Hammond Consulting, Inc. cannot stress enough the importance of a good backup system. A lost or damaged data file can be devastating (not only for current jobs but the tedious task of re-entering everything). Luckily all that information is contained in 1 central file making it easy to incorporate it in a daily schedule for backing up.
· Single User Versions
1) By default, all of your Jobs, Customers and other settings will be contained in this location and file: C:\Doorlister\Data\DataDL.mdb.
2) Simply copying this file to any other storage means is a way of backing up everything.
3) If the machine has a CD Burner, you can simply just burn that one DataDL.mdb file, or just burn the entire C:\Doorlister folder. Make sure that Doorlister® is not running when this or any kind of backup takes place.
4) Another very common device making its way into the market place are tiny USB Thumbdrives, or FlashDrives. These are very convenient to use and have no moving parts. Simply copying the Data file to one of these can be done in a matter of seconds and can prevent hours of possible disaster. If you need any assistance in setting up a good backup policy for your operation, please contact Doorlister® Support.
· Network User Versions
1) The File Server in place should already have a backup system in place whether it be a Tape Drive, back up hard drive or DVD-RAM discs. Usually since these servers house other sensitive data (user files, QuickBooks® data) there is some kind of backup in-place. Make sure that the DataDL.mdb file is included in the current backup system and that it is working! I would even suggest testing a mock recovery session (move the current DataDL.mdb to a temp folder and try to recover the backed up one) and see if you have 100% recovery.
2) We have also implemented custom batch files that will backup the data file from a server location to a users local machine. These can be created and implemented relatively easily. After everyone is out of Doorlister® for the day, a file can be double clicked and in a matter of seconds the file is copied locally. If that server was to be dead in the morning a temporary redirection to any other computer could be made and Jobs could continue being entered within minutes as the server is repaired. Contact Doorlister® Support for any help in creating these batch files.