# Backing up and Recovery

Cognex Designer will automatically backup the previous version of your project every time you save it, with the file name of: <ProjectName>_yyyyMMdd_hhmm_0.cdp. The timestamp in the backup file indicates when the original project .cdp file was saved.

Note:

- The timestamp uses the following format: yyyyMMdd_hhmm_0; the _0 denotes seconds/milliseconds, and will be incremented if the file is saved more than once, in under a minute. For example, if the original project file is saved at 1:25 PM, on May 13, 2015, the backup file would be named <ProjectName>_20150513_1325_0.
- See the Restoring a Project From a Backup topic for more information about creating a new project file from a backup.
- The Date modified column in Windows Explorer will indicate the last time that the project file itself was saved.

To make backing up easier, try to keep all database files, sample images, etc. in the Project Folder. This will allow you to move the project from computer to computer more easily.

- ﻿Project Files: Located in the Projects folder, with a .vsp file extension (Libraries > Documents > Cognex Designer > Projects).
- Sample Files: Located in the Samples folder (Libraries > Documents > Cognex Designer > Samples).
- Persistent Tags: Located in the Data folder, and given the name runtime.db3 (RunTime > "ProjectName" > Data).
- Database: Dependent upon where the Database is saved (best practice is to keep it located in Project Folder\Data).

If the .cdp file gets corrupted or deleted, Designer will attempt to find the latest backup in the Project Folder, and the following message will be displayed:

If you click Yes, and then save the resulting opened project, a new file is created: <project_name>.cdp. It is based on the backup, and will contain any modifications that were made since the backup was opened (the backup file itself will remain unchanged).

Note:

To be able to open the latest backup, you must have backup files saved in your project folder. To create a backup, in Designer, click File | Save. If you have no backup of your project, and your original project file is corrupted, missing or does not match the project folder name, Designer will not display the project in Launcher. The image below illustrates a project file and its backups:

Since there is no backup version of supporting files, any change related to items like databases, recipes, user tables, exported tag files, templates and/or images, they will need to be recreated.