Windows tutorials › Backups, packages and exchange
Backups, packages and exchangeCreate a backup of your project
Save a recoverable copy of the project to a folder you choose, ideally on another disk.
Before you start
- A project is open.
Steps
Open the project menu and click Create Backup… under BACKUP & PORTABILITY.
The Create Backup dialog opens over your project.
Read Backup name. Type a Label (optional) if you want one, for example before-rewrite.
The dialog says: A recoverable copy of supported project state. The Backup name cannot be typed in. It is made from the project name, the date and time, and your label, and it ends in .ofbackup. A label is up to 80 characters, and characters Windows does not allow in file names are replaced with an underscore.
Click Browse… next to Save to, pick a folder in the Windows window and save.
The note says: Choose another disk if you can. Project backups are separate from your active project. A backup on the same disk does not help if the disk fails. Create Backup stays greyed out until you have chosen a place.
Tick Copy linked external files into the backup (portable backup) if your project links to files outside its own folder and you want them in the backup too.
Without it, linked files stay where they are and are not copied. Turn it on when the backup must still work if you move to another computer.
Read WHAT THIS BACKUP CONTAINS, then click Create Backup.
It lists Idea Vault, Beat Board, screenplay drafts, breakdown, catalog, production planning, comments and your private notes. The table shows Files stored in the project with their size and count and the tag Included, Linked external files tagged External, not copied (or Included (copied) when the portable option is on), and Missing linked files tagged Missing. Files named as missing are listed and never counted as saved.
What you get
A backup file ending in .ofbackup is saved in the folder you chose.
Watch out for
- A progress bar with a Cancel button shows while the backup is made. Your project stays open and saved. If you cancel, no backup file is left behind.
- When it finishes, the dialog says Backup created., shows where the file is and how big it is, and offers Show in folder. If it fails, the dialog says why and that your project was not changed.
- Linked files that are missing on this computer are listed. Fix them before relying on the backup.