One thing that is often difficult to do with developing in local FileMaker files is to keep good quality, regular backups. A process for doing this is needed that doesn’t infringe on your development time and is easy to manage.
If you have something like TimeMachine or Crashplan in use ( we use both, for different reasons ) then you may already be covered.
One other thing I like to do is to regularly take a copy of the files I’m working on and put them into a zip archive, with the current timestamp as a filename. I do this often enough that I’ve cobbled together a script from various places on the web that will do it automatically for me.
I’ve attached a zipped copy of this app at the end of this article. It’s actually a zip of the application, but you can view the script by dragging it onto “Applescript Editor”. If you edit the script, make sure that you save it as an Application with no startup screen like so :
In my case I’ve put this in every finder window by dragging it into the toolbar. So whenever I want to backup the file I’m working on, I select them in the finder and click one button. I’ve got a timestamped zip in a folder called “Backups” in the same folder as the files I selected.
I’ve also added one extra feature because I didn’t want this app to open an icon in the dock. Using this hint I removed the icon, so it all happens in the background.
The bonus is that doesn’t have to be something you use only on FileMaker files, it would work with any file at all.