Cloud backup

Cartograph can backup data and synchronize data between multiple Cartograph installations through a webserver. Currently the following services are supported:

The backup includes tracks, bookmarks and waypoints, map styles, media files, maps, overlays, workspaces, and activities.

You can also manually backup and copy all Cartograph files as described here.


Limits of the backup service

The backup has the following limitations:

  • Media files are only synced up to a size of 10 megabytes.
  • All files which are outside of the app’s document directory are not synced.
  • Map and overlay files are not included in the backup (only the map and overlay definitions).
  • Map-, overlay-, and media files which are located outside of the app’s document directory can lead to “missing file” problems, especially when synchronizing between multiple devices on different platforms.
  • Settings are not synced but you can manually export and import settings using the backup manager.

Deleting backup files

When you often create backups then the backup process can get slow and consume much space on the web server. To speed up the process again, it is save to manually delete all backup files from the web server and then start the backup process again. Please note, that you should always delete all files from the server. Deleting individual files only will result in faulty backups.

Steps required for deleting backup files:

  1. Synchronize all (!) devices.
  2. Rename or delete all files in the web server’s backup directory.
  3. Synchronize again on the device.

How synchronization technically works

The Cartograph app maintains a lookup file (named “appsync.zip“) on the web server which contains timestamps of all changes. Based on these timestamps it decides which entries are the most recent. All changes are saved in compressed SQLite databases (one for each type). The size of each database is limited to approximately 15 megabytes.

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