How Do I Backup My Database?
Note: The instructions below apply to the Single User and Networked editions of our software only. If you are on the SQL edition, please contact your IT administrator for steps on how to backup your SQL database. More than likely it involves a SQL export to a .BAK file, and possibly a copy of the .MDF file in C:\FMP_DATA\.
Backups are very important! If your server computer ever crashes or ceases to function, the only way you will be able to retrieve your data is via a backup file. If you do not have a backup file to restore from then you would have to completely start from scratch.
For Single Edition customers, we recommend setting up an automatic backup of the C:\ProgramData\IMS\Fleet Maintenance Pro\ directory, as the DATA folder within contains your database. You may use any automated backup solution you prefer, as long as the entire directory gets backed up on a regular basis.
For Network Edition customers, we recommend setting up an automatic backup of the C:\FMP_DATA\ directory on your server computer. You may use any automated backup solution you prefer, as long as the entire directory is backed up on a regular basis. Please note, this is the default data directory for the server installation. If you've modified the installation parameters your data may be located in a different folder. Contact your IT administrator for more information.
For both editions of our software, there is the capability of making one-time .zip backups and creating auto-generated .zip files. We will go over these in detail in the rest of the article.
Creating A One-Time Backup Of Your Data
Our software will backup your database into a .zip format. The .zip file contains a copy of all of your database files which store your maintenance records, equipment, etc. As long as you have this .zip file then you will be able to restore your data if needed.
You can create a .zip backup of your data from any computer with access to the database. To create a one-time immediate backup of your data, please follow these steps:
- Make sure all other users are out of the system.
- Go to File at the top menu.
- Click on Backup:
- On the next screen, select a backup location. You can choose any backup location you would like:
- Make sure that 'Include Images' and 'Include Reports' stay checked. We want to include these in our backup.
- Click on the Backup button. The software still start to create the .zip file. You will get a pop-up whenever it's complete:
Setting Up The Auto-Backup Feature
The auto-backup feature automatically creates a .zip file upon closing of the software. You can specify the frequency of creating the .zip files, and you can specify how many .zip files you'd like our software to retain.
Go to Setup in the top menu and then click the Settings option. Click the Backups tab. You will be presented with the Backups screen below:
Check the option 'Enable Auto-Backup' to turn the automatic backup feature on.
Backup every __ days - This is the backup frequency. If you want our software to create a backup every day, set it to 1 day.
Maintain last __ backups - This tells the software how many .zip files to keep in the backup path.
Backup Path - This is the directory the .zip files get saved to. You can set this to any path you would like, including a shared network location.
Please note: It is still your responsibility to copy the automatically created .zip files to a storage location that is accessible in case of an emergency. For example, if you auto-backup to \\server\sharedfolder\ and your server computer crashes, that means all of your backups on the server are also lost. Please make sure to have multiple copies of your .zip files saved elsewhere, such as memory sticks, backup drives, on the cloud, etc. This way, you always have access to a .zip file that you can restore from.