Backing Up a Database

New records, tables, queries and forms can be added to a database at any time. If you are about to add items or make changes which you may not want to keep, you should backup your database first. By backing up your database, you create a copy of the database and preserve the data at a certain point. At any time you can open the backup and restore your data from an earlier stage.

To create a backup of your database:

1. Close and save any open objects.
2. Click the File menu, and select Back Up Database...
3. The database will close, and the Save Backup As dialog box opens.
4. If necessary, navigate to the location where you want to save the backup file.
5. Click Save to create the backup file. When the backup is finished, Access opens your original database again.

If you only want to backup certain objects from a database, first create a new blank database. Import the objects you want to backup and backup or save the new database you created. But be careful, if you name the new database with the same name as the original and save it in the same location, you will overwrite the original database. So be sure to give your new database a unique name.

Access automatically creates a new filename for the backup using the original file name with today's date.