* Missing photos

[d1anep]

I usually open my project by clicking on the file name when opening Family Historian and all is well. However, today I decided to click on the last saved file, in Windows Explorer, to open the project, and found that all the photos were missing. Why should this be? I thought the back up file was there in case I made any mistakes and closed the file without saving.

[Jane]

If you are using "Small" backups they only contain the text data not the media. So you would need to restore the gedcom back into the Project folder to keep your media.

[tatewise]

For more details see glossary:backup_and_recovery|> Backup and Recovery.

You are not meant to access the FH Backups via Windows Explorer but use the File > Backup/Restore > Restore command as explained in the above advice.

Such backups will not protect against PC or disk failure, unless you save them on external media (USB disk, USB stick, Cloud store).
Also the Project Backups do NOT include all your custom Diagrams, Reports, Queries, Fact Types, Plugins, and Preferences.

[d1anep]

I've done what you suggest and saved the project as a Full Back up (zip file) under File/Back up, but the photos as still not there when I do restore. I must be doing something wrong, but I can't work out what.

[tatewise]

It is a good & wise decision to check your backups do restore correctly, otherwise they are worthless.

It would help us to help you if you posted the explicit sequence of commands you used.

If I understand correctly you proceeded as follows all on the same PC:

• Used File > Backup/Restore > Full Backup (Entire Project Folder) to create an FH Project Backup - <name> - 2016-04-13 1234.zip file.
• Used File > Backup/Restore > Restore Backup and selected that same .zip file.
• Chose a New Project Name and completed the Restore.
• So you now have two Projects listed in the File > Project Window, the original one and the restored one.

If you use Tools > External File Links on those two Projects what is listed?
Are all File Links listed within Project Data Folder - Media with no drive letters mentioned?
Are there any X marks against any of the File Links?

[d1anep]

Yes, I did do exactly as you said, so I have two projects - the original and the restored one. They are all on the same PC.

On Tools > External File Links, all the media files are listed under Project Data Folder - Media with no drive letters mentioned and there are no X marks against any File Links.

[tatewise]

So you are saying the File Links list in those two Projects are different, with some links missing from the restored Project?

Or is it that in the restored Project some photo thumbnails are not appearing immediately.
In that case just wait a while for FH to compose the thumbnails.

[d1anep]

I think I possibly didn't wait long enough for the photos to appear - they are there now. Thanks.

I do have another question though. If I want to save my backup to a memory stick, do I just change the Default Backup Folder to whichever drive it is in?

[davidm_uk]

Yes you can change the Default Backup Folder or just select the USB "drive" when you run the backup and it asks you where to save it to (the default is shown but you can select a different place from that screen).

Just beware that, depending what else you might plug in to USB ports, the drive letter may not always be the same, so check when you run the backup that it's going where you want it to be.

I save my full backups to a different place to the Default Backup Folder (where the small gedcom backups go) as I keep these as an archive, as distinct from a backup. I regard backups as something you use to recover from in the event of a problem of some sort, whereas an archive is used if I need to look at, or extract some data from, an old database (harking back to those old days of magnetic tape archives when I first worked in IT!). Of course these days, with the low cost of disk storage, backups and archives are often regarded as synonymous.

[tatewise]

Whether backups or archives, the important thing is to perform a risk assessment of what problems they are meant to protect against.

A backup to the same disk drive as your FH Project database only protects against accidental deletion or other unwanted database changes. It does NOT protect against disk/PC failure, flood, fire, etc!

Also the FH Project Full Backup only saves the Project but not any customisations of Diagrams, Reports, Queries, Plugins, Fact Types, Record Window Columns, Property Box Tabs, Tools Preferences, etc. So use the Backup and Restore Family Historian Settings Plugin as advised in glossary:backup_and_recovery|> Backup and Recovery that I mentioned last Monday.