Creating a new backup

The starting point to create a new backup of your discussion board is the "Backup" tab in your Backup Manager. That interface presents several options for your backup, most importantly a selection of the files that will be backed up on your board.

To create a backup of your board, follow these steps:

1. Select the files that you want to back up. Simply leaving the default items checked assures you that your backup can later be restored through the Discus Backup Manager. If you have customized your board, you may need to add additional files to your backup, which are divided into the following categories:

   • Primary Data Files: These are the administration files for your board, such as your user database (users.txt), moderator database (passwd.txt), posting logs, index counters, and the like. These data files cannot be regenerated in their entirety from other data on your board (some cannot even be regenerated partially). You will need to back up primary data files if you wish to use the Backup Manager's restore function.

   • Message Files: These are the message files for your board, which are generally '*.html' files found under the "messages" directory (and, if you are using read-restricted topics, the "secure" directory). These message files cannot be regenerated, except by restoring a backup that contains them. You will need to back up your message files if you wish to use the Backup Manager's restore function.

   • Recoverable Data Files: These are data files that can be regenerated by analyzing the primary data files and the message files. Your tree.txt files (tree index) and search.txt files (search engine index) are recoverable data files. You will need to back up your recoverable files if you wish to use the Backup Manager's restore function, although you may skip backing up these files if you have a large board or you do not intend to restore your board in its entirety through the Backup Manager.

   • Templates and Skins: These are the program templates and skins that are used to generate your board's interfaces. In the event of catastrophic data loss, these files can be obtained without data loss by reinstalling Discus. However, if you have customized templates or skins, you should back up your changes, to avoid the need to re-customize in the event of data loss.

   • Configuration Files: These are various program configuration files that are not customized by most Discus customers. Examples of these files include attachments.conf (configures attachment MIME types and icons), webtags.conf (controls formatting tags), and stopwords.conf (controls "stop words" in search engine index). In the event of catastrophic data loss, these files can be obtained without data loss by reinstalling Discus. However, if you have customized some of these files, you should back up your changes, to avoid the need to re-customize in the event of data loss.

   • Scripts and Source Code: These are the scripts and source code that power the Discus installation. In the event of catastrophic data loss or when moving a board from one server to another, you will generally install a fresh copy of Discus Pro and then restore other files into that fresh installation. Thus, there is generally not a reason to back up these files, since they can be so easily obtained from the Discus Pro download area should they be needed.

   • Documentation, Icons, and Static Files: These are the clipart and icons associated with a Discus board, as well as a limited amount of static documentation. These files are generated and supplied automatically in the case of a re-installation of the Discus Pro software, and need to be backed up only if you have customized them.

2. If you are using the MySQL database back-end, checking the "Export MySQL database data to backup files" box will cause Discus Pro to export your database data into the corresponding text files prior to creating the backup. Since your MySQL database resides outside of the Discus directory structure, a Discus backup procedure cannot automatically back up data from your MySQL database.

3. Choose a file name for your backup. A file name based on the date will be suggested, but can be changed if desired.

4. Click the "Create Backup" button. An "Operation in Progress" gauge screen will perform several operations. Leave the browser open during this process. Your backup has been successfully completed when the gauge disappears and you are returned to the "Existing" tab of your Backup Manager. Verify to be sure that the backup appears in your list of backup archive files.