Backing Up & Restoring the Material Master and Importing/Exporting Products

Avontus Designer has all the tools necessary to ensure you can remain up and running. You can back up the entire Material Master and restore from a saved backup file if there is a problem. This allows the user to save multiple setups of materials and material types and install them at a click of a button. You can also export just the materials and import them into a different instance of Avontus Designer (for example, at home or in a remote office) to continue work there.

Backing Up the Material Master

Avontus Designer enables you to quickly and easily save backups of your current Material Master on your local drive as an .sdcj file. You can save as many versions as you want, and restore any backup with the click of a button.

To back up the Material Master:

1. Access the Backstage and click Material Master.
    
   The Material Master appears.

2. Click Backup.
    
   The Select File to Save dialog appears.
    

3. As necessary, navigate to the appropriate folder.

4. Click Save.
   Avontus Designer backs up the Material Master.

Restoring the Material Master from Backup

You can back up the entire Material Master and restore from a saved backup file if there is a problem. This allows the user to save multiple setups of materials and material types and install them at a click of a button.

To back up the Material Master:

1. Access the Backstage and click Material Master.
    
   The Material Master appears.

2. Click Restore.
    
   The Select File to Save dialog appears.
    

3. As necessary, navigate to the folder that contains the appropriate backup file and click Save.
   Avontus Designer restores the Material Master from backup.

Importing a Product Catalog into the Material Master

A list of catalogs that can be downloaded and imported can be download them from here. 

To import products into the Material Master:

1. Access the Backstage and click Material Master.
    
   The Material Master appears.

2. Click Additional Catalogs.
    
   This launches your default web browser, which displays the Manufacturer Catalogues page.

3. Locate the desired catalog, and select Download Catalog
    
   The catalog downloads (as a .zip file) into your default download folder.

4. Open a File Explorer and navigate to the download folder, then extract the catalog from the zip file.
    

5. Return to the Material Master and click Import Materials.
   The Select File to open dialog appears.
    

6. Locate and select the extracted .xml file and click Open, to import the catalog.
   A dialog appears.

7. Click the appropriate import option. Your options are:

   Replace Existing Materials	Manufacturer materials will replace existing stock materials for equivalent items. The stock materials will be deleted.
   Combine with Existing Materials	Manufacturer materials will be added to the existing materials. This option may result in duplicate active materials.

    
   Avontus Designer imports the materials.

8. When it is done, click Save Changes or Close when ready.
   Save Changes saves the new information, but leaves the Material Master open. Close saves the new information and closes the Material Master.
    

Exporting Products from the Material Master

You can export all the products in the Material Master database. The result is a properly formatted .xml file saved into the folder of your choice. 

To export products from the Material Master:

1. Access the Backstage and click Material Master.
    
   The Material Master appears.

2. Click Export Materials.
    
   The Select File to save dialog appears.
    

3. Navigate to the appropriate folder, click in the File Name text field and enter a name for the export file, then click Save.
   Avontus Designer exports the products.

Importing from a Back-Up or Export

Avontus Designer enables you to import materials from a back-up file or an export from another installation of Avontus Designer.

To import from a back-up or export:

1. Launch Avontus Designer, or otherwise return to the Backstage and click Material Master.
    
   The Material Master appears.

2. Click Import Materials.
    
   The Select File to Open dialog appears.
    

3. Locate and select the extracted .xml file and click Open, to add the information.
   Avontus Designer imports the contents of the file.
   Avontus Designer imports any changes to Stock Materials or custom-added materials included in the file. Other materials not included in the import file will not be affected.

   Warning: Avontus Designer does not import material deletions. If the imported file is a backup from another installation, you must also delete from the new installation any deleted materials from the previous installation.

Import from a Back-Up or Export (Prior Version)

Avontus Designer will automatically detect when an import file is from an older version. If it detects legacy material, the Importing Legacy Material Catalog dialog appears.:

4. Click the appropriate button in the bottom of the dialog. Your options are:

   • Basic Import - This is the recommended option. Any added or duplicated materials from the import file will be added to the Material Master. Any changes to Stock Material such as custom Part Numbers or Descriptions will be applied to the existing Stock Material, minimizing duplication.

   • Import & Deactivate - This option will import any customized Stock Materials from the file as new items and deactivate the existing equivalent item in the Material Master. Added or duplicated materials from the import file will be added to the Material Master.

   • Cancel - Cancels the import. No changes will be made.