Backup & Recovery

Protect your data with one-click backups, automatic safety copies, and full project exports. This guide covers both SQLite (solo) and SQL Server (team) scenarios.

One-Click Backup Database

The fastest way to create a backup is from the File menu:

Go to File > Backup Database — or use the Command Palette (Ctrl+K) and type "Backup".
Choose a location — Select where to save the backup file.
Backup completes instantly — For SQLite projects, GlyphFex copies the .glyphfex file and its attachments folder. For SQL Server projects, GlyphFex runs a BACKUP DATABASE command.

What gets backed up

Project Type	Backup Contents	File Format
SQLite (Solo)	Database file + attachments folder	`.glyphfex` copy
SQL Server (Team)	Full database via BACKUP DATABASE	`.bak` file

Tip Schedule a weekly backup as part of your routine. For SQL Server, consider setting up a SQL Server Agent job to automate nightly backups.

Automatic Safety Backups

GlyphFex automatically creates a timestamped .bak safety copy before certain operations that could modify your data:

Before migration — When migrating from SQLite to SQL Server, a backup of the destination database is created if it contains existing data.
Before project reset — When resetting project settings, a timestamped backup file is created first.

These safety copies are saved alongside the original file with a timestamp suffix, such as MyProject_2026-03-22_143000.bak.

Note Automatic backups are a safety net, not a replacement for regular manual backups. Always maintain your own backup routine for critical production data.

Save As (Project Copy)

Use File > Save As (Ctrl+Shift+S) to create a complete copy of your project under a new name or location.

Creates a full duplicate of the .glyphfex database file
The new copy is independent — changes to one do not affect the other
Useful for creating snapshots before major configuration changes
Also useful for creating template projects that you clone for new customers or job types

Tip Save As is the simplest way to create a point-in-time snapshot of a solo project. Before making major changes to your pipeline or categories, do a quick Save As to preserve the current state.

SQL Server Backup

For shared (team) projects running on SQL Server Express, GlyphFex uses the native BACKUP DATABASE command:

From GlyphFex

Use File > Backup Database while connected to a SQL Server project. GlyphFex will prompt you to choose a save location and then execute the backup command on the server.

From SQL Server Management Studio

IT administrators can also create backups directly from SSMS:

Right-click the database in Object Explorer
Select Tasks > Back Up...
Choose Full backup type
Select the destination path and click OK

Automated backups

For production environments, set up automated backups using SQL Server Agent (available in Express via sqlcmd scripts or Windows Task Scheduler):

Schedule nightly full backups
Retain at least 7 days of backup history
Store backups on a different drive or network share than the database
Test your restore process periodically to ensure backups are valid

Warning SQL Server Express does not include SQL Server Agent as a built-in service. Use Windows Task Scheduler with a sqlcmd script to automate backups on Express editions.

Restoring from Backup

Restoring a SQLite project

Locate your backup file — Find the .glyphfex backup copy you created earlier.
Replace the current file — Close GlyphFex, then copy the backup file over the current project file (or to a new location).
Open in GlyphFex — Use File > Open Project to open the restored file.

Restoring a SQL Server database

Disconnect all users — Ensure no one is connected to the database in GlyphFex.
Restore via SSMS — Right-click the database in SQL Server Management Studio, select Tasks > Restore > Database, select your .bak file, and click OK.
Reconnect in GlyphFex — Open your .glyphfex-server file to reconnect to the restored database.

Warning Restoring a database overwrites all current data with the backup contents. Any entries or changes made after the backup was created will be lost. Always verify you are restoring the correct backup file.

Export Full Project (ZIP)

For the most comprehensive backup, export your entire project as a ZIP archive:

Go to File > Export > Full Project ZIP or press Ctrl+Shift+E.
Choose whether to include attachments — GlyphFex will ask if you want to bundle all file attachments in the ZIP.
Save the ZIP file — Choose a location and filename. The archive includes the database, all configuration, and optionally all attached files.

The ZIP export is ideal for:

Off-site backup storage (e.g., cloud drive, external hard drive)
Transferring a complete project to another machine
Archiving a finished project for long-term retention

Note The Full Project ZIP export is restricted to Admin users only. Editors and Viewers cannot create ZIP exports.

Disaster Recovery Guide (PDF)

GlyphFex includes a built-in 9-page Disaster Recovery Guide designed for IT administrators. Access it from Help > Disaster Recovery Guide or via the Command Palette.

The PDF guide covers:

Backup strategies for both SQLite and SQL Server
Step-by-step restore procedures
Data verification after restore
Recommended backup schedules
Common failure scenarios and how to handle them

Tip Print the Disaster Recovery Guide and keep a copy near your server. In an emergency, having paper instructions available ensures you can restore operations even if you cannot access digital documentation.

Crash Recovery for Unsaved Work

GlyphFex auto-saves a draft of your in-progress entry every few seconds while you type. If the app crashes, your computer loses power, or Windows forces a restart for an update before you click Save, your typing is not lost.

How it works

Mid-edit auto-save — While you're editing an existing entry, GlyphFex writes a draft snapshot to a private folder on your PC every few keystrokes. If you reopen the same entry after a crash, you'll be prompted to restore your draft or discard it.
New-entry auto-save — The same protection covers entries you haven't saved yet. If you're typing a new quote and the app closes unexpectedly, the next time you open the project a banner appears at the top of the window: "You have an unfinished new entry" with Continue and Throw it away buttons.
Recovery banner appears on every page — The "You have an unfinished new entry" banner sits at the top of the application shell, so you'll see it regardless of which page tier-tailored landing puts you on (Dashboard, My Jobs, Shop Floor, or Workstation Terminal). Editor accounts that auto-land on My Jobs never miss the recovery prompt.
7-day garbage collection — Drafts older than 7 days are automatically cleaned up so the recovery folder doesn't grow unbounded across years of use.

Where drafts are stored

Drafts live in %LOCALAPPDATA%\GlyphFex\drafts\ on each user's PC, organized by project. Each draft is a small JSON file containing the field values, attachments references, and a timestamp. They are local to each user — even in multi-user SQL Server mode, your drafts are not shared with your teammates (each operator sees only their own in-progress work).

Rename-resilient: drafts follow your project file

If you rename your .glyphfex file (for example, archiving last year's project as Workshop2024.glyphfex and creating a new Workshop2025.glyphfex), any drafts you had in progress on that project follow the file. GlyphFex identifies projects by an internal Project ID stored inside the file itself, not by the file name or path. Renaming, moving, or copying the file to a different folder does not orphan your unsaved work.

Exception — The Save Project As command creates a fresh copy with a new Project ID, so drafts from the source project do not follow into the destination (the destination starts with a clean slate, as expected).

Multi-draft scenarios

If you accumulate several unsaved entries (for example, the app crashed during a busy day with three quotes open in succession), the recovery banner shows the total count: "You have 3 unfinished new entries." Clicking Continue most recent restores the newest draft into the entry form. The remaining drafts stay on disk and re-surface the next time you open the project. To clear all of them at once, click Throw away all 3 and confirm.

Tip The crash recovery is independent of database backups. It protects against typing-window loss (a few minutes of work in the active form), not project-level loss. For database-level protection, use the One-Click Backup or Automatic Safety Backups described at the top of this page.

Backup Best Practices

Back up daily — At minimum, create a backup at the end of each business day.
Store off-site — Keep at least one copy on a different physical device or cloud storage.
Test restores — Periodically restore a backup to a test environment to verify data integrity.
Retain multiple versions — Keep at least 7 days of daily backups so you can recover from issues discovered days later.
Document your process — Write down your backup procedure and share it with your team so backups continue even when you are out.