1. To set the number of backups, select Trainz Settings from the Launcher and then click the Dev tab.
2. One data entry box in this tab will be named Daily backups to keep and it will have a default value of 7. Set it to the number of backups you want each day.

		If you are working on developing a new route or session then 7 daily backups could be a suitable number.
		If you are making minor changes to existing routes or sessions then 3 or 4 daily backups could be a suitable number.
		If you are not working on any routes or sessions then 0 daily backups could be a suitable number - but remember to reset this when you do need the automatic backups again.

Warning:
	If you set 0 daily backups then there will be no option to restore your route/session to the latest automatic backup after a crash

 Open The Backups Folder:

1. using Windows File Explorer, open your local data folder and then open the backups folder.
2. the backups that have been created during the past week will be listed by their dates using the YY-MM-DD date format.

1. open the backup folder for the date that you want. A list of backup files and folders created that day will be shown.

• if you know the time of the backup then sort the entries by date and time (as shown above).
• if you know the kuid of the backup (it will be the same as used by the route/session) then sort the entries by name (but there may be several files with the same kuid).

Notes: The "normal" method of dragging and dropping the backup folder into Content Manager to restore it no longer works. Instead the following method is recommended.

1. select the .tzarc file that contains your backup (e.g. the last created version by date and time)
2. copy it into the Editing folder - this folder will be directly under the same build <number> folder that contains your backups

   

3. if the .tzarc filename is followed by a number sequence (e.g. kuid 45176 100893.tzarc_323888034) then rename the file to remove all the characters AFTER the .tzarc so kuid 45176 100893.tzarc_323888034 becomes kuid 45176 100893.tzarc
4. open Content Manager
5. run a database repair

• open Content Manager and use a search filter to identify the assets to be backed up. Some examples:-

		to show all assets that have been altered today.
		to show all installed routes that are yours.

• highlight the asset or assets (more than one asset can be included in each backup file).
• right mouse click on one of the highlighted assets and select Export to CDP.

• select a drive, folder and enter a backup filename.

1. open Content Manager
2. open Windows File Explorer and locate the backup folder
3. highlight the .CDP file or files to be restored
4. drag and drop the file or files from Windows File Explorer into Content Manager
5. if the assets being restored are already installed in Content Manager then their status will be Open for Edit. Submit the assets.

• on a drive that is always attached to your system create a Project Backups folder
• in this folder create another folder named Today

• use this folder to store your regular backups for today. For example, when you take a break and exit from Surveyor, start Content Manager and backup the current project (e.g. a route, a session or both) to the Today folder

• name each backup using the name of the project and the time as shown in the example above

Why Keep Separate Time Backups For The Same Day? Suppose that after your first backup of the day, at say 07:52, you decided to make some significant changes to your route. The later backups made at 12:30 and 14:10 included this change. By 17:00 you decide that this major change is not working and you need to return the route to its starting state. If your only backup was the last one you had made at 14:10 then you could not restore the route to its starting state.

• at the end of each day copy the Today folder to another drive (external or internal) into a folder also called Project Backups
• rename the Today folder on the 2nd drive to a format that identifies the date of the backups it contains (using the yyyy-mm-dd format) as shown below

• copy this renamed folder to an external detachable drive into its Project Backups folder - this will give you a second backup copy
• when starting work the next day, delete the contents of the Today folder on your main drive and make the first backup of the day using the project assets in their initial state for the day

How Long Should You Keep The Daily Backups? The ideal answer is until after the project has been finished but in reality it will depend on your available storage space. Once the project has been completed then the backup folders and files can be deleted If there is insufficient space to keep a large number of backups, then delete the oldest backup folders first If a decision is later made to restart work on the route (e.g. to update it after a new version of Trainz has been released) then it would be considered to be a brand new project and the backup procedure can be restarted from that point.

Detailed instructions on backing up and restoring Picklists as text files can be found on the Trainz Wiki Page at:-

• How to Backup a Picklist
  

 Locate Your Local Data Folder:

The name and location of this folder is held in your Launcher - Trainz Settings - Install tab. The name and location can vary between installations as in the example shown below

1. Use Windows File Explorer to locate this folder in its drive as shown in the Local Data Folder information above
2. Right Mouse Click on the folder name and select the Properties menu option

This will display the folder statistics - there may be a delay while the data is collected and displayed. In the example shown below, the Local Data Folder is just over 69 GB in size

You will need to find a storage device or location, such as an external drive, that has more available free space than the folder is using

1. Close the Properties Window
2. Right Mouse Click on the folder name and select the Copy menu option
3. Open the Destination Drive and select (or create) a suitable backup folder
4. Right Mouse Click on the backup folder and select the Paste menu option - this could easily take a long time (even hours) depending on the size of the data

For very large Local Data Folders the backup process can take hours to complete. Windows File Explorer is not the fastest nor the most efficient method of copying large sets of data files. It may be worth your while to use a specialised file copying utility that can perform the task faster while still providing intelligent copying and data checking

More Tutorials and Guides to Using Trainz

• How to Guides
• Driver Commands List
• Session Rules List (Alphabetical) with Parameters
• Session Rules List (Categories) With Parameters