Export Database

Overview

Export Database Copy writes a complete copy of the open database to a file you choose.

• Complete: the copy is a full database — transactions, calculations, prices, everything in the file.
• Encrypted: it uses the same encryption and the same password as the database it came from.
• Checked: PrivateACB opens the copy with your current password before it reports success.
• Optimized: the copy is written compactly, so it is usually 10–30% smaller than the original. Nothing is missing.
• Manual: PrivateACB never makes copies on its own.

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When to Export

• Before installing a new version of PrivateACB. Opening a database in a newer version can upgrade it, and an upgraded file no longer opens in older versions. The copy you made first still does.
• Before large imports or large deletions.
• After calculations, and at year-end.
• When moving to another computer.

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How to Export Your Database

A database must be open.

From Settings

1. Open the Settings tab (Ctrl+6).
2. Expand the Export Database Copy card. It shows the open database’s location, size, and last-modified time.
3. Click Export Database Copy.

From the menu

• Choose File → Export Database Copy…, or press Ctrl+E. This runs the same export.

Then:

1. A save dialog opens with a suggested name like PrivateACB_backup_20260915_143045.db (date and time). Choose a folder and click Save.
2. Wait while the copy is written and checked. In Settings the button shows “Exporting…”.
3. When the check passes, a message says the copy was exported and verified, with its path and table count.

If you cancel the save dialog, nothing is exported and no message appears.

If the check fails

You see a message that the copy was written but could not be opened with your current password. The file is left in place so you can look at it, but do not rely on it as a backup. Try exporting again, to a different location if needed.

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Opening an Exported Copy

An exported copy opens like any other database:

1. Close the current database (Ctrl+W).
2. Click Open Existing Database (or press Ctrl+O).
3. Click Browse… and select the copy.
4. Enter the password the original had when the copy was made.

The copy is now the open database. The original file is not changed.

You can also use the copy as your working database from then on, if you want the smaller file.

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Important Notes

The copy needs the same password. A copy made before a password change keeps the old password. Keep a note of which password goes with which copy.

Not in the copy: remembered passwords and API keys. These are kept in Windows secure storage on this computer, not in the database file. On another computer, type the password and enter any API keys again.

Where to keep copies: on a different drive from your working database, and one away from this computer. A cloud-synced folder is fine for copies; the provider only holds encrypted bytes.

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Troubleshooting

The menu item or button is unavailable

• Open a database first. The File menu’s data items stay greyed out until one is open.

Export failed

• Check that you can write to the chosen folder and that there is enough disk space.
• Try a different location.

The copy will not open

• Use the password the original had when the copy was made.
• If the file was moved or downloaded since, check the transfer finished. Export a fresh copy if in doubt.

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Last Updated: September 2026 PrivateACB Version: 2.18.0