Re: differences between backups

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Posted by John on April 16, 2007 at 13:55:09:

In Reply to: Re: differences between backups posted by Mark on April 16, 2007 at 11:27:07:

: : Mark,

: : I've searched the message board trying to get clear about the differences between "auto backup" and "backup", but I'm still confused. I can see that they produce a different set of files from each other, but I'm not clear what the need/benefit is for having both of them. Here's a couple questions that I hope will give you an idea where I'm confused:

: : Why doesn't "auto backup" create a .bak porfolio file?

: : Can one completely restore one's entire set of portfolios from the results of "auto backup"?

: : If so, why use "backup"?

: : If not, why use "auto backup"?

: : Thanks,

: : -John
: :

: Hi John,

: Good questions... Let me start by saying that neither one of these backups is perfect, and both need some improvements.

: The "File / Backup" command can be used to create a copy of all your investment files, and their original location, as stored in the .bak file. You can then use the "File / Restore..." to put back all the investment files in their original location. This backup also allows you to save the backup anywhere you want when you do the backup. There are a couple items not ideal about this though: 1) You can't choose to restore to a different location. 2) This does not backup/restore the portfolio file (*.mm4).

: The autobackup feature does backup the portfolio file as well as all the investments. This backup does not retain the folder hierarchy though, everything is put in one folder, and investments are renamed with their sub-portfolio as a prefix. The restore from this backup is a manual process. You can completely restore everything, but it would be some work, it isn't automated.

: If you do any system backups the easiest thing to do is have that software include backing up your FM data folder(s). Most backup software has quite a bit more flexibility / power than FM's built in backup/restore features. All of FM's backups are just making copies of your data files and storing them somewhere else, so you can do the same thing with a 3rd party backup product.

: Thanks,
: Mark
: --
: Fund Manager - Portfolio Management Software

Mark,

Thanks for the clarification. Based on what you said, I think I'm just going to make backup copies of the data folder myself, but I'm still a bit confused as to why the backup command doesn't do that. Why leave out the portfolio file?

Just to be clear, am I correct in understanding that the data folder contains *all* the data I need in order to restore things?

I have a couple related questions regarding the other files in the data folder. I noticed that the investment files saved with the backup command don't include files that have been closed, so I'm wondering:

Is it ok to remove closed investment data files from the data folder?

Is there a way to have all closed investment data files automatically found and removed from FM?

If I want to rename investment data files without confusing the program, is the best way to close the investment, rename the file, and then reopen the investment with the new name?

Thanks,

-John

Replies:

• Re: differences between backups Mark 14:09:26 04/16/07 (1)
  • Re: differences between backups John 14:42:04 04/16/07 (0)