How do I open a previous iFamilyforTiger backup?

[Keith Wilson]

Originally posted by Roger

Having tried to merge ancestors from a gedcom file, which included making further backups, I now find that I have made errors, and I am now confused, so I want to revert back to a previous iFamilyForTiger backup database and start again. Can you tell me how to do it please?

Thanks.

[Keith Wilson]

Originally posted by pewterpot

Backups are kept in the folder Users/name(the little house icon)/iFamilyForTigerData/Backups, but not sure how many are saved or how far back they will go - a date will be alongside.

[Keith Wilson]

Having tried to merge ancestors from a gedcom file, which included making further backups, I now find that I have made errors, and I am now confused, so I want to revert back to a previous iFamilyForTiger backup database and start again. Can you tell me how to do it please? Thanks.

Hi Roger

The iFamily backup files are all in the folder called iFamilyData /Backups.

Use Finder to locate a suitable backup file - you probably do not remember which one it was so you will have to choose one that has a suitable date on it.

Copy the backup file into your iFamilyData folder, you can then rename it to whatever you like but the extension (FtkSql) must NOT be changed.

In iFamily you can then use File - Open to open and use the database.

Keith

[Keith Wilson]

Originally posted by pewterpot

Keith

As IFamily automatically backs itself up on closure it seems to me that unless you physically use the 'Backup Current Database' under 'File' there will be only the one backup of a gedcom.

When using another family tree software, I was always having to get shot of many outdated backups in that programmes backup folder.

[Keith Wilson]

Keith, As IFamily automatically backs itself up on closure it seems to me that unless you physically use the 'Backup Current Database' under 'File' there will be only the one backup of a gedcom. When using another family tree software, I was always having to get shot of many outdated backups in that programme's backup folder.

Hi Derek

I suspect that you (and others) may have a few misconceptions regarding how iFamily handles its data so I will explain a little why iFamily's database is so robust and why no one ever loses any data and why no one ever has a corrupt database.

Gedcom Files

iFamily knows nothing about Gedcom files except whilst loading data from Gedcom file or exporting data to a Gedcom file. The menu options for these functions are under File - Gedcom Load and File - Export to Gedcom.


The Database

The iFamily data is physically stored in an SQLite database that is managed by Apple's CoreData technology.

When iFamily needs to display data it gets what it needs, and no more, from the SQLite file. When iFamily no longer needs the data about a particular person or event it releases it from memory.


Saving Data to the Database

iFamily saves your data to the database file nearly every time you make a change. If the power fails then the most you will ever lose is the changes to the field that your were working on when the power failed. Each save is done on a background thread after the screen has been refreshed and takes just a fraction of a second. The user never even notices that a save is being made, unless they are very savvy and know what to look for. The method of saving data is very secure and a copy is made of the whole database whilst the changes are written. If anything were to go wrong during those few milliseconds whilst the changes are being written then the copy of your data is safe and will be recovered when you restart iFamily for Leopard. In addition to that the changes that are written to the database are thoroughly validated before being written so that no corrupt data can ever be written to the database file.

Backing Up the Database

Backups are a different matter - when a backup is made a new (renamed) copy of the database is saved into a different folder on your hard drive.

You can manually create a backup copy of the database, whenever you like, using menu option File - Backup Current Database.

In some of the more complex functions in iFamily, like Merging data, you will be asked if you want to make a backup. In the most complex functions, like Merging branches of one database into another database, iFamily does not even bother asking, it just makes the backup.

Whenever iFamily makes a backup of the database it will display a message telling you what it has done and the name it has given to the backup file.

Other genealogy applications may " appear" to do some things very fast but later you may find that it then takes five minutes (or more) to actually save the database to your disk drive. If that save fails then you may lose a number of hours work. On the other hand, iFamily validates and saves its data as it goes rather that accepting garbage and leaving it until later to be sorted out.

In my opinion the iFamily database is the most rugged database in use on a Mac for a genealogy application.

Keith