Using Backups  

Citavi automatically creates backups when you close a project. The backups are saved in the following folder: Documents\Citavi 4\Backup. Each backup is an exact duplicates of the corresponding project. Backups are saved as ZIP files and their names contain the name of the project and the time the backup was saved.

Note: Backups contain only the Citavi project file. Attached files or custom citation styles are not included in Backups. For this reason we recommend regularly saving your most important files or the entire folder Documents\Citavi 4 on an external drive. Windows offers a nice feature for backups under Control Panel > System and Security > File History.

hmtoggle_plus1 Changing the Folder for Backups

You may want to save the Backup folder on a network share if this is automatically backed up by your organization on a regular basis.

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. Switch to the Folders tab.
  3. Under Backups, click Browse.
  4. Choose a new folder.

Note: If you work with the DropBox synchronization program, you can save your backups in a DropBox folder. However, you should not directly open and edit a Citavi project in a DropBox folder. The synchronization process can interfere with Citavi's saving routine and cause data corruption.

hmtoggle_plus1 Increasing the Number of Backups

As a default, Citavi saves three backups. If a fourth backup is created, Citavi automatically deletes the oldest of the backups. You can increase the number of backups.

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. Switch to the Folders tab.
  3. Under Backups increase the Number of versions, for example to 20

hmtoggle_plus1 Creating a Backup Manually

If you're working on a project for a long time without closing Citavi, you may want to create a backup copy manually.

  1. On the File menu, click Create backup.
  2. Citavi creates a backup in the folder that you set as the folder for backup copies.

hmtoggle_plus1 Restoring a Project from a Backup

  1. Switch to the folder where your backups are saved. By default this folder is Documents\Citavi 4\Backup.
  2. Switch to the folder that has the same name as the project.
  3. Select the backup file. Usually you'll want to use the most recent file.
  4. Right-click the backup file and click Extract all.
  5. Select where the extracted file should be saved.
  6. You can then open the project.