Send a Backup to Specify (PC)

Documentation Configuration & Installation
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There are two ways of sending a backup of your database through Specify. One way allows you to create the backup while you are logged into your database. The other way allows you to create the backup without having to be logged in. Both methods create the same files; they are just different means of doing it.

To Create a Backup While Logged into Specify:

  1. Log into Specify. You must be logged in as an Admin user.

  2. Once in Specify, go to Edit in the Menu Bar and select Preferences from the list.

  1. In Preferences, click MySQL to open the MySQL screen.

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  1. Continue to Step 5 below.

To Create a Backup Without Logging into Specify:

  1. In the Start menu, click All Programs to reveal the programs listed. Find the Specify folder and click on it to reveal the Specify applications. Select SpBackupRestore from the list of applications.

  1. In the Backup and Restore window, enter your IT username and password. The IT username and password are the logins for the MySQL server on which your database is located. The username is likely root.

  1. Click More Information to reveal the Database and Server fields. Make sure the correct database and server are identified. (This step is not necessary if you only use one MySQL server and it is located on your machine and you only have one database in the MySQL server.)

  1. Click Login.

  2. The first time you use Backup and Restore, you will have to identify the MySQL Dump and MySQL files Specify will use when creating a backup or restoring a database.

  1. To identify the MySQL Dump file, click Browse. Navigate to the MySQL folder on your computer. (MySQL must be installed on your computer to perform this function!) It is likely on your Local Disk C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.7\bin. Click the mysqldump file (the exe extension may or may not be added to the file name depending on your computer configuration) and click Open to select.

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  1. To identify the MySQL file, click Browse. Navigate to the MySQL folder on your computer. It is likely on your Local Disk C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.7\bin. Click the mysql file (the exe extension may or may not be added to the file name depending on your computer configuration) and click Open to select.
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  2. For the Backup Location field, click Browse. Navigate to the folder in which the database to be restored is saved. Select the folder and click Open to select. Note: The field only identifies the folder in which the backup will be created.

  1. Click Backup.

  2. The Backup and Restore window will show you a progress bar.

  1. When the backup is completed, the progress bar will disappear and the window will say the size of the backed up database.

  1. Once the backup is created, navigate to the file. If you can, zip the file to compress the size.
  2. Navigate to https://spaces.hightail.com/uplink/specify.
  3. In the screen that appears, enter your email address and any other data you would like to add. In the Select a file field, navigate to the zipped backup and click Open. The file will briefly upload.
  4. Once the file has been selected, click Send It.
  5. The file will be sent and Specify will be notified.