Hello readers!
So I was thinking about a blog entry today and found it hard to think of a topic with all the wind and rain battering the palm trees outside my window. How on earth am I ever going to think of a creative and informative topic in the midst of a tropical storm?
And then it hit me! Not the branch, an idea! Why not take a few minutes to remind everyone about the backup features in ACI and some general PC tips?
- Autosave! In Report, click Options > Environment. On the right side, make sure that box is checked to Auto save every X minutes. I'd recommend anywhere between 5 to 9 minutes. One minute autosave can cause memory logjams, so I'd stay away from that.
- Backup reports! In Report, click Options > Environment > File Management. Do you have a check next to Backup Reports To? If so, then every report you create will have a .ABK counterpart that may survive spilling diet coke in the keyboard and random power outages.
- UPS battery backup? They're cheap and reliable and having even a 5 minute Uninterruptable Power Supply under your desk just may save your computer from those bad power flickers and power surges.
- Tape backup / external hard drive backup on the server? If you've got a fairly large amount of data on a server, make sure your network people also have set up a good backup system for your data folders. We'd be happy to talk to them to show them how to tell where the important ACI data is.
- CD/DVD backup is available on most PCs. This might be a good solution for a small appraisal shop without a central server. Refer to your CD burner software for how best to
create a backup CD, or call us for advice.
- Consider subscribing to an ACI online office solution such as ACI365™ which allows for account management, client contact, order generation, and other tools from anywhere you have an
internet connection—perfect for conducting business on the road!
Stormatically yours,
Andy