inv/SS
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Fighting The Future Trilogy
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I am the maid arcs yes (those plus a throw away arc I wouldn't recommend to others). The Edit button doesn't show up (it isn't greyed out, its not there).
Thanks everybody. I'll petition and see what the good GM folks have to say.
My computer crashed so bad that I had to re-install windows. In the process I lost the local copies of all my AE creations. However they still exist as published on the game server and I can still play them, just not edit them.
Is there any way to get this data back on my hard drive from the server? I am the one who published it and it knows that. Can it copy itself for me or are my stories perma-published?
To a sidethread I was following earlier - this is a good reason NOT to delete stories that have not been republished by date X. I have no way to do so.