How do I restore a backup on a new computer?
Open Import, choose the backup file, type its passphrase and press Import. The whole file is checked first, and importing only adds: nothing you have is changed.
Open Import in the sidebar and, under Import a backup, press Choose a backup file. Type its passphrase, choose what to bring in, and press Import. It works the same on a new computer, after a reset, or on the computer the backup came from.
#Bring a backup in
- On a new computer, install Dictate Safe and finish setup first. Restored dictations do not use up the free trial.
- Open Import and, under Import a backup, press Choose a backup file. Pick the file, which ends in
.dsbackup. The Go to Import button in Settings → Backup brings you to the same place. - If the backup is locked, type the passphrase it was made with and press Open backup.
- Check the preview. It says when the backup was made and has a switch for each kind of thing in it: Dictations, Notes, Prompts, Snippets and vocabulary, and Recordings. Switch off anything you do not want.
- Press Import.
The card lists what was added, says “The dictations are in History, with your imported history”, and ends with “Nothing you had before was changed or removed.”
#A backup made of small updates
If you chose small updates, your backup is a set: a complete file and the updates after it. Choose any file of the set. The preview offers The whole set, which brings in the complete file and every update together. Keep all of them in the same folder, because restoring needs them together. If a file of the set is missing, the preview says so.
#Importing only adds
The Import page puts it this way: “Importing only adds. Nothing you have on this Mac is changed or removed, anything already here is skipped, a dictation you deleted here is not brought back, and none of it leaves this Mac.” The whole backup is checked before anything is added, so a damaged file or a wrong passphrase is refused with nothing changed. Importing the same backup twice adds nothing the second time.
“A dictation you deleted here is not brought back” holds on the computer you deleted it on, because Dictate Safe still has the record of the deletion there. A new computer, or one whose history was cleared, has no such record. So a dictation you deleted after a backup was made comes back if you import that backup there.
#If it stops or is refused
You can press Stop at any time. What was already added stays, nothing you had is changed, and running it again carries on where it left off.
That passphrase did not open this backup. Check it and try again.Why: The passphrase is not the one this backup was made with.
Fix: Type it again. If you changed your passphrase at some point, backups made before the change need the old one.
This backup is incomplete. It may have been interrupted while it was being saved.Why: The file was cut short: a copy that did not finish, or a synced file that has not finished downloading.
Fix: Let the copy or the sync finish, then try again. Otherwise choose another backup.
This backup is damaged or has been changed, so it cannot be used.Why: The file no longer matches what was saved, so the app will not trust any of it.
Fix: Choose another backup, such as an older one or a copy kept somewhere else. Nothing was added.
This backup was made by a newer version of the app. Update the app and try again.Why: The backup came from a newer Dictate Safe than the one on this computer.
Fix: Update the app, then import it again.
Encryption is a choice made on each computer. A history restored on a new computer is stored there without encryption until you turn it on in Settings → Privacy. See how to encrypt your history.
Your license does not travel in a backup. To use Dictate Safe on the new computer after the trial, sign in there as described in moving to a new computer.