Support topics - VT Transaction

Backing up to a CD/Restoring from a CD

Background

The data for a company/business in VT Transaction is contained in a single file with a .tra name extension (only shown if your system is set to show extensions) and a diamond icon in turquoise. There will be a file for each company for which you do accounts. The files can be in any folder on your PC (or network if you have one) to which you have access. By default the files are saved in the C:\Transact folder.

The files exist quite independently of the VT Transaction software and can be copied or emailed just like any other file on your hard disk. To see the files:

• Click the Start button on the Windows Taskbar
• Click My Computer
• Double on local drive c (ie your hard disk)
• Double click on the Transact folder

You can open a company file directly from My Computer by double clicking on it. This is because the VT Transaction set up CD has told Windows that files with the extension .tra should be opened with VT Transaction. When you double click on a file with the .tra extension Windows starts VT Transaction for you and passes the name of the file to it.

Please note that the file called Transact (or Transact.exe) is the VT Transaction program. This file does not contain your data.

Copying files

See How to copy a file in Windows

Note well

You cannot open a VT Transaction file directly from a CD, even if it is a read-write CD. You must copy it back to your hard disk first.

A file is sometimes set to read-only when it is copied from a CD. VT Transaction will not open read-only files. To rectify this problem, right mouse click on the file in My Computer, choose Properties and then un-tick the read-only attribute.

The Backup to Diskette command in VT Transaction is only for floppy disks. This command splits large files into several floppy disks and uses a special file format with the extension .trb. These files can only be restored using the Restore From Diskette command. Some people email the trb files. This is not very wise as they have to be copied back to a floppy disk before they are restored. It is much easier to email the .tra file instead.