Inside Collection (Course): Comparative Phonology Using Wordcorr
Summary: Wordcorr backup is easy. You click File | Export XML, give a file name, and a compressed backup file appears. Burn it to a CD and email it to a few safe places, and your data and analyses will outlive the next tsunami.
We've made it totally easy for you to back up your data and analyses at any time. The reason is that although every linguist in the world recognizes the need for backups, if you get personal and ask them about their own backups, they'll – well, you know what they'll say.
Step One is to click on the File | Export XML menu in the upper left part of the main Wordcorr window, as you see below in Figure 1.
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Step Two is to choose the directory you want to save the backup file in, then put a file name into File Name for the backup of the collection you are working on. Figure 2 shows the Testing folder in Save In and a file name in File Name. Wordcorr will add a .zip extension to it.
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Back up your active Wordcorr project every day or so. You can use the same file name every time, as you see in Figure 2, or you can append a date to it in File Name. If you use a format like filename-2006-08-09, the backups will sort themselves into date order. But you may not want to keep that many around. (If you do, contact us at mail.wordcorr.org.)
Whenever you have access to the Internet (in the field you may be beyond the reach of even telephones), email your latest backup file to two or three friends you trust to keep it safe for you. If they are on different continents, so much the safer. Also make arrangements for your university or office library to receive a copy for safekeeping. If you have a relationship with a permanent, professsionally curated archive, by all means email a copy to them.
If you can burn it to a CD or DVD, that's a good idea too.