Fourteeners Journal Backup & Restore

Your Journal is meant to last.

Fourteeners Journal stores your climbing history on your device and also gives you a manual backup option so you can preserve that history, move it to another iPhone, or keep an independent copy for safekeeping.

Create a backup

In Fourteeners Journal:

About → Journal Backup → Export

The app creates a .fjbackup file containing your Journal data.

You can then save that file using the standard iOS share sheet—for example to Files, iCloud Drive, an external drive, AirDrop, or another location you trust.

A backup is created only when you ask for one.

What a backup includes

A Fourteeners Journal backup preserves:

  • Journal entries
  • Summit and Attempt outcomes
  • Dates
  • Notes and stories
  • Photographs stored by Fourteeners Journal
  • Photo order and associations
  • Repeat-climb records
  • Want to Climb selections
  • References linking Journal entries to associated Apple Health workouts

Photographs are preserved in their original stored form. Fourteeners Journal does not resize or silently omit them during backup.

What a backup does not include

A .fjbackup file does not contain the underlying Apple Health data itself.

That means it does not copy:

  • Apple Health workout records
  • HealthKit route coordinates
  • heart-rate samples
  • energy samples
  • other Health data retrieved from Apple Health
  • Health permission settings

The backup preserves the reference connecting a Journal entry to a workout, but the corresponding workout must also exist in Apple Health on the destination device for its Health information to remain available.

Backup security

Fourteeners Journal backup files are not encrypted by Fourteeners Journal.

A backup may contain private material, including:

  • Journal notes and stories
  • photographs
  • metadata embedded in those photographs
  • location metadata if it already exists in the original image

Store backup files only in locations you trust.

If you send a backup to another person or service, that recipient may be able to access the contents of the file.

Moving to a new iPhone

There are two practical ways to move Fourteeners Journal to a new iPhone.

Option 1: Restore using Apple’s device migration or backup

If you move to a new iPhone using Apple’s normal device-transfer or backup-and-restore process, Fourteeners Journal’s application data may be restored as part of that process, depending on your Apple backup settings.

For the best continuity:

  • make sure your old iPhone has completed its backup or transfer
  • include Fourteeners Journal in that device backup
  • make a separate .fjbackup before moving devices as an additional safeguard
  • ensure Apple Health is also transferred or restored if you want attached workout data to remain available

Health data is managed separately by Apple and is not contained inside the FJ backup.

Option 2: Restore manually from a Fourteeners Journal backup

If you install Fourteeners Journal fresh on a new device, the Journal starts empty.

You can then import a .fjbackup file to restore your saved Journal.

The imported backup can restore:

  • entries
  • notes
  • dates
  • outcomes
  • photographs
  • Want to Climb selections
  • workout references

A manual backup does not recreate the Apple Health workout itself.

Importing a backup

Fourteeners Journal currently imports backups only into an empty Journal.

This is intentional.

The current backup system is designed as a complete restore mechanism, not as a way to merge two separate Journals.

Before importing:

  • confirm that the destination Journal is empty
  • make sure you selected the correct .fjbackup file
  • keep the original backup until you have confirmed that the restored Journal looks correct

Fourteeners Journal verifies the backup before activating it.

The importer checks the archive structure, records, photographs, references, file sizes, and integrity information before replacing the empty Journal with the restored content.

If validation fails, the invalid backup is rejected rather than partially imported.

What happens if an import is interrupted?

Fourteeners Journal stages and verifies an import before activating it.

If the import fails or is interrupted, the app is designed to avoid leaving a partially restored Journal active.

You can retry using the same valid backup.

Apple Health after a restore

A restored Journal may still contain references to workouts that were previously attached to entries.

For those workout details or route maps to appear again:

  • the corresponding workout must exist in Apple Health on the new device
  • Fourteeners Journal must have permission to read the relevant Health data

If the workout is unavailable, your Journal entry, notes, dates, and photographs remain intact. Only the attached Health information may be unavailable.

Photos after a restore

Photographs contained in a Fourteeners Journal backup become part of the restored Journal.

They do not depend on the original photograph still existing in your Apple Photos library.

This means a photo restored from .fjbackup can remain available in Fourteeners Journal even if the original image is no longer present in Photos.

Can I merge two backups?

Not currently.

Fourteeners Journal does not merge one backup into an already populated Journal.

This avoids ambiguous conflicts involving duplicate entries, photographs, workout references, and Journal history.

Merge support may be considered in the future.

How often should I make a backup?

There is no required schedule.

A backup is especially worthwhile:

  • before moving to a new iPhone
  • before major device repairs or resets
  • after adding a large amount of historical Journal material
  • before installing a major operating-system update if you want an extra independent safeguard

Your normal Apple device backup remains useful, but a separate .fjbackup gives you a portable copy of your Fourteeners Journal data.

Where should I keep backups?

Good options include:

  • iCloud Drive
  • another trusted cloud-storage provider
  • an external drive
  • a Mac
  • another private storage location you control

Because FJ backups are not encrypted by the app, avoid leaving them in public folders or sharing them casually.

Need help?

If you are having trouble exporting or restoring a backup, contact:

Oberon Works
support@oberonworks.studio

When contacting support, you generally should not send your .fjbackup file unless support specifically asks for it and you are comfortable sharing its contents.