Does Backup Need Route and Default?

When you backup a route to external media do you also have to backup the Default Session?
I have never done that, so are my "backups" potential problems?

If you are using .cdp files to create your backups then you can select what you want to include and what to exclude. The Sessions you create, regardless of what they are called, can be included in the route backup or saved as separate backup files, it is up to you.

If you have a "disaster" and lose your Trainz database and you have only backed up the routes and not the sessions then you will lose anything you have saved in the sessions.

There is a Trainz Wiki guide to making backups at https://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/How_to_Manage_Backups that explains all the options.

I had read this area of the Wiki last week but reread it now. The Manual Backup section is flawed on my computer I select today's date for backup and the proper entries appear. I select a date 3 days ago and 20834 items appear. It is just an interesting anomaly since I do not use that method of selection.

Anyhow, there is still the question - If I save a route file, but do not save the default session, am I in trouble if I restore the Route without its attendant Default Session?


I searched the Wiki for Default and found mostly Blender info. Thus I assume that the Default contains info on the construct of the Route's assets.

Searching for Default Folder gives me results only on the individual target words. Thus I get all the info on Default and Folder separately.
There are no entries for "Default Folder" collectively.

No you won't lose anything if you don't restore the Default session unless you configured anything that requires saving to the session layer. Because of the non-descript name, I create a "base" session with the route-name in it instead when I am ready to configure anything that's going to need configuration and delete all default sessions.

Guess - the Route Session is a profile of settings that must be in memory prior to running the route. Otherwise there may be some stuttering if settings are recreated on the fly. The missing settings are created at either load time or at their first use. I would take the hit at load time. Just a guess to explain why not having the file at startup appears harmless. Probably other explanations as well....

If you set up an industry to accept the commodity Wool Bales and produce the commodity Textiles and set up a box car to load and unload both then those settings are stored in the Session, not the Route, even if the industry and box cars are part of the Route. When you save your work if you save only the Route and not the Session then that data will be lost and the industry and box cars will revert to their default settings, whatever they may be, when you reload the Route. Saving (and backing up) the Session will save those settings so when you next load the Route and the Session then your settings (Wool Bales and Textiles) will be preserved.

The same is true for a long list of other characteristics. An incomplete list would include:-

Weather and environmental conditions
Time of Day
Rules
Driver assignments
Driver commands
Commodities consumed, produced and carried (as described above)
Switch settings (left or right)
Anything stored in Session Layers

You can load and run a Route without also loading a Session and the above will all be set to their default conditions except that anything that was in the saved Session Layers will be missing from the layout.

pware said:

If you set up an industry to accept the commodity Wool Bales and produce the commodity Textiles and set up a box car to load and unload both then those settings are stored in the Session, not the Route, even if the industry and box cars are part of the Route. When you save your work if you save only the Route and not the Session then that data will be lost and the industry and box cars will revert to their default settings, whatever they may be, when you reload the Route. Saving (and backing up) the Session will save those settings so when you next load the Route and the Session then your settings (Wool Bales and Textiles) will be preserved.

The same is true for a long list of other characteristics. An incomplete list would include:-

Weather and environmental conditions
Time of Day
Rules
Driver assignments
Driver commands
Commodities consumed, produced and carried (as described above)
Switch settings (left or right)
Anything stored in Session Layers

You can load and run a Route without also loading a Session and the above will all be set to their default conditions except that anything that was in the saved Session Layers will be missing from the layout.

Click to expand...

This is why I create a separately named session that is not easily forgotten. For my Gloucester Terminal Electric Route, I have an operating session called Daily Operations -- Gloucester Terminal Electric V. 15.5 ---- 05-21-2021.

I also have another session that was used as the basis for this called Base-Session -- 10.5 --- 03-06-2020. Not much changed as you can see in the base session, but the one that is based on this grew and changed mostly with additional freight consists but nothing in the way of operations that is significant enough to warrant a rewrite of this session. If I need to, I can go back to this one, which I also keep backed up separately, and quickly generate a new one by simply placing presaved consists around the route.

Using Windows 10,
Does copying the whole TANE file from the Program Manager......in this case , the TANE file stored in the default directory, "Program Files (x86)"
and pasting it to an external hard drive , give you a reliable back up ?
Thanks

JimDep - Yep; copying the entire contents of both your T:ANE Program folders AND T:ANE UserData folders constitutes a reliable way of fully backing up your Trainz routes and sessions.
In most cases, however, you can get away with simply copying the entirety of your UserData folders and files, since the Program files won't change too much between sessions, unless you have patched or otherwise updated them.
CDPs - of both the underlying route and its dependent sessions - are a good a good way to back up individual saved sessions, something I always do after making any significant updates to the session (or route design) during development phases.
Saved games, of course, will be preserved when you fully COPY both program files and UserData folders.

PC_Ace said:

JimDep - Yep; copying the entire contents of both your T:ANE Program folders AND T:ANE UserData folders constitutes a reliable way of fully backing up your Trainz routes and sessions.
In most cases, however, you can get away with simply copying the entirety of your UserData folders and files, since the Program files won't change too much between sessions, unless you have patched or otherwise updated them.
CDPs - of both the underlying route and its dependent sessions - are a good a good way to back up individual saved sessions, something I always do after making any significant updates to the session (or route design) during development phases.
Saved games, of course, will be preserved when you fully COPY both program files and UserData folders.

Click to expand...

Ok......great......thanks.
It takes me a little longer , not much longer to do it this way. I've got a route I've been working on for a few years saved many times, and when I go to do a CDP, I'm not sure which one to make. I need to delete a few saved routes and sessions to make it easier.

JimDep - Copying both Program folders AND UserData folders (often stored elsewhere on your disk drive) is a lengthy, belts and braces approach. With the size of my UserData folder these days, even on a fast SSD, with files being transferred to another fast SSD, it takes a lot of time.
Accordingly, I usually only go the whole hog just before applying a new patch or upgrading to a new version of Trainz.
In the meantime, the UserData folder should be fully backed up from time to time to external HDDs - 'cos that's where all of your precious W.I.P. is stored, games saved, etc.

To find out which is the latest session you've been working on if you don't physically type in the date and time to the file name, then hover your mouse over the Sessions shown in 'View Sessions' mode to reveal the automatically recorded Date and Time stamps, to give you more of a clue about which one to save to CDP - or re-open for further editing and development. (I typically delete most of the earlier states of development once I have a reliable backup of my WIP session). Giving your sessions a distinctive name also aids in mnemonics and maintenance - especially when you're returning to the simulator after a few days away...
Looking at the list of assets in the 'My Content' filter in Content Manager will also reveal time and date stamps for Modification Dates etc.
Make sure to also do a CDP of the underlying Route associated with any WIP session for which you create a saved CDP to capture any editing changes you might have made there too.

I'll look into it ! Thanks again.