Data Issues

How do I back up my data? (Yes, you should make backups)
A Snap-Plus database is just a folder with a bunch of .FF2 (and other) files in it. The default directory for user data is SnapPlus\MySnapPlusData. If you have farm data created before version 1.110, data might be in SnapPlus\data\WI\ instead. These folders can be copied anywhere, just like any other folder. If you have grouped all your Snap-Plus databases in one place (like in the MySnapPlusData folder), that will make it easier to back up.

Although you should make backups, there is no reason to keep too many copies of your data. That can get confusing. So you might back up your Snap-Plus data once a week, (or when you make changes if you're not editing very often) and maybe keep just the last two backups, deleting any older ones on your hard drive.

A good place to store backups is on a writable CD which you keep specifically for the purpose. Just remember you can't run Snap-Plus with data on a CD because it can't be written in real time. You have to copy it off the CD to use it. If you put a date in the backup name, it will be easier to identify old ones later.
There are several ways that you might do the actual copying for backups:

• Use the Windows File Explorer to copy the MySnapPlusData folder (or whichever folder you use for Snap-Plus data) to another location on your hard drive, to a CD or to even to a flash drive.
• You can use the Windows Backup Utility to back up just your Snap-Plus data. See the Windows help file for instructions on using this utility.
• Use a compression utility such as WinZip, PKZip or even Windows XP ("Send to compressed folder") to make a zipped copy of the data and then move that to your backup location. See the FAQ on file compression for more detail.
• Use the "File/Copy" menu item in Snap-Plus to copy individual databases to another location. This option is not good for a full Snap-Plus backup because it only copies one database at a time.