Goldenseal Files
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

Website Info Links
       Accounting Software | Business Management Software | Estimating Software

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 Macintosh, follow these steps:

  1. Double-click on your hard drive's icon, and locate the Goldenseal folder.  HINT-- If you don't have a Goldenseal folder, you first need to install Goldenseal.
  2. Inside the folder you will see an icon for Goldenseal.
  3. Double-click on the icon.
  4. Goldenseal will ask you to open a file (in Mac OS X you'll see the standard file open dialog. In Mac OS 9 and earlier you'll see a custom open dialog, shown at right).
  5. Locate the company file on your hard drive, and click Open.

Creating a New Company File-- Macintosh

To create a new Company File on any Macintosh, follow these steps:

  1. 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.
  2. Inside the folder you will see an icon for Goldenseal.
  3. Double-click on the icon.
  4. Goldenseal will ask you to open a file.
  5. Click the New File button.
  6. Enter a file name, and choose a place on your hard drive to save the file.
  7. Click Save.

Opening a Company File-- Windows

To open a Company File for Windows, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button.
  2. Choose Programs from the menu that shows at the right.
  3. Choose Goldenseal from the menu that shows at the right.  If you don't have a Goldenseal folder, you first need to install Goldenseal.
  4. Choose the Goldenseal application to open it.
  5. Goldenseal will ask you to open a file.
  6. 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:
  1. Click the Start button.
  2. Choose Programs from the menu that shows at the right.
  3. Choose Goldenseal from the menu that shows at the right.  If you don't have a Goldenseal folder, you first need to install Goldenseal.
  4. Choose the Goldenseal application to open it.
  5. Goldenseal will ask you to open a file.
  6. Click the New File button.
  7. Enter a file name, and choose a place on your hard drive to save the file.
  8. 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.

Local Backups

To make a backup copy while you are running Goldenseal, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Save a Copy from the File menu.
  2. Choose a location for the backup copy-- you can save it anywhere on your hard drive, or on a different drive.
  3. Enter a name for the backup file. You might want to include the current date in the file name.
  4. 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, USB Flash drive 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:

  1. Click on the Application menu (at the upper right corner of the screen), and choose Finder.
  2. Locate the Goldenseal folder on your hard drive, and open it.  If your company file is in a different folder, open that one instead.
  3. Find the icon for the company file, and click on it just once.
  4. Choose Duplicate from the File menu.
  5. 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:

  1. Click the Start button, and choose the Programs folder.
  2. Select the Windows Explorer.
  3. Locate the Goldenseal folder and double-click on it.
  4. Find the icon for the company file, and click on it just once.
  5. Choose Send To from the File menu, then choose a location for the backup copy.

Main Page | Accounts | Lists | Transactions | Menus | Index | Website | User Page