Please back up your WorkingArtist data file, artdat97.mdb, on a daily or weekly basis. You should also store a current version of your artdat97.mdb data file on either a CD or some other external storage device. If your data file should become corrupted or your computer is damaged or otherwise inaccessable, you will still have your data.

If your machine should lock up (in any application), press ctrl/alt/delete on your keyboard. In Win 95/98/NT/2000/XP this will display the Task Manager. Press the End Task button. You should not turn off your machine without a proper shutdown procedure unless you have no other option.

Make a Backup of Artdat97.mdb in Windows Explorer.

1. Close the WorkingArtist 2.0 application.
2. From your desktop, right click on the MyComputer icon.
3. From the drop-down menu, click on Explore.
4. Locate your WorkingArtist20 directory. This is probably c:\program files\WorkingArtist20.
a. On the left hand side of your screen, double-click on "c:", then scroll down to "Program Files".
b. Staying on the left hand side of the screen, double-click on "Program Files" and scroll down to "WorkingArtist20".
c. Double-click "WorkingArtist20". On the right side of your screen you will now see all the files in the WorkingArtist20 directory.
5. Locate artdat97.mdb. If you see "artdat97" but not "artdat97.mdb", then there is an option on your machine that is hiding the file extensions. Here is a link to a Knowledge Base article on how to display file extensions.
6. Click once on artdat97.mdb to highlight it and then click on the Copy button at the top of the screen or select File/Copy. This does not appear to do anything, but it actually copies artdat97.mdb to your Windows clipboard, which is an invisible holding place.
7. On the left side of the screen which lists your folders, locate the folder you want to copy the backup of artdat97.mdb to. For example, if you want to copy to a zip disk, make sure a zip disk is in the zip drive and double-click on the letter of your zip drive. It probably says something like "removable drive." If you want to simply copy to a folder on your hard drive, locate that folder and double-click on it to select it.
8. Click on the Paste button at the top of your screen or select File/Paste from the file menu. This takes the copy that is on the Windows clipboard and pastes (copies) it into the folder you have selected. If you have previously copied artdat97.mdb to this folder, you will receive a message box asking if you want to replace the previous file with the current one. Say "Yes".

If you want to backup artdat97.mdb to a diskette you will need to use a compression utility such as WinZip. For a more detailed discussion on using WinZip, please see the Knowledge Base article on Using WinZip to Compress Your Data File.

PLEASE NOTE! The copy you make of the data file, artdat97.mdb, cannot be opened on it’s own. If you attempt to do this, you will receive an error. The file must be viewed in the WorkingArtist application.

Make a Backup of Artdat97.mdb Using the WorkingArtist 2.0 Compact and Backup function.

1. Close the WorkingArtist 2.0 application.
2. Click on Start/Programs/WorkingArtist20/Compact & Backup. This will display the WorkingArtist Compact and Backup Utility.
3. Click on the Get Data Path button to locate and retrieve the path of your artdat97.mdb file.
-- WorkingArtist will automatically enter a backup path name into the Backup Data Path box. You can change this path to the path of your choice, however, the folder you wish to back up to must already exist. If you want to backup to a folder on your zip drive, type e:\artdat97.mdb into this field. This assumes that "e" is the letter of your zip drive.
-- We recommend using a date name for your backup file, such as WA060203.mdb (for WorkingArtist, 2006, February 03). This way you will always know at a glance the date that you created the backup and you will never overwrite a previous backup. Once you have three backups, you can delete the oldest one.
4. Click on the Compact button.

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