Thanks to some freeware called Wink, there is now the first of probably many video tutorials on how to use TS.  Except that this first one has nothing to do with how to use TS :-)  It guides you through making a backup, then restoring, your TS database.

The reason I made this one first is precisely because I made sooooo many changes to TS that there's a high chance I broke something.  And that's why I'm calling v2.0 "beta" to start off with.  And that's why you should make a copy of your TS database, and test v2.0 on that copy.  When you're happy that TS is working just fine for your purposes, then you upgrade your original database (or just keeping using the copy.  But in either case, making the copy is important).

The backup file is a plain text file, which you can copy somewhere safe in case the computer running TS dies, is stolen, catches on fire, etc.

This procedure is useful for:

• Taking a simple backup for safe-keeping.
• Copying your live database so you can test a new version of TS.
• Copying a TS database from your local computer to a different computer (e.g. a dedicated server you just started renting).
• Moving your TS database to a new version of PostgreSQL, when you upgrade that.  (Necessary when moving between major revision numbers, e.g. 8.1 to 8.2, but not when upgrading from 8.1.3 to 8.1.4).

So take a look.  At the moment I've just uploaded the direct output from Wink, which is a very plain webpage with an embedded flash video.  Click your browser's "back" button to return to the TS website proper.

Backup, Restore, Copy, Move Your TS Database

Suggestions welcomed.