How to Create a File Tools Backup in Sage 300 CRE

Backing up in Sage 300 CRE is critical!

Backing up your accounting data is critical for mitigating the risk of data loss. Of course, performing a nightly by a third-party backup process is great, but the only Sage-supported method for backing up your accounting data is through the use of File Tools. Learn how to create a File Tools backup in Sage 300 CRE with these steps.

Backing up critical data using File Tools:

Launch File Tools

1. In Sage Desktop, launch File Tools from Common Tasks > Tools and leave the selection at the default Backup.

2. Click Next.

Select Folder

2. Select the folder or files to back up:

   • To back up the entire data folder where you launched File Tools, select Add Folder and click OK. (You don’t need to navigate to the folder — File Tools automatically selects the folder it was launched from.)

   • To back up individual files, such as the General Ledger or Job Cost master files, click Add Files. You will be presented with the files present in the data folder from which File Tools was launched. Select the desired file(s) to back up and click Open.

4. Confirm that the appropriate data folder or file has been selected.

5. Click Next.

Select Destination

5. Click the Browse button to select a destination. NOTE: Do not store your backups on your server or in your Sage 300 CRE data folder. If you experience a catastrophic failure of your server, your backups will be lost. Instead, create a folder on your local computer or store backups on an external drive.

Enter Archive Name

5. Enter an archive name for the backup and click the Append button to add the date/time stamp to the name.

8. Click Next. Note that File Tools will complete the following checks:
   • Validate the files to identify any potential data corruption before backing them up.
   • Check for files you might overwrite — adding a date/time stamp to your backup prevents this.
   • Make sure no files are in use, since File Tools cannot back up files that are open. It is best to ask all users to exit Sage 300 CRE prior to beginning the backup. However, if files are in use, you can ask other users to exit the software and then click the Back button and Next button again to refresh the checks.
   • Verify that enough space is available for the operation; the .tszip2 file you create can be up to about 2 GB in size.

9. Click Next. File Tools presents the list of files to be backed up. You can select any files you want to skip at this point.
10. Click Next two more times to begin the execution of the backup.

11. After the backup completes, check the Operation Journal to confirm it reports a successful operation.

Want more great tips for Sage 300 CRE? Check out “How to Print Sage 300 CRE Reports to Excel” or log into Sage City for additional resources.