When the File Is Gone: Restoring Your GrandTotal Data
The most common cause is an unfortunate clean-up: the file ends up in the Trash or gets overwritten while sorting. Then there is a cloud service that rolls back to an old version, and an external drive or NAS that gives up. Your GrandTotal file is then gone or no longer readable. Under File › Open Recent › All Documents, GrandTotal lists every file this Mac has ever opened and shows for each what is still there and how it comes back.
All Documents
The list states the condition of every file: present, present but unreadable, only in the Time Machine backup, only as a cache. A right-click shows the options that fit that condition. An intact file you open or archive as a ZIP; for a missing or damaged one the restore begins.
From Time Machine
If the file sits in a connected Time Machine backup, Restore from Time Machine copies it back to its original place. That is the simplest case: you get the file as it was at the last backup, including all PDF copies.
From the Cache
Without a backup, the cache helps. Since GrandTotal 9.6, GrandTotal keeps a local copy of all records and embedded files for every document it opens, outside the file. A document has this cache once it has been opened with 9.6. Restore from cache builds a new document “Name (recovered)” next to the original from it; the original stays put for comparison. A read-me file next to it records how many records and embedded files came back. A reset cache moves to a cache trash and stays there for 90 days.
Without a Backup Something Is Always Missing
A restore from the cache never brings everything back. The cache lives on the Mac itself. If its disk dies, the cache goes with the file, and only Time Machine helps. The PDF copies of sent documents are left out to save space. They can be generated again from the data, but the original PDF from back then exists only in the backup. Changes after the last cache state are missing as well. Encrypted documents need their password to be restored; the copy is then encrypted the same way. The cache is a lifebuoy, not a replacement for a backup on another drive. Without one, every failure costs part of your data.
At a Glance
All Documents
File › Open Recent, with the condition of every file
Time Machine
The file comes back complete, with PDF copies
Cache, from GrandTotal 9.6
New document next to the original, with read-me
Cache trash
Kept for 90 days
Not in the cache
PDF copies and the latest changes
Without a backup something is always lost