Backup the Tournament

It's impossible to duplicate a Destination Imagination tournament, but you can make a backup copy of your tournament directory.

The tournament directory contains all of the files needed to duplicate or reconstruct the tournament. You can use a backup copy of the tournament directory on any computer that has the DI Scoring Program. Just start the DI Scoring Program, click Open Tournament, and point to the copy of the tournament directory. The copy behaves just like the original.

The DI Scoring Program also provides a method for automating the creation of backup copies of your tournament directory. You may select the time interval between automatic backups and the number of backups that will be retained. You will also indicate where these backups are to be written - on the computer's hard drive, on removable media, or on an available network drive - depending on your individual equipment and situation.

Making backup copies is one of the easiest and most worthwhile tasks you can do. And you can do it as frequently as you please. Keep several backup copies of your tournament, store them in different locations, and always have one copy on removable media in case of emergency.

If you're using a system of manual backups, you should design a naming convention for your backup copies. You can use the tournament name, followed by the date and time, such as OhioDI-Jan4-10AM, or store them in a directory called OhioBackups and name each one in a series, such as Ohio-1 and Ohio-2. This prevents the backup copy from being overwritten by its successor.

Be sure to make a backup copy:

• After creating a tournament.
• After adding or loading teams.
• After adding appraisers to the Detail score sheet.
• After making last-minute changes on tournament day.
• Periodically during the tournament.
• After the tournament.

This topic has the following sections:

• To set up for automatic backups
• To make a manual backup copy
• To use a backup copy

To set up for automatic backups:

Consider the duration of your tournament - half a day, one day, two or three days - and consider how far back in tournament time you are willing to go to recreate the tournament scoring in the event of a problem which requires you to revert to a backup. You will also need to determine how much "storage" space is available on your computer's hard drive.

A typical day-long tournament using detailed scoring with appraisers will generate a tournament directory that will start at 30 to 50 KB in size once teams and appraisers have been entered, and will grow by the end of the day to 200 to 300 KB. Multiply this by the number of backups you might create, and you'll have an idea of the disk storage space required. A reasonably-sized hard drive would easily contain all the copies resulting from your decision to make backups every 60 minutes and save a total of 10 copies.

Once you have collected this information, go to Set Preferences and select the Set Backups and Directory option.

To make a manual backup copy:

1. Save all your data and Exit the DI Scoring Program. It shouldn't be running during the manual backup process.

2. Use a system browser, such as Windows Explorer, to locate the tournament directory.

   To locate the tournament directory, in the Tournament Summary Window toolbar, click the Tournament Info button. The path to the tournament directory is listed in the Directory field.

3. Copy the folder.

   Click the tournament directory (folder) to select it and then press Ctrl+C, or right-click the folder and select Copy from the context menu.

   Note
   Copy the whole folder -- don't open the folder and copy the files. If you are in the tournament directory, go up one level to the DI Scoring Program directory, and select the tournament directory from there.

4. Paste the folder.

   Use Windows Explorer or My Computer to find the location where you store your copies. Press Ctrl+V or right-click and then select Paste from the Context menu.

5. Rename the copy.

   Click the copy to select it, pause, and then click it again, or click to select the copy and then press F2. Type the new name.

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To use a backup copy

1. To open the copied tournament on a different computer, move or copy the tournament directory (folder) to the new computer, or to a disk or networked location accessible by the new computer.
2. Start the DI Scoring Program.
3. From the File menu, click Open Tournament.
4. Use the Choose Directory browser to locate the tournament directory, and then click Open.

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