To back up a table, click on the 'backup' icon in the Action column next to the table to be backed up. If the operation is successful, the page will be redisplayed with a red message at the top detailing the action taken. The 'Last Backup' data will also be updated, as will the size of the file. If the operation is not successful, you may not have created a 'backups' folder, or it may not have adequate permissions. Create the folder in your main TNG folder and give it read/write/execute rights for world/group/owner n (777 or 775), then go to the General Settings and make sure the folder is named as the Backups Folder. NOTE: If all your individual and family data comes from a GEDCOM import, it is not necessary to back up the People, Children and Families tables, as these backups could be quite large and will only take up valuable space. In the event of a data loss, you can simply re-import your GEDCOM file to restore these tables.

To restore a table, click on the 'restore' icon in the Action column next to the table to be restored. If the operation is successful, the page will be redisplayed with a red message at the top detailing the action taken. If the restore icon is not present next to a particular table name, no backup for that table is available.

To optimize a table, click on the 'optimize' icon in the Action column next to the table to be optimized. If the operation is successful, the page will be redisplayed with a red message at the top detailing the action taken. A table should be optimized if you have deleted a large part of the table, or if you have made many changes to variable-length fields. This will reclaim the unused space and defragment the datafile. Some risks are associated with optimizing large tables, so be sure to back up your tables before you optimize them.

To back up, restore or optimize multiple tables at once, check the box in the 'Select' column next to the desired tables, then click the appropriate button at the bottom of the page. To select all tables for any of these operations, click the 'Select All' button. Likewise, all selections can be cleared by clicking the 'Clear All' button.

After making a backup, the backup file will be stored in the Backups folder (as defined in your General Settings). It is recommended that you copy these files to your local machine, since any catastrophic event that affects your database tables could also affect any backups stored on the same computer. If your backup files take up too much space, you could then delete them from your web site and copy them back if a restore is needed.

It is also highly recommended that you name your Backups folder something other than 'backups', as other TNG users with dishonorable intentions could easily steal your data. It is also recommended that you give your Backups folder 771 permissions if possible, as this will prevent anyone from obtaining a directory listing of the folder.