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CAUTION: Reliance upon the built-in a5 backup tools is a "risky" proposition!

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    #46
    Re: CAUTION: Reliance upon the built-in a5 backup tools is a "risky" proposition!

    Steve, Is the info I have in my .a5bak files unrecoverable?
    Wes

    Comment


      #47
      Re: CAUTION: Reliance upon the built-in a5 backup tools is a "risky" proposition!

      The a5bak files are only useful for restoring prior versions of layouts, not an entire set.

      In the control panel, forms tab (for example) highlight a form name based on a set, right click, choose Restore Prior Version.
      There can be only one.

      Comment


        #48
        Re: CAUTION: Reliance upon the built-in a5 backup tools is a "risky" proposition!

        For goodness sakes. Put the app and data under your applkication folder and back up your entire database application and app data all together (code attached). It will save you countless hours as it has me, all the time!! I go back to prior backups all the time, easily (usually when I screw something up). I back up our app, which we named URSA (UNIVERSAL RESOURCE SHARED APPLICATION), almost everything every night, and keep the last 10 backups. Our app is 16 GB and growing and takes ~ 11 minutes to back up (time to backup in the script). It has
        tables 200
        forms 133
        UDFs 1128
        Scripts 87
        Operations 47
        Reports 84
        Labels 14
        Browses 17
        Folders and files holding PDF, TXT, DOC, XLS, JPG, and others - alot, maybe 4000 at this juncture.

        Save yourself by saving it all!
        Attached Files
        Mike W
        __________________________
        "I rebel in at least small things to express to the world that I have not completely surrendered"

        Comment


          #49
          Re: CAUTION: Reliance upon the built-in a5 backup tools is a "risky" proposition!

          The Help Text for V11 and V12 says that the Backup works at the Database Level. It has not been updated.
          A dropped table is still in the Database so I believe it should be backed up. If you don't want it, delete it.
          When you back up a SQL database, just because a table isn't being used doesn't mean it is excluded.
          It does NOT say at the Workspace Level, which I suppose it should but then updating a User Help is not the most exciting thing in the world when you are not expecting to support it for much longer.
          A lot of us have been around long enough to take a complete Folder backup before messing with stuff, but new users might be in for a bit of a shock when they find a dropped table - still in the database - won't restore.
          See our Hybrid Option here;
          https://hybridapps.example-software.com/


          Apologies to anyone I haven't managed to upset yet.
          You are held in a queue and I will get to you soon.

          Comment


            #50
            Re: CAUTION: Reliance upon the built-in a5 backup tools is a "risky" proposition!

            Originally posted by Ted Giles View Post
            A dropped table is still in the Database so I believe it should be backed up.
            I have to disagree with you on this. I believe the "database level" means in it's in the A5 control panel. A table or set that has been dropped would still be in the "folder level" but not the "database level".

            Disclaimer: I'm about 2 weeks behind right now so didn't take the time to verify this but I'm 99.9% sure this is the case - or at least was in earlier versions. That's part of the reason I built my own AIMS A5 Backup addon.

            Comment


              #51
              Re: CAUTION: Reliance upon the built-in a5 backup tools is a "risky" proposition!

              A Database is defined as a collection of data. That includes all used and unused tables.
              Database Management System is Alpha. That is the Workspace.
              So when Alpha offers to backup a Database, it really means it is backing up the DBMS.

              I know it's only semantics, but as Rob Tucker - who started this and is certainly no dummy when it comes to Alpha - found out, the text in the guide book can or may be be misleading to a new user.
              Once you have a few Alpha Callouses, you roll with the punches.
              See our Hybrid Option here;
              https://hybridapps.example-software.com/


              Apologies to anyone I haven't managed to upset yet.
              You are held in a queue and I will get to you soon.

              Comment


                #52
                Re: CAUTION: Reliance upon the built-in a5 backup tools is a "risky" proposition!

                FWIW, Ted and I are saying the same thing about how the backup works. The terminology has been changing over the years and that adds to the confusion. For example, what Alpha is now calling the Workspace used to be called the Database.

                In addition, I just checked and, by default, the built in backup still only selects the tables/sets listed in the A5 Control Panel - whether in the main folder (where the .adb file is) or not. In other words, according to Alpha's semantics the "database" (now the "workspace" but the term probably hasn't been updated everywhere it's used) is just those files that are listed in the control panel whether they are in the current folder or not. This makes sense because you could actually have multiple applications (or 'workspaces' or 'databases' depending on which terminology you want to use) in the same folder.

                You can add other files to the backup as long as they are in the main application folder or a subfolder of the main application but that requires you to create the list of additional files.

                CAUTION: If you have your application in the "E:\MyApplication" folder but one or more tables listed in the A5 Control Panel is, for example, in the "C:\Something_else" folder, that file in the C:\Something_else folder will be included in the backup BUT it will be restored under the "E:\MyApplication\Something_else" folder.

                Comment


                  #53
                  Re: CAUTION: Reliance upon the built-in a5 backup tools is a "risky" proposition!

                  Caution comment above.
                  Good catch Cal.
                  See our Hybrid Option here;
                  https://hybridapps.example-software.com/


                  Apologies to anyone I haven't managed to upset yet.
                  You are held in a queue and I will get to you soon.

                  Comment

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