this thread is a gut punch but i needed it just realised my 'holy grail' was repainting the whole time. back to the drawing board but at least i know now instead of after blowing an account.
yes if you edit simultaneously you can get conflict copies. realistically you edit on one machine at a time so its rarely an issue, but the habit that saves you is: make changes in one place, let it sync, then open the others. treat one machine as the source of truth and the rest as read-only mirrors.
yes basically. with portable mode the terminal keeps everything in its own folder, so you zip that folder while the terminal is closed and you have a complete restore point including your EAs, settings and logins. label it with the build number so you know what youre rolling back to.
2h most useful non-standard. stick to standard timeframes where market attention is concentrated unless your specific strategy benefits from the alternative view.