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[ Backing Up Annotation Files ] saves a compressed image of your annotations

[ Packaging Projects ] saves all of the components of your project.

It is possible to quickly generate large annotation sets in All Topo Projects:

This project has over 700 point and area annotations!

All Topo will compress and save your annotation file to a unique file in the folder of your choosing. This allows you to keep your work on a local drive, but save backups on a separate (perhaps networked) drive.

Use the menu option "Annotations: Backup, Restore, Package: Backup..." or press the shortcut key "Shift-Control-S":

to reach the 'Backup Map Annotations' dialog:

All Topo automatically generates a unique backup filename (by adding an underscore and the next unused integer) to the base annotation file name. Backup files are compressed (typically to 25% of their uncompressed size) and stored in the last used backup folder.

All Topo's 'Restore' option allows you to quickly return to any saved annotation set.

By pressing 'Ctrl-Shift-S' then 'Enter' at regular intervals and placing backups on a separate physical volume you can painlessly save intermediate work sets and protect against disk and computer failure!

When you complete a project, you can use the 'Project Packager' to:

• Archive your entire project to a single, compressed file
• Share your work with others
• Send your project to a Service Provider for printing

The project packager gathers all of the resources your project uses:

• the master annotation file and any included annotation files
• every icon and picture associated with coordinates
• DeedPlotter+ Drawing Exchange Files (.DXF)
• BigTopo map files
• the All Topo viewer configuration file
• Notes the user enters when the package is built

and packages them in a single, compressed file.

To package a project, select the main menu option: "Annotation: Backup, Restore, Package...: Package":

If two resources (typically like-named images in different folders) have the same name, the packager automatically generates unique names and stores both resources in the package.

When All Topo unpackages a package, the entire project is automatically flattened into a single folder. This simplifies job management for service providers and is a simple method to gather all of the components into a single folder.