solved How do you backup a skin?

Last night I was trying to make a small modification to my skin and in doing so, I managed to mess up a bunch of settings. Is there a way to bring the skin back to an earlier date? Otherwise, it will be a nightmare to fix this mistake.
Thanks
updated by @perrie: 02/09/17 08:52:49AM

Depends on how you are developing your skin. If you are doing it via the file system and adjusting files via SFTP in the /skins/(YOUR SKIN)/ directory then there are version control systems that you can use to keep track of changes.

If you are adjusting the template via the ACP via the TEMPLATES -> template.tpl -> MODIFY then there are no backups unless you've copy+pasted and saved the contents somewhere.

You could revert the server to a previous state from here:
https://www.jamroom.net/perrie/hosting/backup_browser/34/id=344

But thats not just the skins, its the data too.

I did it through the ACP>style editor. Is there any hope of getting it back? And what do you mean by backing up via the other method about all information. Do you mean that I will lose some site discussions?

updated by @perrie: 11/01/16 11:36:48PM

no. The style tab does not have a built in revision system.

OK I took it back one day using
https://www.jamroom.net/perrie/hosting/backup_browser/34/id=344
How long does it take?

Restoring from a back can take quite a while. Note that during the restore it will show you how far along it is.


--
Brian Johnson
Founder and Lead Developer - Jamroom
https://www.jamroom.net
updated by @brian: 11/02/16 02:11:15PM

Actually, Brian I didn't see anything that would indicate how far along the process was. You might want to check that out.
On the other hand, lesson learned. I will be taking screenshots of all the ACP settings so if I have to make any changes in the future, I will not lose all my formatting.

Perrie, you may want to consider doing skin change tests by first making a CLONE of your current active skin. Then make your changes on that cloned skin, and make it active to see what effect your changes have. If you mess up then you can just make your original skin active again and delete the clone.


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...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

Hi Strumelia,
I will have to look into that. This should have been such a minor change, and I am not sure how it could have gone so wrong. I'll read the documentation on cloning, since I never have tried. I guess it makes more sense than just taking screenshots.
btw... love your little tag line!
updated by @perrie: 11/02/16 10:05:55PM

Well, I went to the documentation and it seems that it needs some updating. I don't see where to make a clone of my site. Can someone direct me to where to find the cloning button.
Thanks

Please clarify- you want to make a clone of your custom skin, or a clone of your whole site?


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

Ummm.. what is the difference? I was thinking that I needed the skin to all the current tabs on the site.

Perrie, your whole site is like- you, your entire body, head, hair, feet, internal organs, etc. It includes all the member Content, and the Modules, templates, CSS style codes, etc.
Your 'skin' is like the clothes you put on your body- it's what people 'see' and it can be like a clown costume, or a ballerina outfit, or a business suit, etc.
Your site's skin (such as the default JR skin "Ningja" skin can dictate what people see on your site, how it looks and behaves.
See in your ACP there's a section called "Skins"? What it s the name of your site's "active" skin? ...It must be a custom skin you created at some point in time, since I doubt it's the default Ningja skin.



--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015
updated by @strumelia: 11/04/16 10:43:24AM

Strumelia, your description is what I thought but I wanted to make sure. I went into the ACP and found the name of my skin. So when I go ACP>skin settings>skin style, I don't see anything that would say clone. Where do I find the clone for the skin?

Ok so Perrie:
That's not where you need to be to clone your current skin.
First, just click on the top menu ling for "ACP" (not the drop down menus under it).
That takes you to where you can access your skins And modules etc. That will be at the URL of (yoursite).com/core/admin/global Then click on the upper left TAB for "Skins".

That will take you to here (screenshot), and you can see the full name (with the prefix) of your current active skin, plus other skins in the left column that are not currently active.


--
...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

In my screen shot, you see my active skin full name (with prefix) is: mdFOTMD_Nov4_2016
Yours (and your prefix) will be different. Note that MY prefix is lower case: md (stands for mountain dulcimer btw). You will want to use YOUR prefix on all new skin names that you might clone or create.

Ok so now you know your skin name prefix. Then go to your MODULES tab of the ACP (instead of the skins tab) and go to the Developer/Developer Tools module inthe left column. In Developer Tools, you'll see a buttong for Clone Skin....click it.

The "skin to clone" window should already be filled with your current active skin. (notice it doesn't show the prefix though).
UNder new skin name, fill in whatever you want to call your new cloned skin but be sure to type in the lower case PREFIX first, followed by your new skin name (and no space between prefix and name).
If I did a clone today on Nov 4, and my current active skin was titled FOTMD_Oct2_2016 , then I might call my new cloned skin: mdFOTMD_Nov4_2016 (note I've added the prefix in my new skin name....the prefix won't show in most other places you see the skin names, but you need to add it here.).
Then just hit Clone Skin and you'll see the new clone skin in your list of available skins at (yoursite).com/core/skin_admin Then all you need to do is decide which skin you want to be the current active skin for your site, check its active box and save.

I like to name clones with the date- makes it eaiser to delete really old clones I no plonger need. I try to keep at least the last two cloned skins I've saved, in case I need to go way back. But do make a fresh new Clone of your current active skin BEFORE you start making skin changes- make your tests/changes to the new Clone and test them b making it active and clearing cache. If it messes up you simply go make your original skin active again (the one you had active before you made your clone and screwed up).



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...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015
updated by @strumelia: 11/04/16 01:02:11PM

Hi Strumelia,
I followed your directions and they worked like a charm and now I have a copy of the site, so thank you! In fact, it seems that Cometchat has managed to make a mess of my formating so I didn't do it a moment too soon!
You are da bomb!

I'm happy to hear that, Perrie!
Just to be clear- by following my previous post instructions, you only made a copy (clone) of your SKIN, not a copy of your SITE (as you put it) or its contents. You'll want to make a skin clone every once in a while and keep track of any skin clones you want to hold onto for safekeeping. Old clones no longer needed can be deleted. Always be sure to clone your active skin for safekeeping before making any significant change to your active skin. If your change works out well, you can then go ahead and delete the safety clone.
And you'll also want to hang onto and KEEP updating your original Jamroom 'mother skin'- in my case that's the Ningja skin. That way you can pull any newly added cool features from it and try adding them to your active custom skin (after making a safekeeping clone/copy of course).


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...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015

Backing up your skin is great, but it does not back up any of your site content. Skins help control how your site looks and acts, but they don't store your site content such as documents, pages, photos, discussions, member profiles, etc. Backing up your SITE means backing up everything on your server including all member content- but that's a different subject for a different thread. Now that you know how to back up your SKIN, you could mark this thread as 'solved'.


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...just another satisfied Jamroom customer.
Migrated from Ning to Jamroom June 2015