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The documents and data that you upload to Actionstep are your property. You can request a backup copy of your data and documents at any time. This takeaway backup is a downloaded version of all of the real-time data and documents within your system to date.
Requesting a Backup
To request a backup:
Note the following about your backup request:
- You will be required to provide your orgkey, which you can find by hovering over the organization menu.
- You will also need to provide the email address you would like the link for the backup files sent to.
- In order for your request to be processed, the Support team will need to verify that you have the necessary authority within your organization to receive the backup. You will need to be an Admin with Authority in order to receive a backup. Or, an Admin with Authority can request a backup to a user without these permissions.
- Most backup requests will be completed within 1-2 business days of receiving the request; however, if you have a particularly large data set, this might be slightly longer. When the backup has been completed, you will be sent an email message with a download link. You will be called or emailed separately to provide you with a password to decrypt the backup. (For security purposes, the password and the download link are never sent in the same email message.)
- If your backup is too large for you to download, you can request that it be shipped to you using a courier. The cost for this service will vary depending on courier costs, storage media, and the time taken to process the request.
What's Included in Your Backup
The email you receive will contain links to download one or more password-protected ZIP files. (For large backups, data may be saved across several zip files to make it easier to download.) You should download the zip files and then unzip them using the password that was provided to you by Support.
The first zip file will contain your database data and possibly some documents. Subsequent zip files (if any) will contain the rest of your documents.
 WARNING: Please note that the password assigned to the zip file will expire seven days after receiving your backup. Be sure to download and unzip the file with the password before it expires. If it expires before you can access your files, you can request another backup from support@actionstep.com. |
Working with the Data
In the first zip file, there will be a folder called "Data". Inside this folder, there will be several CSV files that you can view in Microsoft Excel or any text editor.
Each data file contains rows of data and their associated unique keys (usually numeric with a column name containing "id"). You can use the keys to relate rows of data together from several data files. This makes it easier to import this data into another relational database system. Here is an explanation of what is contained in each data file:
| Filename | Key | Data |
| actions.csv | action_id | All your actions (our generic name for matters, projects, etc) and who they are currently assigned to |
| action_types.csv | action_type_id | The defined "types" for each action. This governs the workflow and configuration of each action |
| action_folder.csv | folder_id | The default folder structure for documents stored within each action type |
| action_participants.csv | action_id, participant_type_id | The participants of each type that are linked to each action |
| chart_of_accounts.csv | ac_account_id | All the accounts defined in your general ledger |
| check_series.csv | check_id | All checks (cheques) for banking check printing |
| custom_action_data.csv | data_collection_name, data_field_name | All custom data values linked to actions. Fields are grouped into rows using the record_id key |
| disbursements.csv | disbursement_id | Disbursements loaded against actions |
| document_log.csv | log_id | A list of all documents saved to matters. The file_name field should match to documents in this backup. You can use this file to match the actions to the files listed in the "documents" folder of the backup zip files |
| email.csv | email_id | Message headers and subject. The message contents can be found in the linked attachments. |
| email_associations.csv | association_id | What items an email is linked to within Actionstep (actions, invoices, contacts, etc) |
| email_attachment.csv | attachment_id | Email attachments. You can use this to match the email messages to the attachment files listed in the zip folders under "email/attachments" |
| general_ledger_transactions.csv | transaction_id | A full extract of all your accounting entries |
| participant_document.csv | document_id | A list of documents saved to contact records. You can match these to the files in the zip folders under "participant/documents" |
| participants.csv | participant_id | Contact records |
| participant_types.csv | participant_type_id | The types of parties (client, lawyer, witness, etc) defined for each action type |
| primary_participant_types.csv | participant_type_id, action_type_id | The main participant type for each action type (usually "Client"). In other words the person shown in the action header area on the screen inside Actionstep |
| receipt.csv | receipt_id | Receipts issued for payments received |
| sale_purchase_line_items.csv | line_item_id | The line items of quotes, orders, and invoices |
| sale_purchase_payment.csv | payment_id | Payments received against invoices |
| sale_purchase.csv | sale_purchase_id | Header information for quotes, orders, and invoices |
| tasks.csv | task_id | Tasks |
| time_records.csv | record_id | Timesheet entries |
| rate_sheets.csv | rate_id | Rate sheets |
| transaction_references.csv | transaction_reference_id | Any additional reference information for the general ledger transactions |
| trust_*.csv | transaction_id, action_id | Transactions related to the trust account for each action |
Working with Documents
Other than the "data" folder, all other folders contain copies of all documents you have uploaded to Actionstep in their original format. The documents are arranged in a folder by functional area. In many cases, the file name of the document is prefixed with the corresponding database key. For example, 7865_some_file_name in the "documents" folder will relate to action ID 7865.
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