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This page explains how Goldenseal manages files.
USING COMPANY FILES
Goldenseal File Basics | Opening a File-- Macintosh | New
File-- Macintosh
Opening a File-- Windows | New File-- Windows | Sample Company File | Starter
Files
BACK-UPS
Local Backup | Second Drive | Off Premises
Company File Copies- Macintosh | Company File Copies- Windows
Goldenseal File Basics
Goldenseal stores all of your company data in one file.
A company file stores all your business data in one place. It stays on your hard drive, so it will still be there the next time you want
to look at it.
WARNING-- It is extreeeemly important to make backup copies of your company file! You
wouldn't ever want to retype all that data, now would you?
Opening a Company File-- Macintosh
To open a Company File on the Macintosh, follow these steps:
- Double-click on your hard drive's icon, and locate the Goldenseal folder. If you don't have a Goldenseal folder, you first need
to install Goldenseal.
- Inside the folder you will see an icon for Goldenseal.
- Double-click on the icon.
- Goldenseal will ask you to open a file.
- Locate your company file on your hard drive, and click Open.
Creating a New Company File-- Macintosh
To create a new Company File on a Macintosh, follow these steps:
- Double-click on your hard drive's icon, and locate the Goldenseal folder. If you don't have a Goldenseal folder, you first need
to install Goldenseal.
- Inside the folder you will see an icon for Goldenseal.
- Double-click on the icon.
- Goldenseal will ask you to open a file.
- Click the New File button.
- Enter a file name, and choose a place on your hard drive to save the file.
- Click Save.
Opening a Company File-- Windows
To open a Company File for Windows, follow these steps:
- Click the Start button.
- Choose Programs from the menu that shows at the right.
- Choose Goldenseal from the menu that shows at the right. If you don't have a Goldenseal folder, you first need to install Goldenseal.
- Choose the Goldenseal application to open it.
- Goldenseal will ask you to open a file.
- Locate your company file on your hard drive, and click Open.
Creating a New Company File-- Windows
To create a new Company File in Windows, follow these steps:
- Click the Start button.
- Choose Programs from the menu that shows at the right.
- Choose Goldenseal from the menu that shows at the right. If you don't have a Goldenseal folder, you first need to install Goldenseal.
- Choose the Goldenseal application to open it.
- Goldenseal will ask you to open a file.
- Click the New File button.
- Enter a file name, and choose a place on your hard drive to save the file.
- Click Save.
Sample Company File
The Goldenseal CD comes with a Sample Company File. Use it when you
read through the tutorial in the Getting Started manual. It already
contains some data for a fictitious company.
Starter Files
When you first use Goldenseal, you can start with a Starter
File for your type of business. Starter Files have beginning
information for different types of businesses.
You can also use a starter file to make a 'clone' of your current company file. You might want to do that if you start a second business with
separate records, or if you want to start over at the beginning of a new year.
HINT-- It's usually easier to keep using the same company file.
To create a 'clone' copy of your current records, follow these steps:
- Go through your account records, and turn on the Include in Starter File checkbox for each account that you want to include in the new file. Turn
the checkbox off for accounts that you do not want to include.
- Choose Export from the File menu, choose Other Items from the submenu, and choose Starter Data from the second submenu.
- In the range dialog, choose to export all items.
- Enter a name and location for the export file, then click Save.
- Choose Quit (Macintosh) or Exit (Windows) from the File menu.
- Open Goldenseal, and create a new company file.
- Choose Import from the File menu, and choose Company File from the submenu.
- Locate the file you exported in step 2. Click Open.
- Goldenseal will import the basic data from your original file.
Local Backups
To make a backup copy while you are running Goldenseal, follow these steps:
- Choose Save a Copy from the File menu.
- Choose a location for the backup copy-- you can save it anywhere on your hard drive, or on a different drive.
- Enter a name for the backup file. You might want to include the current date in the file name.
- Click Save.
Second Drive Backups
Put a copy of the company file onto a second drive at least once every few days (once a day is best). Then you will be able to replace the file from the
second drive if your hard drive dies or if the file is damaged
or deleted.
The company file is usually too big to put on a floppy disk, but you can use a second hard drive, a Zip drive, a removable hard drive, recordable or
rewritable CD's or DVD's, tape backup, or any other storage medium. You can also use a local network or the Internet to send the file to a different
computer.
HINT-- For extra security, use several different backup methods, and rotate files so you always have several files available
from different dates.
Multiple Backups
Computer storage space is cheap, and data entry is expensive. Because of that, it is a good idea to make multiple backup copies. It can really help if
more than one file is damaged, or if a file contains bad data and you
don't notice it right away.
There are many backup strategies-- you might want to make a local backup copy every day, and include the date as part of the file name. You can then
throw out files when they are a week old, or a month old-- depending on the space that is available.
HINT-- Since storage media is not that expensive, you may as well keep all copies of your company file indefinitely. For
example, with a CD-R drive, one CD can store 10 to 100 copies of the company file for less than $1.
Off Premise Backups
At least once a week, store a copy of the company file at a different location. That way you'll only lose a week's work if your computers are stolen or
if a flood, fire or alien invasion destroys your computer. You can send files through the Internet, or carry a Zip disk, CD or backup tape to the other
location.
HINT-- If you have a time machine, send a copy backwards in time for even more security. Then you can fix mistakes before
they happen, and you can use actual expenses to make your cost estimates much more accurate.
Company File Copies- Macintosh
To make a copy using the Macintosh Finder, follow these steps:
- Click on the Application menu (at the upper right corner of the screen), and choose Finder.
- Locate the Goldenseal folder on your hard drive, and open it. If your company file is in a different folder, open that one instead.
- Find the icon for the company file, and click on it just once.
- Choose Duplicate from the File menu.
- If you want, you can rename the new duplicate file. You can also drag it to a different location, if you'd like to store it somewhere else.
Company File Copies- Windows
To make a copy using Windows, follow these steps:
- Click the Start button, and choose the Programs folder.
- Select the Windows Explorer.
- Locate the Goldenseal folder and double-click on it.
- Find the icon for the company file, and click on it just once.
- Choose Send To from the File menu, then choose a location for the backup copy.
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