Q: How do I backup my desktop edition?

A: If you are using the Standalone Desktop Edition (where your data is contained in the database file instlled on your workstation, not connected to a database on a server), to backup your database, please follow these steps:

1. Locate your database file. If you do not know where it is, you can try searching for "TRAINTRACK". You will need to find the actual file, not just the shortcut you use to open the file. It should be a large file, at least 20 MB or more.
2. Right-click on the folder where your database is installed and select "Copy".
3. Browse to a safe location, preferably on a separate drive, and create a folder for your backups. We recommend using folder names that include the date the backup was saved (for example, "TRAIN TRACK Backup 191201" or whatever format you prefer).
4. Right-click on the folder and select "Paste".
5. IMPORTANT: Test your backup copy by opening it and verifying that your data is displayed correctly.

If possible, we recommend including TRAIN TRACK in your regular network backup process. Be sure to test your backup copy periodically to make sure it is backing up correctly. Your license allows you to store any number of backup copies, but we recommend keeping daily backups from the past week, and monthly backups for the last few months. The number of backups you create and keep depends on how often you update your dataabase.