Family Historian User Group

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find the answer using the search facility.

What is the difference between the Save and Backup facilities?

Save is much the same as Save in most programs and saves any outstanding changes you have recently made.
These are changes to the GEDCOM database of Individuals, Families, Notes, Sources, etc.
It does NOT include customisation changes to Diagrams, Reports, Queries, Plugins, etc.
The default AutoSave performs a Save automatically every 5 minutes.
When you close FH, if there are outstanding changes it will prompt you to Save them.

Backup is similar to other Backup tools you may be using and creates a separate copy of your Project.
There are three types of Backup. See Tools > Preferences > Backup tab and read the Help page.

1. Small Backup only backs up the GEDCOM database file (which is the same data as Save updates).
2. Medium Backup backs up the Project File and Data subfolder that includes the GEDCOM and Media files.
3. Full Backup backs up the entire Project comprising the Public and Data folders.

In addition, there is an automatic Snapshot of the GEDCOM file taken occasionally.
See Tools > Preferences > General tab, Advanced... button, Auto. Snapshot Cycles and read the Help page.
See File > Backup/Restore > Revert to Snapshot... but do not perform a revert.

See FHUG Knowledge Base Backup and Recovery that explains in more detail and also covers backup of customisation settings for Diagrams, Reports, Queries, Plugins, etc.
That is one of the topics in the FHUG Knowledge Base Key Features for Newcomers ~ have you seen that?

Thanks Mike
Where are Saves saved?

When you 'save' the gedcom this simply updates the Gedcom file in your project. It simply keeps the file up to date with the most recent changes. This is the file which will be read next time you open your project.

The important point about a backup is that it makes a completely separate copy of your data, which ideally should be kept on a separate device so that if your main computer fails you have a safe copy of your data somewhere else.

In the FHUG Knowledge Base Key Features for Newcomers another topic is Project Structure & Location especially Understanding Projects that explains where various Project components are held. The GEDCOM file is one of those components and is where Save puts your data. It is similar to the way in MS Word that Save puts your document in a .docx file with a unique filename. If FH the GEDCOM file is a .ged file with its filename taken from the unique Project name.

Thanks Lorna and Mike