Backup & Restore

Description

Important files or complete directories can be lost in any number of scenarios. They might accidentally be deleted, a virus might wipe them out or most frequently, they may all of a sudden become unaccessible due to untimely hard drive failure. Backing up data regularly helps protect them from being erased if something catastrophic happens to your computer. The Backup feature in Automate is capable of doing just that. With just a few clicks, it can save backup copies of managed tasks, triggers, and system data onto an Automate archive (.AMA) file. It can also be used as a way to transfer important Automate files from one computer to another when working with several computers or to archive previous versions of a particular task. Any Automate archive file can later be restored with use of the Restore feature.

To access Backup & Restore settings, from the Task Administrator, navigate to Options > System Settings > Backup & Restore.

Related Topics

Parameters

Action

Property Description
Backup/Restore The action to perform. The available options are:
  • Backup - Perform a backup.
  • Restore - Restore a previous backup.
NOTE: Separate Backup and Restore preferences are displayed below.

Backup Preferences

Property Description
Archive location (This is on local computer only) The location (on the local computer) of where to save the Automate backup (.ama) file. The default path and file name is: C:\Users\[username]\Documents\AutoMate 11 backup.ama

This may slightly differ depending on the operating system. To select a different archive  location, click the folder icon and browse to the desired location, or manually enter a path and file name in the provided text box.
Backup tasks and triggers If selected, both tasks and their associated triggers are backed up (enabled by default).
Include constants and system preferences If selected, constants and system preferences are included in the backup (disabled by default).

Restore Preferences

Property Description
Archive location (This is on local computer only) The location (on the local computer) of the Automate backup (.ama) file to restore. Click the folder icon and browse to the desired backup file, or manually enter the path and file name. The default path and file name is C:\Users\[username]\Documents\AutoMate 11 backup.ama (this may slightly differ depending on the operating system).
Restore tasks and triggers (overwrites current tasks) If selected, tasks and their associated triggers are restored (enabled by default).
IMPORTANT: Selecting this option overwrites current tasks.
Restore constants and system preferences If selected, constants and system preferences are restored (disabled by default).

To Backup Automate Data

  1. Select the Backup option.

  2. The Archive location text box comes preloaded with a default path and filename. To select a different archive  location, click the folder icon and browse to the desired location, or manually enter a path and file name of where to save the archive (.ama) file. The default path and filename is:

    C:\Users\{username}\Documents\AutoMate 11 Backup.ama
  3. There are two options to select from when backing up Automate:
    1. Backup tasks and triggers – If selected, all managed tasks located in your Default Managed Tasks Location (specified in Options > System Settings > Task Service Preferences) are ncluded in the backup (this option is enabled by default).
    2. Include constants and system preferences - If selected, all created constants and global system preferences (specified in Options > System Settings) are included in the backup (this option is disabled by default, although it is recommended that it is enabled as well in order to perform a complete backup of imperative data).
  4. After entering your preferences, click Backup . Automate then backs up the specified settings into a compressed file with an .ama extension. The default name for the archive file is AutoMate 11 Backup.ama.

To Restore a Previous Backup

  1. Select the Restore option.

  2. For the Archive location text box, click the folder icon to browse to the archive file to restore.

  3. There are two options to select from when restoring an Automate backup:
    1. Restore tasks and triggers - If selected, all managed tasks that were previously backed up are restored to the original location (specified in Options > System Settings > Task Service Preferences under Default managed task location).
    2. Restore constants and system preferences - If selected, all constants and global system preferences previously backed up are restored.
  4. After entering your preferences, click Restore . Automate then restores the previously backed up data.