Transfer your Data between Computers

Some users may choose to install the Standalone or Lite versions of DONATION on two or more computers (for instance, one at work and one at home) and transfer their data back and forth, in order to get work done at home, or for other reasons. That is allowed with only one payment, and technically possible, and as long as you carefully arrange that changes are only made on one computer at a time, and the database is transferred back to the other computer before any changes are made on it.

Please note that there is no way to merge entries from two computers!

There are also two other options for multiple users accessing DONATION, detailed on the Multiple User Options page - using the Network Versions of DONATION, or using a remote-access solution. This page is only about the first option on that page, with multiple installations of the Standalone or Lite version.

Yet another option is to use the database on a USB memory key.

Note: If you do not yet have DONATION installed on the other computer, or want to permanently transfer the program to another computer, please see the Help topic Move the Program from One Computer to Another.

Basic Process

When you are finished using DONATION on one computer (I'll call it Computer A), use one of the three possible backup methods (detailed below) to make a backup of its database, and get that backup to the other computer (Computer B). On Computer B, restore that backup.

When you want to transfer your database back to Computer A again, assuming you have made some further entries on Computer B (not just looked at data and reports), just reverse the process. Make a backup on Computer B, get it to Computer A, and restore it on Computer A.

Obviously, you have to be really careful if you are transferring databases between computers. Don't get confused and restore the wrong database on the wrong machine etc. so you lose some of your work. (The program does warn you if you are trying to restore a backup with only older donation data than what is in your current database, however.) Also, make sure you make other backups on other storage media for additional security. Those additional backups also give you something to go back to if you mess up, or if your backup goes bad, etc.

The following sections explain how to transfer the database from Computer A to Computer B using one of three methods. To transfer it back, just reverse the instructions as explained above!

Method 1: Use Regular Backups

This is the method to use if you do not have high-speed Internet access on both computers, and/or you do not want to entrust your encrypted database backup to email transmission over the Internet, or secure storage on the Internet.

On Computer A, use the Backup/Restore à Backup Database menu option to backup the database file (DONATION4.DB, which gets backed up to a file named DONATION4.DB.GBK, or DONATION-YYYY-MM-DD.DB.GBK, where YYYY-MM-DD is replaced by the backup date) to a transportable medium such as a USB memory key, a writeable CD, or a diskette (if it fits).

Bring that backup over to the other computer (Computer B). Start DONATION, and use the Backup/Restore à Restore Database menu option to restore the database from the backup, which copies it over top of the existing database on that computer. (Alternatively, if DONATION is not running, you can start the restore by just double-clicking on the backup file, and following the prompts that come up.)

Method 2: Use Email Backups

If you have access to email on both computers, you can use the Backup/Restore à Email Backup menu option to email an encrypted backup from Computer A to an email account accessible from Computer B. Then on Computer B, follow the instructions in that email, to restore it.

Method 3: Use Internet Backups

This is perhaps the easiest ongoing method, once you have completed a bit of initial setup.

You first have to configure Internet backups, and also ensure that both computers have the same Unique ID for Internet backups. The users on both computers must also know and use the same Internet backup encryption password. (See this section of that same configuration Help page to understand how to do that.)

Once it is configured, every regular backup on either computer will be followed by an Internet backup. So, make a backup on Computer A. Inform the user on Computer B that it is there, and they can then restore it with the Backup/Restore à Restore Internet Backup menu option.

When you have Multiple Databases

If you are maintaining multiple databases on your computer, with the Database à Switch Databases menu option, the databases after the first one will have different file extensions that you supply (e.g. be named DONATION4.whatever, rather than your first database's name DONATION4.DB). The backups will be named accordingly, e.g. DONATION-YYYY-MM-DD.whatever.GBK for regular backups, etc.

Before you can restore an additional database to a second computer for the first time, you have to set up a database with the correct file extension in Database à Switch Databases. After that setup, it will create the database, and then give you an option to start using it by restoring a backup. That can be done with a regular backup (Method  1 above) or email backup (Method 2 above), but not with an Internet backup (Method 3 above). You can switch to Internet backups after your first restore, if you wish.

Transferring Letters Files

If you use the Letters menu options and have customized your letter or receipt files, you will also want to follow the instructions in Backing up and Restoring Letters Files to backup those files on Computer A, bring the backup to Computer B, and restore the files there.

Transferring Memorized Reports

If you use memorized reports, and have memorized additional reports since the last time you transferred the data, follow the instructions for backing up and restoring those reports, to copy them from computer A (with backup) to computer B (with restore).

Note on Software Licensing

When you have DONATION installed on two computers for the same organization, you can apply the same License Key to both of them. See the section on Software Licensing and Evaluation for more details on License Keys. Alternatively, you can copy the file donsl.txt from the Data Directory of the first licensed computer to the Data Directory of the other computer - it contains your licensing information.