.BAK File Extension

Different programs create and use BAK files differently. For example, a drawing program may automatically create a BAK file whenever a user edits their drawing, to preserve the just-prior version. Alternatively, a database program may allow a user to manually create a BAK file that contains a backup copy of their database.

In many cases, you can open a BAK file by removing .bak from its filename and opening it as you would a normal version of that file. For example, you can open document.doc.bak by changing its name to document.doc and opening it as you would any DOC file. (If your file uses only the .bak extension, you may have to add the extension it would normally have while renaming it. For example, you would rename document.bak to document.doc.)

In other cases, you must follow specific instructions included with the program that created a BAK file to open the file. In these cases, refer to your program's backup documentation.

Businesses use Swiftpage Act! to manage and communicate with their customers. Act! stores all customer-related data in a database file, which Act! managers and administrators can choose to back up. For example, before upgrading to a new version of Act!, a business's IT administrator might back up their Act! database.

Act! saves database backups as BAK files. Typically, these BAK files are stored in a .ZIP file produced during the backup process. This ZIP file includes related Act! data, such as attached documents, document templates, report templates, and saved database queries.

NOTE: Act! was previously developed by The Sage Group.

You can use Act! Diagnostics to restore the database a BAK file contains to Swiftpage Act! (Windows). To do so:

1. Open the Windows Start menu, type actdiag, and press Enter to open Act! Diagnostics.
2. Select Tools → Restore Database.
3. To overwrite an existing database, select Restore BAK file. To add your BAK file as a new database, select Restore BAK file As.
4. Follow the prompts to restore the database your BAK file contains.

You can open a BAK file with MakeMusic Finale (Windows, Mac). To do so, select File → Open... from the program's menu bar. Then, navigate to and open your BAK file.

After you open your BAK file, you can use the File → Save As... option to save the file as a normal MUS or .MUSX file.

You can use MakeMusic Finale to export the score a BAK file contains in many formats, including:

• .AIFF - Audio Interchange File Format
• .WAV - WAVE Audio
• .EPUB - Open eBook
• .MIDI - MIDI Music Data
• .MXL - Compressed MusicXML

You can open a BAK file with WonderShare MobileTrans (Windows, Mac). To do so, first make sure your BAK file is stored in the following directory:

~Users/​YourUserName/​Wondershare/​MobileTransPro/​Backup

Then:

1. Open WonderShare MobileTrans.
2. Connect your smartphone to your computer.
3. Go to the Backup & Restore screen.
4. From the Phone Backup & Restore section, select Restore.



Your BAK file will appear in WonderShare MobileTrans. You can use the Restore button to restore the backup your BAK file contains to your smartphone.

Database administrators use Microsoft SQL Server to store data within relational databases that reside on one or more servers. Because servers can fail and databases can become corrupted, administrators often create backups of their databases and store them on separate servers. That way, administrators can easily replace their original database with its backup if an issue arises. Database backups are saved as BAK files.

Sometimes, administrators create backups that contain only part of a database. These backups, known as differential backups or partial backups, are also saved with the .bak extension.

You can open a BAK file and use it to restore a SQL Server database in Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, which is included in Microsoft SQL Server. To do so, follow the instructions included in Microsoft's online SQL documentation.

In the event MAGIX VEGAS quits before you can manually save an in-progress video project, the program will automatically save that project as a BAK file. BAK files can be used to recover a project and save it as a VEG file.

Typically, VEGAS BAK files are located in the following directory:

C:/​Users/​YourUserName/​AppData/​Local/​VEGAS Pro

You can open a VEGAS BAK file in MAGIX VEGAS (Windows). To do so, change the file's extension from .veg.bak to .veg and then open the file in VEGAS.

Terraria is a multiplatform exploration, construction, and survival game. The Windows and Mac versions of Terraria automatically create backups of players' worlds and player profiles. World backups use the extension .wld.bak. Player profile backups use the extension .plr.bak.

World backups are stored in the following directories:

• Windows: ~/​Users/​YourUserName/​Documents/​My Games/​Terraria/​Worlds
• Mac: ~/​Users/​YourUserName/​Library/​Application Support/​Terraria/​Worlds

Player profile backups are stored in the following directories:

• Windows: ~/​Users/​YourUserName/​Documents/​My Games/​Terraria/​Players
• Mac: ~/​Users/​YourUserName/​Library/​Application Support/​Terraria/​Players

To use a BAK file to restore a Re-Logic Terraria (Windows, Mac) world or player profile:

1. Remove the .bak extension from the file's name.
2. Place the file in the appropriate game directory (noted above).

The next time you open Terraria, the world or player profile your file contains will appear for selection.

AutoCAD creates BAK files to allow users to revert to a previous version of their drawing, if they realize they've made a mistake or the original drawing file has become corrupted. In most cases, these files are saved in the same directory as the DWG file from which they were created. However, users can also use the MOVEBAK command to manually specify where AutoCAD saves BAK files.

AutoCAD maintains only one BAK file for each DWG file. When the program creates a new BAK file for a drawing, it deletes the previous backup. BAK files always use the same filename as the drawing from which they were created, except they use the .bak extension instead of the .dwg extension. (For example, drawing.bak is a backup of drawing.dwg.)

To open an AutoCAD BAK file, change its extension from .bak to .dwg. Then, open it as you would any .DWG file.

Holo Launcher for Android 2.2+ devices, also known as Holo Launcher for Froyo, is an old Android customization app. Android users use Holo Launcher to replace the operating system's default home screen and customize the way the operating system looks and behaves.

If a user wants to back up their current Holo Launcher for Froyo settings, they can do so using the app's Backup & Restore → Backup option. Doing so saves the user's current settings and shortcuts as a BAK file.

You can open a Holo Launcher BAK file in Holo Launcher for Froyo (Android), using the app's Backup & Restore → Restore option. Doing so will apply the settings and shortcuts the BAK file contains to your Android device.

Taskbar allows Android and Chrome OS users to add a Windows-like Start menu to their device's screen. This allows users to quickly search for and open applications. Taskbar contains many settings, including the ability to hide Taskbar at certain times, block certain apps from appearing in the Start menu, customize Taskbar's appearance, and more.

If a user wants to back up their current Taskbar settings, they can open the app and select Advanced features → Manage app data → Backup settings to file.... A Save as prompt will appear, from which the user can save their settings as a BAK file. The file is typically named Taskbar-YYYYMMDD-######.bak.

Each BAK file is a Zip-compressed file that contains a .JSON file. The JSON file contains a plain text list of the user's Taskbar settings.

You can use a BAK file to restore your Taskbar settings. To do so, open the app and select Advanced features → Manage app data → Restore settings from file.... Then, navigate to and open your BAK file.

If necessary, you can also decompress your BAK file using any Zip-decompression utility, and then view the JSON data your file contains. (You may have to change the file's extension to .ZIP before you can decompress it.)