# Profiles

A **profile** is a numbered save slot, such as profile `0` or profile `1`. Data marked as **Profile** belongs to exactly one slot. Data marked as **Shared** sits outside every profile and remains the same when the loaded slot changes.

## Working with profiles

| Instruction | Does |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Save Profile** | Gathers everything profile-scoped and writes it to a slot. |
| **Load Profile** | Restores a slot, loading its scene first. |
| **Save Shared** | Writes only the shared data, without touching any slot. |
| **Unload Profile** | Discards the loaded state and returns to a fresh game. |
| **Delete Profile** | Deletes the save file. |

| Condition | Asks |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Has Any Saved Game** | Does any slot contain a save? |
| **Has Saved Game** | Does this particular slot contain a save? |
| **Is Save Loaded** | Has a save been loaded during this session? |

Signals report the metadata a save menu needs: the **date** a slot was written, the **last saved profile**, and the **current profile**.

## Building a save menu

Use save Conditions to decide which controls to show and Signals to display each slot's metadata.

!!! example "Continue appears only when a save exists"
    Add an Event to the **Continue** button to load the saved game. Use **Has Any Saved Game** in an **If** to hide the button when no save exists:

    ![An Event with an example to Continue the saved game](assets/event-continue.jpg)

    A fresh install hides **Continue**; once a save exists, the player can select it to resume.

For a slot list, a **Foreach** over a number range gives you one pass per slot, with **Index** as the profile number. Inside, a **Has Saved Game** Condition decides whether to draw a date or the word *Empty*.

![An Event showing all saved game profiles](assets/event-list-saved-games.jpg)

## Single-save games

For a single-save game, use profile `0` for both autosaving and **Continue**. You don't need to expose profile numbers to the player.

## Choosing a profile number

Profile numbers are integers, so a Signal can provide them. A slot button can pass its index, while an autosave can use a dedicated number outside the manual slot range.

!!! tip "Reserve a slot for autosaves"
    For example, reserve profile `99` for autosaves and keep the manual slot list below that number. Autosaving then avoids overwriting a manual save.

## Shared data

**Save Shared** writes data outside the numbered profiles. This data loads automatically and remains available when the player switches slots or starts a new game.

| Belongs in Shared | Belongs in a Profile |
| :--- | :--- |
| Audio and graphics settings | Position, health, inventory |
| Key bindings | Quest progress |
| Unlocked characters or levels | The current scene |
| High scores and statistics | Anything about the current playthrough |

!!! warning "Shared data survives a profile being erased"
    Deleting a profile erases that slot, not the shared data. If you provide a reset option for all game data, include shared data in that operation.

## Loading and scenes

**Load Profile** loads the scene the save recorded before restoring anything. Which scene, and whether additive scenes come back too, is controlled by the load policy in [Save settings](settings.md).

If the load destroys the Event's game object with the previous scene, that Event can't continue afterward. Place follow-up logic where it survives the scene transition.

## Where to go next

- **[Save settings](settings.md)** — choose where and how saves are written.
- **[Remember](remember.md)** — mark game objects as save subscribers.
- **[Global Variables](../variables/global-variables.md)** — assign asset state to a profile or shared location.