Back-up and share surveys using archive and restore

It is easy to backup and share surveys, complete with their data.

Backing up surveys is vital to preserve your work and gathered data in case of any problems. You can back-up a survey created in Snap, with or without the case data, by archiving it.

It is highly recommended that once a survey has been published, you archive it. You can archive it regularly throughout the life of the survey and restore it to that state.

You should also archive it together with the associated data before you make any changes to it, so that you can return to the original copy if the need arises.

Background

Archiving allows Snap to compress the survey and its case data (optional) into one file. This is usually 10% to 25% of the original file size. This does not impact the original survey, and it will still be available in the Survey Overview for you to open and work with.

Step 1: Archiving the survey

Open the Survey Overview window. (Click if it is not already open.)
Select the survey you wish to archive. If it is not displayed, use [Browse] to find the folder containing it.
Click the Archive Survey button . The archive dialog box appears:
Snap generates a file name based on the name of the survey with the .adf extension. The file will be stored where you are currently working. You can change the location and the file name by clicking the browse button.
Check the Include Raw Data box to include the case data in your archive.
When you have set things up correctly, click [OK]. If the survey has already been archived to that location, you will get the following message:

Select the correct option. If you want to create a new archive file, click [No] and then choose a different location or filename.
When the survey has archived correctly, Snap displays a confirmation message.
Click [OK] to continue.

Step 2: Sharing your survey

When you have archived your survey, you can share it with other Snap users. You can either tell them where the archive file is stored on the network, or email them a copy of the file.

Restoring the survey does not affect the archive. It creates a new copy of the survey.

If you have been sent an archived survey as an attachment to an email, save a copy of it in a known place before you open it, otherwise you will be using a temporary file store.

You can double-click an archived survey to open it in Snap. This is equivalent to using the Restore button from the Survey Overview window in Snap and takes you directly to the Restore survey dialog at step 2.

Step 3: Restoring your survey in Snap

Open the Survey Overview window. (Click if it is not already open.)
Use [Browse] to find the directory where you wish to store the restored survey. If the survey you wish to restore is displayed, select it.
Click the restore button . The Restore survey dialog appears. If Snap is not displaying the archive you wish to restore as the Archive File Name, select [Browse] and find the correct archive file. Check the Survey Definitions box to restore the survey, and the Raw Data box to restore the case data.
When you have the correct filename displayed and the options checked, click [OK]. If you already have a copy of the survey in this directory Snap displays an information dialog. Select the appropriate option (Rename, to create a new copy of the survey, Overwrite to overwrite the existing copy and Cancel if you wish to change the directory where the file is saved).
When the survey has been restored from the archive Snap gives you a confirmation dialog. Click [OK] to finish.