By Wally Johnson
Created on 9/15/2002

Technical Note Summary:

This document will explain the purpose of the Alexandria archive. It also details how to setup an effective archiving schedule, and how to recover from an archive. This document is valid only for versions 5.4.3 and higher.

What is an Archive?

For the purpose of this document, an archive is an automatic backup created by Alexandria at specific times and before specific events. The archive is not intended to be the sole backup of your Alexandria data. For information on creating a backup strategy see the technical notes entitled T0016-Creating a Backup of Alexandria's Data for Windows Users or T0017-Creating a Backup of Alexandria's Data for Macintosh Users.

As mentioned above, Alexandria will automatically create an archive at scheduled times and before certain key events. The purpose of this is to create a local backup that is easily accessible, should problems arise. The backup is stored in the Archive folder inside the Alexandria v5 folder. On a Windows machine, the default path for this folder is C:\Program Files\Alexandria v5 folder\Archive. On a Macintosh, the archive folder is found inside the Alexandria v5 folder, which by default installs to the Macintosh hard drive. The archives are exact copies of the files found in your Data folder; they are not compressed or modified in any way.

Each archive is named using the following format YYYYMMDD TTTT, using the date and military time to indicate when it was created. For example, an archive created May 4, 2003 at 2:30 PM would be named Archive 20030504 1430.

When the maximum number of archives to keep is reached, Alexandria will automatically remove the oldest archive and replace it with one it has just created. This method keeps your most current backups available, while making room for them by clearing away older archives. This number is set in your preferences and will be discussed later in this tech note.

Archive Preferences

To set your archive preferences, go to Edit-Preferences, and then select Archive from the pull-down menu (Image 1).

Image 1 – Archive Preferences

The first preference is Archive files on these days. This preference allows you to determine what days Alexandria will automatically archive on. By default it is set to Monday through Friday, which is the setting most school libraries use.

The next setting is At these hours. This preference controls the hour of the day Alexandria will archive. Typically only one hour is selected.

NOTE: WHEN SETTING THE TIME ALEXANDRIA SHOULD ARCHIVE, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOUR DATA STATION MUST BE ON AND ALEXANDRIA MUST BE RUNNING FOR AN ARCHIVE TO OCCUR. IF YOU SHUT DOWN YOU MACHINE AT NIGHT YOU MAY WANT TO HAVE ALEXANDRIA ARCHIVE DURING YOUR HOURS OF OPERATION.

The next preference is At these minutes. This preference controls the minutes of the hour Alexandria will archive. Typically only one of these is selected.

Current Archive Folder sets where the archives are stored. By default this is the Archive folder found in the Alexandria v5 folder. If you change this setting, please note where the change is, as Technical Support will have no idea where your archives are stored. If you choose to archive to a network drive or mounted drive, please be aware that the drive must be available when Alexandria archives.

The number of Archives to Keep determines how many archives Alexandria is to keep before removing the oldest archive and replacing it with the current one.

The Archive Now button allows the user to create an archive of their current data.

Archive Scheduling

When selecting a time to archive, please remember an archive can only be created while the Alexandria program is running on the data station. The archiving process generally takes less than a minute. Prior to archiving, Alexandria will display a message asking if it can archive now (Image 2).

Image 2 – Archive Prompt

Click on Proceed to start the archive. If you are busy with circulation, you can cancel the archive by clicking on Cancel. If you have cancelled an archive, you can manually archive anytime by going to Edit-Preferences, and selecting Archive from the pull-down menu (Image 1). From the archive preferences click on Archive Now to complete the archive you missed.

NOTE: IN ALEXANDRIA 5.44, A FEATURE WAS ADDED THAT HELPS ENSURE THE ARCHIVE IS TAKING PLACE. IF ALEXANDRIA IS CLOSED AT THE TIME OF THE ARCHIVE THE NEXT TIME ALEXANDRIA IS OPENED IT WILL BRING UP A PROMPT INFORMING YOU THAT AN ARCHIVE HAS BEEN MISSED AND ASKING IF THE SYSTEM SHOULD PERFORM ONE NOW (Image 3).

Image 3 – Missed Archive Prompt

When setting up your archive schedule you will also want to consider the number of archives you wish to keep. Each archive is an exact copy of the files contained in the Data folder, so if you are concerned about space on your hard drive, look at your Data folder and consider how many copies of that folder you can afford to have on your drive.

In considering the number of archives to keep, remember to consider how far back the archives will go. If you are set to archive each day of the week, but you keep only three archives, you will only have the last three weekdays' archives available. If you choose to keep seven archives, then you will have more than a weeks worth available. When you consider that most problems go unnoticed for several days, or even weeks, the need for a good backup schedule and several archives becomes obvious.

Recovering From an Archive

Windows

To recover from an archive on a Windows data station:

Exit Alexandria.

Go to My Computer

Open the C: drive

Open Program files

Go into the Alexandria v5 folder.

Open the Archive folder.

Highlight the latest archive by clicking on it once, then go to the Edit menu and select Copy.

Go back into the Alexandria v5 folder.

From the Edit menu, select Paste. The archive will copy into the Alexandria v5 folder.

Remove the Data folder. This can be done by deleting the Data folder, renaming it, or moving it to another location.

Rename the archive to Data. To rename the archive, highlight the folder by clicking on it once and then go to the File menu and select Rename.

Launch Alexandria and verify your data is there.

Macintosh

To recover from an archive on a Macintosh data station:

Quit Alexandria.

Open the Macintosh Hard drive

Open the Alexandria v5 folder

Open the Archive folder.

Highlight the latest archive and then go to the File menu and select Duplicate.

Once the duplicate archive is created, move this duplicate to the Alexandria v5 folder.

Remove the Data folder. This can be done by deleting the Data folder, renaming it, or moving it to another location.

Rename the archive to Data. To rename the archive, click on the name of the archive and when the cursor appears type in the new name.

Launch Alexandria and verify your data is there.

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO THE SECTION OF YOUR MANUAL ENTITLED ARCHIVE PREFERENCES OR CALL TECHNICAL SUPPORT AT 1-800-347-4942.