Hi there - I'm a single user of FMP - not server. I use a custom created template for my work, so I don't have a lot of access to scripts and whatnot. The other day I had a crash and lost a LOT of work, and I'm trying to save myself some headache in the future. Is there a good way of generating backup files automatically? Maybe a plugin? I've been searching and most of the solutions I've found are for server. Even local backups would be fine as I do not always have internet access at work.
When you close FileMaker in the evening, a normal backup software like Backblaze or Apple’s Time Machine will copy the file to backup and keep it.
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You can create a script to run Save A Copy As, choose the folder location and add a timestamp to the new filename within the script.
This could be run from the Scripts menu, or as a keyboard shortcut or possibly call the script via an OnTimer script, although this could run at an inconvenient time. However, it is always worth the short wait to protect your data.
You should regularly clear out the backup folder and copy off to external media or location.
This has worked well for locally run systems in the past and assumes you can at least create a script in your system. Otherwise you could do this manually from the File menu.
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Save a copy as script step like @AndyHibbs said. It can be set to trigger when file is closed. Then you get everytime a new backup when you close the file.
I have a couple clients in a similar situation as you describe. I do what @AndyHibbs has outlined, where a copy of the file is saved upon closing the file, or by clicking a button anytime an immediate backup is desired. I include a history table so that if a backup has already been made on the same day, the user is asked if they’d like it run again when closed or skipped to avoid redundant copies.
The location where saved can be an internal drive or an attached external drive, or a combination.
And as Andy mentioned, including date and time in the resulting file name is appropriate.
If you save backups to a folder stored in the cloud, e.g. Dropbox, you automatically have a cloud backup and you keep a history there for a few weeks.
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An option matching Andy Hibbs suggestion:
Set Variable [ $file ; Value: Get(FileName)&".fmp12" ]
Save a Copy as [ “$file” ; copy of current file ; Create folders: Off ]
Run it OnLastWindowClose file level script trigger