Back Up Database

If you have not already done so, we recommend you read the general overview of backing up data and recovery, Backup and Recovery Options.

Although we strongly recommend that you have a complete, automated daily backup procedure for your entire computer and/or network, FF&EZ includes a utility that will back up your data files and optionally, all your image files and/or the current installer to a location of your choosing. The files are saved into a standard compressed archive format (the "zip" format), resulting in a single file that can be easily transferred or emailed if needed.

Important! Please verify that your zip backup file is "good" when you first use this command! On some Windows systems, Windows refuses to "unlock" FF&EZ database files even though FF&EZ has closed them. If this happens, your backup will contain some data files with zero bytes in the "Size" column. In our experience, if your version of Windows does this at all, it will consistently do it. If it does not, then your system may not be susceptible to the problem. If you open the zip file and find that the "Data" folder contains any files with a size of "0" you should use the alternate backup method under Create External Backup instead.

To access the backup function, start on FF&EZ's main screen and select the Utilities option, then the Backup database command. Best practice: If you have been working in FF&EZ, close the program and then re-enter it before proceeding.

Once you:

understand how the backup utility works...
that you do not have the "zero-byte" problem described above and...
have saved the location where you want to create your backups...

...you can run a backup as you quit from FF&EZ, using shortcuts that are available on the Quit button on the main screen (not the editing screens). More about the shortcuts appears below.

Setup Controls

The following options can be used to control what is backed up and where the backup file is created:

Backup scope	You have two choices plus one option for making your backup: Data files only - This is a faster, smaller backup containing the most labor intensive portion of your data. You may want to use this to make a "snapshot" backup of your data before starting major modifications* or as an off-site copy to put on a USB "disk" drive before leaving for the day. Data and image files - On newer systems, there may be little difference between this scope and the first, but as your system accumulates more data and images, the size of the backup will increase also. Since images tend to be JPEG files that are already compressed, this backup will eventually be much larger than the first type. However, you will want to choose this scope from time to time to get a backup of all your files, especially if you add lots of images. The "Include support files" option, which can be used with either scope, is to include the user-replaceable support files, such as report designs, in the backup. Since these are normally supplied as part of an update to the system, it is a good idea to back up your current set along with your data prior to installing an update. This option also includes the most recent workstation installer found in the "Workstation" folder, meaning that you can recover your FF&EZ system from a complete hardware failure if you have a "full" backup stored on another (working) device. For this reason, we recommend that you make a full backup with this option after installing a software update, so that the installer you just used is backed up. The full backup of a new version only needs to be done one time, since after that point, only the database and images will change. Just below these options, the system will display the approximate compressed size of the backup. The target disk will need to have at least that much free space on it. Please note: The backup file does not contain anything located under the "FF&EZ-Import" and "FF&EZ-Export" folders. These are considered to contain temporary files. If you want a backup of these, they will be part of any regular Windows backup plan that includes your personal "documents" folder.
File name	Normally, this option creates a separate backup file "date-stamped" for each day you run it. The file name will use this pattern: FFEZ-BKUP-yyyy-mm-dd.ZIP ...where yyyymmdd is replaced by a code for the year, month and date. On the other hand, if you wish to back up to the same file name each time or need to create a specially-named backup, you can enter a desired name of your own ("ZIP" will be appended automatically to the name). If you select the "Include support files" option, you will also have the option to name the file based on your current version instead of the date. For example: FFEZ-BKUP-VERS-0302076.ZIP Note: If the backup utility is called as part of the Update Software utility, the file name will automatically use this "current version" file name. This flags the backup as one containing the version that is about to be replaced (in this example, the 3.2.76 installer), making it easier to identify the previous installer in the (unlikely) case an update has to be uninstalled.
Create backup file in...	The final option is to tell the system where to make the backup. Two common locations are provided plus a user-defined one: FF&EZ-Export - This is a standard folder created beneath your personal documents folder and is the default target for all "outgoing" files from FF&EZ. Desktop - This option places the backup file on your Desktop, making it a little more accessible for emailing or "dropping" into Internet storage services. User-defined - Any location or device you specify (using the Select button on the left). Since the best kinds of backups are those made on some other device, we recommend using this option to create the backup on another PC, an external USB "stick" or hard drive or a "cloud" storage service like Dropbox or OneDrive.
Save current location as the default	Since making regular backups is supposed to be a "habit," this option allows you to save the location you use each time so that the backup utility uses that location automatically in the future. To change the default location later, just use this option again (normally you only need to use it once). We highly recommend that you set up another drive (secondary disk, network, USB or "cloud" service) as the backup location and save this as the default. This guarantees an easy recovery if you have a major disk or system failure. See "Restoring Backups" below. If you use a USB device, be sure it is plugged in first and always observe the "safely remove hardware" practices before detaching it.
Close FF&EZ when done	If you check this box, FF&EZ will automatically close once the backup is done. This is convenient if you make a backup before quitting FF&EZ for the day. The shortcuts described below set this option automatically.

*Note: Although the Backup utility makes a complete backup of your whole database, you may also make a backup of a single design project using the Export command on the Project Screen. This can also save just the project data (including associated clients and vendors) or the data plus the associated images. Exported projects can be imported into your own database under a new project ID or after you change the ID on the original. Please note that project backups do not include orders! The only way to backup and restore orders is with a complete database backup like the utility described above.

Backup Shortcuts

In addition to running the backup manually, if you close all other FF&EZ screens, you can quickly run a backup from the main screen as part of quitting from FF&EZ. This is done by using a special shortcut in the form of a modified "click" on the Quit button. This is currently available only on the main (opening) screen:

Click	Immediately quits the program with no backup (the original behavior).
Right-click	Backs up just the FF&EZ database, then quits.
Shift-click	Backs up the database and image library, then quits.
Ctrl-click	Backs up the database, images, support files and installer, then quits. This type of backup can be used for a disaster recovery, along with the most recent data and image backup.

If you use any of these backup "click" options, you will be asked to confirm whether you want to back up, want to quit without a backup or cancel and return to the main screen.

Remember: Using a shortcut implies you are closing FF&EZ after having done work in it. Don't use a shortcut if your system is susceptible to the "zero-byte file" problem described at the beginning of this section.