Hi Al, You mention that it "saves" as a .zip file - that tells me you're actually doing a backup of your Legacy file, which is a separate action to saving updates to your .fdb file.
Legacy saves itself as you work, so there is no final step to save your changes when you exit the program like you may see in your spreadsheet and/or word processor programs (though there may be some of that going on as recent changes are updated just as you close). You may have Legacy set to prompt you to backup when you exit, and that's a very good idea, but is not the same thing as saving your data file. Your .fdb file, located within Dropbox, should still be there in the same place when you close down the Legacy program - it doesn't move around unless you move it on purpose. Your cousin should find it in the same place, as you will find it there again later when he's made some changes. Put the backups (.zip) somewhere else so they're not confused with the current file. Since you have your .fdb file in Dropbox, and are sharing that with another person (therefore backed up in two other places besides your own computer), you could direct your backups to save somewhere else on your computer (ie not in Dropbox) as added security - if something happened to your Dropbox folders (heaven forbid that ever happens!), you'd still have your most recent backups on your computer and be able to use that to get going again. Your cousin could do the same, so he has that security as well. You will probably both have to adjust the backup location each time you go to backup after the other has done so. Unless your backup destination was directly off the C: (perhaps c:\Legacy-backups\ ?) - I don't know enough to know if there are any problems doing this, but it could be a common destination on both your computers. Maybe others who know more on this area could comment on this? Should you ever need to make use of your Legacy backup, you'd "restore" the .zip file, rather than "opening" a .fdb file. They're both under File in the menu. Lastly, I'd still incorporate the .zip files in any backup system I had in place (you are backing up your computer to an external hard drive or other off-site location, aren't you?!). Any file of which you have only one copy is not backed up, and is at risk of being lost should there be a catastrophe of any kind that affects your computer (lightning, flood, fire...). Make sure you have at least two copies (preferably three or more, for protection) of everything that is precious to you. If this (backing up) is a foreign topic to you, you may like to start your research/education at http://askleo.com/applications/backing-up-and-backup-programs/ I find Leo to be knowledgeable, approachable, and able to communicate what he knows effectively, and I will sometimes ask him a question before asking my software engineer husband who does seem to know everything but can't always explain it at my level. Hope this helps. :-) Kind Regards, Wendy Alan Wakenhut said the following on 5/11/2013 8:58 a.m.: > > I can normally figure out computer problems but I am still stumped on > sharing Legacy using Dropbox. > > I have no problem sharing files with Dropbox, as I do this frequently > with my clients. My problem is in working on Legacy with a cousin. > We want to be able to work on the same file, without having to do > frequent mergers. I realize that we will not be able to work on > Legacy at the same time. > > I can open the original file from Dropbox, as it is a .fdb file which > Legacy will open. But when I save the file back to Dropbox it is > saved as a .zip file. Using Windows 7, I can’t figure out how to > open this file. How should I save the Legacy file in Dropbox? Is > it possible to save the file as a .fdb instead of a .zip file? > > Thank you, Al > Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
