VS-Dir and TrEx webmaster information - Backing up your website and script
An e information article
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No matter what type of Skeleton or TrEx script you run, it is always a good idea to make a backup of your site customizations and data on a regular basis. Even if your server runs back ups for you, you still want to back up files for yourself. It is very easy to back up your site in digital files which you store on your own computer. Should you need to restore your site for any reason, the system creates 3 backup files for you which will re-create your entire website and databases easily. Creating back up files is done in several steps:
Load and Save
The first step in creating your back up files, is to go to Load and Save in Core Controls. Put in the User Name and Password to your site in the Load and save site customizations Form found on the Left Hand Side of the page.
Load TO:
If you have made Customization Changes to your website - added content to any page for example - you will want to Check the Save TO icon. Then click on the Do this icon. This will save all your website customizations to your server. If you have no new Customizations, you can skip the Save TO step, and do only the Load FROM.
Load FROM:
Load FROM creates the database information (members database, sites and ads database, etc) which you then use to create the downloadable Zip files you will save to your computer. To do a Load From, check the Load FROM icon and then click on the Do this icon. Once you have done the optional Save TO and a Load FROM, go to Backups in Core Control to create the actual files you will download to your computer.
Note on the Right Hand Red Box area in Load/Save: this section is used primarily to delete Customization files you do not want to keep. Use this feature with care. It can in fact blow all your Customizations and Temporary Files away.
Backups:
The Backups Section of Core Controls is where you create zip files to download to your computer. The backup files are used to easily restore any Skeleton script like a TrEx script or VS-Dir.
The Back up files process:
In order to have a complete set of backup files, you create three (3) different files: an sql file, a dat file, and a customizations file. You will see two (2) items to check - Make a customization backup and Make a database backup. Check both boxes. Click on Run Backup. A new window or tab will open and the files will be created. Note: turn your pop up blocker off or add this function page to your exceptions. If you block the page from opening in a new tab or window, it will be unable to perform the service.
Refresh the Back up tab. You will find 3 files in the list you save to your computer:
* custdate.zip... delete:
* datadate.gz... delete:
* datadate.sql... delete:
Right click on each file to download to a folder on your computer.
It is recommended that you create a separate folder for each trex script you own somewhere on your desktop or in Documents which you can easily find. Example: I created a folder for each of the 3 traffic exchanges I manage on my desktop. Inside that folder I create a folder for the year, then one for each month. I back up my sites at least once a week, plus make customization backups each time I change the webpages on my sites. We have used those back up files to do everything from completely restore a website after a server move, as well as restore memberships that mysteriously disappeared.
Remove the Back up data:
Once you have saved the files to your computer, you will want to remove those files from your server immediately for security reasons. You will notice the statement delete: is checked by each file by default. Leave those checked, then click on the Run Backup icon again. As when the files were created, a new window will open and the files will be removed. Once the back up files are removed, Refresh the Backup Section in your browser. The back up files should now be removed from the list.
Extract Member data into a text file:
The Member Extract is optional. It is usefull as it allows you to search for specific member information on your computer. This is easier than going through a .dat file on your server.
Towards the bottom of the Backups Section you will find the Forms to extract membership data. You have choices as to what types of files you want to create, Members to Extract, as well as what fields to extract. Make your choices then click on the Extract Members Icon. A new window or tab will open up in your browser containing the information you requested. Use Ctrl A to select the entire page, then Ctrl C to copy the information. Create a text document, paste in the information into the document (Ctrl V), then save. Note that when you choose to extract Internal Users, that is all that function will do. You cannot extract members plus internal users in one file. That function is either or. It is useful to have both types of records Extracted to your computer as these are much easier to search through for information than looking through dat files on your server.
When finished with your copy and paste, simply close out the window with the Members Data.
You have now successfully created a complete set of back up files. These will be used to restore any lost data in the event of a server crash, hack, or other event which damages or destroys your site. Experience has proven that relying solely on Server Back ups or tapes is not always effective. Restoring from Server Tapes and back up files can be problematic, and does not always work. While Rich Parker can always install a new script in the event of castrophic, a new script still involves resetting all your preferences and customizations.
Restoring sites and data from the files the Skeleton Script creates has a track record of 100% success. Restoring a trex script from the back up files is the quickest and easiest way to get any trex script back up and running with least amount of time and effort.
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