Job Title: Chief Architect. Location: Herndon, VA. Join our team dedicated to developing and executing innovative solutions in support of customer mission success. Responsibilities: Work directly with the user engagement team and product owners on functional requirements to develop key functionality to support combatant commands. PC and Mac system requirements for Home Designer Pro, Architectural and Suite. Home Designer ® Software by Chief Architect.

QUESTION

I want to create a backup of my program and all of its content. What is the most efficient way to do this?

ANSWER

Backing up data simply means creating a copy of your files and saving them in a safe location so that they can be retrieved in the event of a problem. It's important to routinely back up your important data - including Chief Architect/Home Designer drawings and user content - because in the event of a hard drive crash or other computer malfunction, it's possible you might lose your work, or access to it, unless you have copies saved somewhere else.
Additionally, it's helpful to have this same content backed up so that it can be transferred to another computer for use with the Chief Architect software.

For information about restoring backed up Chief Architect/Home Designer data or migrating it to a new computer, see KB-00091: Restoring Chief Architect Content

For safety's sake, it is best to use a strategy that utilizes a backup location somewhere other than your local computer. Options include:

Burning files onto a DVD;
Copying files to a removable storage device such as a USB flash drive or external drive;
Copying files to a server or other location on your network;
Copying files to an online storage site or have your backup service do it for you.

There are a number of different Chief Architect/Home Designer files that you may want to back up. You can back up some or all of them, depending on your needs:

Plan and Layout Files
The Program Installer
Core, Bonus, and Manufacturer Catalogs
Toolbars, Hotkeys, Templates, and other user data

Regardless of where you choose to save your backed up files, it is helpful to know how to copy and paste files in your operating system's file system. There are several ways, and all are easy.
When copying files associated with Chief Architect or Home Designer, it is important to begin by saving your work and closing out of the software.

To copy and paste files

Open the File Explorer in Windows or Finder in macOS, navigate to a file you would like to copy to the system Clipboard, and select it.
If you would like to select multiple files, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard if you're using Windows, or the Command key if you're using a Mac, then click on additional files to add them to your selection.
Copy the selected file or files to the Clipboard:
- On Windows, click the Copy button in the Home ribbon, right-click and select Copy from the contextual menu, or press Ctrl + C.
- On macOS, select Edit> Copy from the menu bar, right-click (Control-click) and select Copy from the contextual menu, or press Command + C.
  On a Mac, hold down the Control key while clicking to initiate a right-click command. More information about right-click commands on Apple input devices can be found in the following Apple resource: Right-click on Mac.
Once they are copied to the Clipboard, navigate to the location where you would like to paste a copy of the selected file(s).
Paste the selected file or files:
- On Windows, click the Paste button in the Home ribbon, right-click and select Paste from the contextual menu, or press Ctrl + V.
- On macOS, select Edit> Paste from the menu bar, right-click (Control-click) and select Paste from the contextual menu, or press press Command + V.

To back up Plan and Layout files

Plan and layout files often reference a variety of other files such as images and PDFs. When backing up plans and layouts, it is important that these referenced files be included. A great way to do this is to use the Backup Entire Plan/Project tool in the program so that all associated files, including those that have been imported, are backed up to a single folder.
It's important to be aware that if the Backup Entire Plan/Project tool is used in a layout file, the layout file, as well as all the plans associated with the layout will be backed up. However, if this tool is used while in a plan file, the layout file will not be included.

Select Open Plan or Open Layout* , and proceed to open the file that you want to backup.
*Layout files are only available in Home Designer Pro, Chief Architect Interiors, and Chief Architect Premier.
From the menu, navigate to File> Backup Entire Plan/Project and in the dialog that displays:
- Leave the radio button set to Backup Plan Files and All Referenced Files.
- Be sure to check the Send Backup Files to Zip Archive box to create a compressed/zipped folder (Recommended).
- Click OK.
Browse your chosen backup location, then click Save.
Note: If the Send Backup Files to Zip Archive box was not checked in the step above, you will need to create a new, empty file folder on the Desktop for the plan and referenced files to be backed up to:
- On a Windows operating system, right-click in an empty area and choose 'New> Folder'.
- On a macOS system, right-click in an empty area and choose 'New Folder'.
If backed up from a plan, a copy of the plan file, including the associated files such as images, textures, PDF's, and backdrops will now be backed up.
If backed up from a layout, a copy of the layout, all plan files sent to the layout, and the associated files such as images, textures, PDF's, and backdrops will now be backed up.

To back up the Program Installer

The program installer allows you to install the Chief Architect/Home Designer program onto a supported Windows or macOS system. This Installer file can be downloaded from the Digital Locker area of your Online Chief Architect Account. Installers for the most recent program versions are available online; however, for archival purposes many people opt to keep their own copies of installers for the program versions that they have licenses for.

In the Digital Locker, click the DOWNLOAD link on the right for the program version you want to back up.
On the next page, select the Windows or Mac option, then click the DOWNLOAD button.
This will download a .msi (Microsoft Installer Database) file on Windows or a .dmg (Apple Disk Image) file on macOS.
- On Windows, the icon for a .msi file will look similar to the image below:
- On macOS, the icon for a .dmg file will look similar to the image below:
Note: The name of the file will vary depending on what version of the program installer you have, but in general, the file name will begin with the product title, followed by a version number, and ending with the .msi file extension on Windows, and .dmg on a Mac.
If you are presented with the option to Save or Run the file, choose Save, and specify a location you'd like to download and save the installer to.
If the download starts automatically, the installer will likely be located in the Downloads folder on your system when it's finished downloading.
Once downloaded, make a copy of the installer file in your chosen backup location using the Copy and Paste commands, as described above.

To back up Core, Bonus, and Manufacturer Catalogs

By default, Core, Bonus, and Manufacturer catalogs are saved in the ProgramData folder on Windows or the Application Support folder on macOS. These are hidden file locations and may require you to use the 'Run' utility on Windows or the 'Go to Folder' function in macOS to access.
Close out of Chief Architect or Home Designer prior to completing the following steps.

Browse to the file location where your library content is stored:
- On Windows, press the Windows Key and the letter R on your keyboard at the same

Chief Architect System Requirements