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Backup & Restore

Your notes, highlights, and other data exist only on your computer. You can back them up to avoid losing them.

Open the Backup & Restore dialog from File → Backup & Restore, from Open Backup & Restore in the Advanced section of Preferences, or by typing /backup in the search bar. The dialog has two tabs: Create Backup and Restore Backup.

What is included​

A backup contains what you have created:

  • Notes (documents, sermons, and verse notes), including the note files in your notes folder
  • Highlights and underlines
  • Bookmarks
  • Prayer lists and prayers
  • Saved sessions, layouts, keyboard shortcuts, and settings
  • Search and navigation history, if you select Include search and navigation history

It does not include the modules themselves (which you can re-install from the Module Manager if you switch computers, for example).

Creating a backup​

There is no automatic backup, but here's how to do it manually:

  1. Open File → Backup & Restore. The Create Backup tab is shown.
  2. Enter a password of at least 10 characters in Password, and again in Confirm Password.
  3. Choose Create Backup, and choose where to save the file.

The backup dialog, asking for the password that will encrypt the file

warning

The password cannot be recovered. Without it, the backup cannot be opened.

It's a good idea to keep a backup on a separate computer than your main one, or in cloud storage online.

Unencrypted export​

Under Unencrypted export, Export Unencrypted Copy saves your data as a ZIP file without a password. Anyone who has the file can open and read it. It is intended for moving your data to other software.

Restoring​

  1. Open File → Backup & Restore and choose the Restore Backup tab.
  2. Choose Browse..., select the backup file, enter its password, and choose Unlock. The dialog shows the backup's details.
  3. Under What to restore, choose which groups of data to restore. The theme, window layout, saved sessions, and keyboard shortcuts are not selected by default in Merge mode; select them when you restore on a new computer.
  4. Choose a restore mode:
    • Merge (Recommended) adds the backup's contents to your current data. Nothing is changed or removed, and items you already have are not duplicated. Use this to move to a new computer, recover deleted items, or combine data from two computers.
    • Replace All replaces the selected data with the backup.
  5. Choose Restore Backup.

The restore dialog, showing the Merge and Replace All choice

danger

Replace All deletes your current data in the selected groups and replaces it with the backup. The app saves a safety copy of your current data first, but the replacement cannot be undone from inside the app. Make a separate, new backup before using Replace All, just in case.

If the dialog says so after restoring, restart the app to see the restored data.

Moving to a new computer​

  1. On the old computer, use File → Backup & Restore to save a backup somewhere you can reach from the new one.
  2. Install Keep Thy Heart Bible Reader on the new computer.
  3. Reinstall your modules from File → Open Module Manager.
  4. Restore the backup in Merge mode, with the theme and layout group selected if you want them.

Modules are not in the backup, so the file is small.

note

Highlights refer to Bible modules by number. If you install modules in a different order on the new computer, some highlights may attach to the wrong module.

Where your data lives​

Highlights, bookmarks, prayers, and settings are stored in a database in the application's data directory, separate from modules. Notes are .bn files in the notes folder you chose. Updating or uninstalling a module does not affect either.