UR Backup/Export Questions

[J-Mac]

This is a little confusing. So many applications have a backup feature built-in nowadays that I was a bit surprised to find that UR does not.

The UR Help file doesn't really say much about backing up other than to say how easy it is: just export the database or a part of it and then back up the file as part of your regular backup strategy, whatever that might be.

Now that concept is not a problem for me as I use a number of redundant backup methods. It is the Export part that is a little tough here!

Clicking File>Export... is easy enough. It is what comes next that gets a little hairy! Five separate output options are offered:

• Documents and item rich text to a folder
  
• Item attributes to a delimited (CSV) text file
  
• Items to an XML (OML) file
  
• Text items to a rich text (RTF) document
  
• Text notes to a rich text document

It appears that the only way to export the entire database is to use the XML option (which is apparently truly OPML, but called OPM here. At least I think...).

I created a folder to collect my UR exports/backups. Then I decided to try each of the available outputs just to see what was actually in each of them. The first (Docs and rich text items) went OK - however I must have had one item selected so that's all that was exported. I had hoped that all text items was the default, but it is only selected items.

Next I tried the whole database using the XML/OPML/OPM/ABC/XYZ etc., etc. output. Won't go! I get to the last step and click on "Finish" and immediately get an error dialog saying "Error exporting item(s): Failed to create 'E:\Ultra Recall Backups': Access is denied."

Huh? The rich text export has no problem going there - no access problems there. Checked permissions; all is fine. Perhaps this actually means that UR wants a separate folder for each exported item? Or for each output type? Access does not appear to being denied by Windows permissions. Is UR itself preventing this? Hopefully someone knows.

Next I wondered whether UR created its own folder when exporting to XML. You never know, so I read theough the Help file again and succeeded only in becoming more confused than before I opened it up. The section named Export Wizard>Select Destination doesn't explain selecting the destination as much as explaining the output types again, even though the previous section covered output types. The lines on the XML/OML export reads as follows:

· Info Items to OML (XML)

In this mode, a single OML (XML) file is created containing the attributes specified is created and optionally additional files are created for rich text, notes, stored documents and icons in appropriately named subfolders (and referenced by the OML file).

For some reason that explanation didn't quite help me understand anything about the destination of the XML/OML export. Actually confused me a bit.

Next I read the section in Using Ultra Recall>Exporting. The following is about the XML/OML export specifically:

Steps to export all Ultra Recall data to XML (OML):

· Start the Export Wizard

· Select "Items to an XML (OML) file" as the Output Type

· Leave all attributes/data selected (or click Check All to reselect them all) on the Select Attributes page

· Enter or browse to a filename and location to export to

· Click the Finish button

That next-to-last line seems to be the key to that cryptic error message:

"Enter or browse to a filename and location to export to"

This means that I am required to enter a path and name for the exported file. I'm accustomed in Windows to navigating to a folder where I would like the exported file to go, entering the desired filename in a box at the bottom of the next dialog pane, and usually then clicking the Save button.

Here UR uses a different protocol. Not a problem, except it was a lot harder to figure it out from the dialogs along the way, and also from the Help file. I realize that I may be a little dense at times, but that could be explained so much easier and more clearly than it is.

And I think I am seeing that is not quite as difficult to use as I had initially thought. It is just not very easy to learn its various idiosyncrasies.

Once I do learn how to use UR much more efficiently and effectively than I do now in my first week with it, I hope to put together a few tutorials - nothing that experienced users would probably find interesting, but something to give the beginning user more of a "quick start" with Ultra Recall. I also hope that others will do similar tutes and that Kinook will let us place them somewhere useful.

Thanks!

Jim