Open, save, copy and backup

Opening a file

• Accounting files can be opened in Banana Accounting if they are on the local computer or if they are accessible through a network.
  If they have been sent by email, before opening them you need to move them in a computer folder
• Only one user at a time can edit a file
  If you edit a protected file or a file already in use by other users, you need to save the file with another name in order to save your changes.
• The Banana Accounting program, notifies that you have opened a read-only file in the following cases:
  • the file is located on a non-writable disk (CD-ROM)
  • the file is located on a temporary non-writable folder
  • the file is protected or the user doesn't not have rights to edit it
  • the file has already been opened by another user
  • the file has already been opened from the same user but in another session

How to look for *.ac2 files

If you don't remember in which directory your accounting files are located, you can use the search Windows Explorer box or the Mac finder search tool.

Find your accounting file on a Windows computer

Banana Accounting files have an .ac2 or .sba extention. The Windows search tool will vary depending on your Windows version.

• Windows 10: click on the search icon on the Applications bar and enter "ac2" or "sba" or your file name and click on the Documents arrow.
• From the Explorer File Manager enter the "*.ac2" extension, the "*.sba" extension or your file name and let Windows look for it.
• When in Banana you get to the Open file dialog window (File menu -> Open), enter the "*.ac2" or "*.sba" extension in the top right search box and then click on the look in the whole PC icon, or select the directory where you want Windows to look for your file.

Find your accounting file on a Mac computer

• When in Banana you get to the Open file dialog window (File menu -> Open), enter "ac2" or "sba" or a word that is part of the file name in the top right search box. With the icons, select where you want to look for your file (in the entire computer or in selected folders).
• Open the Finder and enter "ac2" or "sba"or a word belonging to the file name in the search box.
• Right click on the Finder icon, then click on Search, and then enter "ac2" or "sba" or a word belonging to the file name.

Saving a file

With the Save or Save as... command, the data are saved onto the hard disk. Pre-existing disk data are replaced with the new ones.

• A single file can be saved by one user at a time
  The file can be saved by the user only if it is not also being used by other users
• Files can be saved anywhere.
  You can enter the file name and destination when saving it for the first time or when using the Save as command from the File menu
  As a first option, Banana Accounting suggest the Documents folder as destination folder for the .ac2 files, but it can be changed with the Browse button.
• If you are managing different accounting files, we suggest you to create a separate folder for each company and for each accounting year.
• Each file can be password protected.
   

Accounting files (*.ac2)

• Files created with Banana Accounting have an .ac2 extension, regardless the operating system used.
  The .ac2 file format is specific for Banana. When saving, all data are compacted and saved in bulk.
• Ac2 files are compatible between different operating systems (Windows, Mac and Linux)
  You can save a file with Windows, then open it and edit it on a Mac, and then reopen in on a Linux or Windows computer.
• Each file can be sent as an email attachment, edited on different operating system and resent to the sender.
• Accounting files are completely separated from the software Banana itself, that has an .exe extension for Windows,
• The installation files for Mac have a .dmg extension and a .deb, .rmp .run .tgz or .appimage extension for Linux.

Automatic saving

Banana Accounting automatically creates and saves your work in a temporary file that ends with ".autosave" . When you press the Save button or you exit the program, this temporary file is deleted. In case your computer should crash or turn off in the middle of your work, it would be possible to recover your data by opening this file.

In order to have the program automatically create this temporary autosave file, the corresponding option should be active (it usually is by default) in the Program Options (you can access them from the Tools menu).

How to copy or move your accounting files

Banana can save your files on any unit seen by the operating system or on a rewritable disc.
From non-rewritable discs (CDs or DVDs) Banana can open the files on a "read only" mode.

All .ac2 files can be moved in different ways:

from one directory to another:

• using Windows Explorer or Mac Finder to locate the directory where your files have been saved
• copying and pasting them in the new destination directory (once you pasted them you can delete from the original directory)

from one computer to another:

• saving the files on a memory stick and then saving them on the new computer:
  • open the file to be moved
  • from the File menu choose the Save as command, choosing the memory stick as destination unit
  • this copy can also be made from Explorer by dragging the accounting file into the memory stick unit
• by sending them as email attachments and then saving them on the new computer

DropBox, Google Drive and other synchronization systems

Banana is compatible with systems such as DropBox and Google that keep files synchronized with cloud storage services.
Banana overwrites *.ac2 files and deletes the *.ac2.bak files. In the deleted files list you will find all *.ac2.bak files previous versions.

Viewing changes

Banana Android works directly with Dropbox servers. If you make changes on your PC, usually you have to wait a few seconds before you see the changes on the server, so also on Banana.

To ensure that the file is properly synchronized with the server, the file on your PC must be marked with the green check mark.
If you do not see the sync symbols (green, red, blue), you have to update the Dropbox application installed on your PC.

Another way to check the synchronization status from your PC, is to click on the Dropbox icon in the bottom bar:

In addition, Android synchronization does not occur while you are working with the app. You must close and reopen it.

Attention: Banana cannot realize if some files are opened simultaneously on more than one computer. It could thus happen that someone erases some data or that someone else adds some new data. Only the more recent copy of the saved file is kept. For this reason we strongly advise to avoid working at the same time on the same file.

Security copies (backup)

We strongly advise you to create external backup copies of your accounting files, in order to prevent a possible data loss, due for example to a computer crash or other causes.

• if you have a Mac computer you can use "Time Machine"
• if you have a Windows computer you can use the "File history" function

You can find other programs on the market that allow you to automatically create a backup of your data.

Saving and .bak files

When saving, Banana Accounting replaces the contents of the existing file, with the more recent data, only if the saving process is successfull:

• Data are saved on a temporary file
  Only if the saving process is successfull the data on your disk are replaced to the existing ones.
• If the Create backup copy (.bak) option is activated (Tools menu -> Program options command -> Avanced tab) the program renames the pre-existing file with the same name, adding the .bak extension.
  A new file named "filename.ac2.bak" is created, containing the data before the saving process.

If an error occurs during the saving process, if for example the network disk is no longer available, choose another file name for saving your data.

Recover your data from a .bak file

When for a number of reasons you cannot find your accounting file, you can recover your data from the backup copy automatically created by the program. Here is how to proceed:

• open the directory where your accounting file was located
• open the file with a .bak extension. If it is not shown in the dialog window, you need to select the "show all files (*.*)" option at the bottom right of the window
• once the file is opened, save it with a name. Usually the same name as the lost file is chosen.

Damaged .ac2 files

Sometimes a computer crashes due to technical problems or viruses. Sometimes data received by email are compromised or damaged. For these reasons we strongly suggest you to make copies of your files.
If, for technical reasons you have a damaged file, our support team can verify, for a fee, if there are data that can be recovered.