Auto Save is a built in redundancy feature that automatically creates a copy of your practice database each time you initiate the program. The Auto Save folder will store the back up files (.BAK) in the "Install Folder" on your computer's local hard drive. These files are automatically over written each time the program is executed, however the software creates an Auto Save file for every day of the week i.e. Monday's .BAK file is not over written when the program is opened on Tuesday. Auto Save stores these files in individual folders named for each day of the week. Furthermore, the files are created and stored on the local hard drive of each computer that is used to access the program, ensuring that your data is safely backed up on every machine, even in the event of a catastrophe such as a server crash or hard drive failure.

Although using Auto Save is advisable, it can slow the program down slightly, especially when QuickPractice is being used in a network environment (more than one computer accessing a single database). For this reason Auto Save can be turned on/off inside the general preferences section of the software.

If you need to view or open a database file that has been created with Auto Save, you will first need to rename the file and then open it with QuickPractice as you would your regular practice database.

To locate and open a .BAK file, follow the instructions below.

1. Navigate to the "Install Folder" on your computer's hard drive. (normally C:\Program Files\QuickPractice).

2. Open the subdirectory labeled "Auto Save".

3. Open the folder for the day of the week you are looking for. Auto Save files are overwritten each day of the week, thus you should only see one file per folder, unless a file has been renamed OR you have renamed your practice database file, in which case you might see more than .BAK in the day's folder you have opened.

4. After you have allocated the correct .BAK file, right click on the file, select "rename" and then change the file extension from .BAK to .QPF (QuickPractice File).

5. Double click on the renamed file. The QuickPractice software should execute & the new database will open.