How do I back up my pictures on my Omeka Classic site, please?

Omeka Classic
1

How do I back up my pictures on my Omeka Classic site, please? I think the way is to use the Installatron in my host’s Control Panel. Installatron creates a large file with the extension .tar.gz, but I can’t open the file to see my pictures.

2

Pictures and other documents are stored in the files folder; to backup your pictures you could just create a copy of the subfolder original.

A .tar.gz file is a (mainly Linux) compressed file, so to see its content you need to uncompress it first. See this page for some help: https://linuxize.com/post/how-to-extract-unzip-tar-gz-file/

3

Thank you, @DanieleB. Would you back up photos by just downloading the files/original folder, or use another method? What is the .tar.gz file good for?

4

Yes, I think the easiest way for you would be to copy the whole original folder to your local computer or to any other storage area you’re using for backup.

It can help you reduce the size of the whole backup. Do take into account that .JPG files will not be compressed a lot, while text files (.txt, .pdf, etc.) might be compressed a lot; so, should you have mainly pictures, you would not notice too much of a difference.

5

Thank you, @DanieleB! What if I lost my Omeka site? How would I restore all the photos and text quickly? By uploading the .tar.gz file?

6

In order to prevent such an unfortunate case, backup copies are always your safe solution.
You could try my Admin Tools plugin to create a backup of the database, or you could generate a dump of the db with PhpMyAdmin or similar tools. See also the page Backing up an Omeka Classic Database - Omeka Classic User Manual for help.

7

Will the .tar.gz file suffice if I need to quickly restore my site?

8

Hi @DanieleB, I’m still hoping for an answer to my last question, and also for this one. Thank you!

9

Hi.

I think it depends on what you mean by “quickly”. But if you have a backup of the database AND of the pictures/documents contained in the files folder, you’ve got everything you need (provided you did not alter the core/theme/plugins files, of course).

10

Sorry, @DanieleB, I still don’t understand. I want to know if the .tar.gz file is all I need to back up my site. I think you’re saying that it’s not or enough (or not “everything”).

12

Any further help appreciated!