Back up a field day

Close each field day with a project export, and keep the full database backup for a weekly checkpoint.

Steps

1. Open the project drawer and select Export project.
2. Review the record counts and any warnings about missing media.
3. Choose ZIP or TAR.GZ to carry media, or turn on Light export for a small JSON.GZ when the upload must be tiny.
4. Save it to storage separate from the working device, naming it with the project and date.
5. Once a week, and always before merging a project, run Backup database instead: it copies the whole installation, so keep it occasional in the field.

Tip

A project export is the better daily habit: it is smaller, faster, and easier on the battery than a database backup, and Merge project restores it onto a replacement device if one is lost or broken. A database backup copies whole directories, so it carries every file in NAHPU app data whether or not a project links to it; in the field, run it occasionally, when battery use is not a concern. Darwin Core bundles and CSV exports cannot be imported back, so they never count as a backup.

Learn more

• Open the full guide
• Export a project for another device
• Merge a project and resolve conflicts
• Restore or replace a database
• Project Management