From version 3.06, there is a backup utility accessible to program administrators, under the "Admin / Backup" menu, though from 3.06 to 4.02 such backups are limited to a maximum of five, so should not be relied on as the only backup mechanism.

For all versions, we recommend you back up student/teacher data before making major changes (e.g. New wordlists, course changes, sound recordings), and also at frequent, regular intervals. It is particularly important to backup data prior to upgrading to a later version of Wordshark or Numbershark.  On a network, we suggest that you include the data directories in your daily backup routine.   For stand-alone installations,regular  backing up is just as important.

This then means that if a teacher makes a mistake with an administrative option, or something happens to the computer or its hard drive, or your user data is corrupted (see below) you have a recent backup of all your data.

On PC machines, the data is stored in the following folders:

Wordshark:   
Versions 3, and 3S up to 3S.02:   “shark-shared”.  3S.02 onwards: “Wordshark-shared”.
Numbershark:
Versions 3, and 3S up to 3S.02:   “nshark-shared”.  3S.02 onwards: “Numbershark-shared”.

On a network: Right-click the desktop icon / properties / short cut tab: The folder location is shown in the "start-in" field.
On stand-alones, the location can be changed during install, but by default is one of:
     c:\documents and settings\all users\application data\all users\
     c:\Program Files\
     c:\Program Files\[Word][Number]shark\

If the path does not appear, and you are using Windows 2000 or later, then the directories may be hidden.  Unhide them to view (instructions here)

If you are unable to locate the data directory, go to Start / Search  (or “Find”) and search for files & folders called:    *.sha
Select “All hard drives” and “Include subfolders” in the search, and in Windows 2000 or later “search hidden files and folders”. This should locate all the Wordshark / Numbershark directories, as all contain .sha files. From the search list you should be able to identify the path for the data directory as above.

Corrupted User Data:
This is rare. It most often occurs if two or more people log on at the same time with the same username, a teacher tries to change a child’s program whilst that child is active on it, or if there has been a sudden loss of power.
Corrupted data can cause odd things to happen, including:
   - incorrect lists and games for each user
   - a complete program crash
   - an inability for administrators to administrate (e.g. Admin/Add and Manage menu disappears)

Checking for Corrupted User Data:
Corrupted files will often have the file extension .sht instead of .sha
There may be some .sha files showing with 0Kb size.
The folder may contain err_pid files.
Some .sha files may be large (over 10Kb): This is normal only if the user is creating many word lists, or is recording sounds for their words.

It is advisable to check your [number/word]shark-shared directory for any of these before each data back-up, ensuring first that no-one is running the program. If such files are found,  please contact Technical Support for advice.