This documentation refers to PhraseExpress v17 beta. The documentation for the production version 16 is available here.

Data Backup

PhraseExpress offers multiple levels of data protection:
  • Deleted phrases are put into the recycle bin from where you can restore individual phrases.
  • PhraseExpress keeps the history of each phrase edit, allowing you restore earlier phrase contents.
  • Whenever you minimize/exit the program window and the phrase file has changed, PhraseExpress automatically creates a backup as configured in the PhraseExpress Settings » Phrase file.
  • You can use the Migration Assistant to create a full backup of program settings and all data (excluding contents from a SQL server).
To restore an earlier phrase file version:
  1. Open the main program window.
  2. Highlight the desired local phrase file node in the tree view.
  3. Click File » Restore from backup.
  4. Select the desired archive from the list.

After confirmation, PhraseExpress restores the selected file version.

The backup feature may not be available in following cases:
  • The selected phrase tree node is a SQL server connection.
  • The phrase file is write-protected on file level.
  • The backup folder path as specified in the settings is not accessible or invalid.
  • The backup folder does not contain any backup.
  • Backup is disabled in the program settings.

To delete one or multiple selected backup file click the recycle bin.

If PhraseExpress hangs, check if this caused by any "ransomware" protection feature (e.g. Acronis Active Protection").

  • PhraseExpress does not create SQL database backups of a SQL server! Please use the backup system provided with your SQL server.
  • Additionally backup your phrase file/databases to external storage media to prevent data loss. Really do this! PhraseExpress does not create backups for system phrase folders (such as the Clipboard Manager).
  • Backups of password protected phrase files with are protected with the same password.

Manual backup restore

PhraseExpress stores phrase file backups in the directory as defined in the backup settings under “File » Settings » Phrase file » Backup”. Backups are created for each phrase file in separate subfolders, beginning with the phrase file name, followed by a random character sequence (Example: “/phrases_606775_Local”).

To restore a backup manually:
  1. Open the PhraseExpress backup folder. It contains several files with a time/date stamp in the file name.
  2. In the Windows File Explorer, click on the column title bar “change date” in the file list to sort all files by date.
  3. Review the file size of the files which gives you indication of the amount of contents. Small sizes such as 1KB indicates, that the file is empty.
  4. Copy the newest file with reasonable size to a file directory where you want to store your PhraseExpress phrase file.
  5. Rename the phrase file to a reasonable name and remove the file extension “.bak” (default file name is “phrases.pexdb”).
  6. Load or import the renamed phrase file in PhraseExpress.
≪ Transfer a phrase file | Optimization ≫

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