Jo - you'll need to use a program that works with XML file formats, you won't be able to open it in just any windows program.  Right click on the file, see what options you have, I'll be doing a more detailed posts (advanced) on the XML file format later.  :-)

Suma - DO NOT delete your older blog posts, they are what generate search engine results for people to find you. If you delete them, you're deleting opportunities!!  This is just to backup your posts and use the data and information in other creative and suggested ways.

Roland - the XML file is stored on your computer, wherever you tell it to save when you download the file. 

Joel - I will, you bet.  :-)

Marie - there are all kinds of options, I'll post more information for members later, we need to progress with this series using baby steps.

If you want to know more about XML files and how they can be used, you should use Google to find some of the great articles that have been published.  In the meantime, I will be working on a couple ideas and ways to use this new backup feature that will be simplified and easy to understand. Thanks for your patience. 

We have been working on adding this feature for a while now, and it's finally here! WOOHOO!!!!!

Today is a great day, and another that will go down in the History Books as "A Huge Growth Step" for our network.  :-)))

Donna - many members over the years have wanted the ability to export their Blog posts and backup their Blog from AR.  Now they can.  Your Blog is yours and all the content contained herein.  Using the XML format just opens other opportunities and ways to use the data with other formats and platforms if need be. 

TLW - LOL~  We are NOT deleting anything.  This is just an alternative way to Backup your AR stuff and give members more options and control of their content.  Crappy computer or not, there should be some comfort in knowing that everything can be backed up into a single file now.

Charlie - cut and paste works just fine, many are doing that already.  This is NOT a copy and paste feature at all.  Take a look at the link to XML that I put in this post, this might help you better understand what the file is and how it can be used depending on each individual members needs.

This is a new feature that many members have been asking for in the past.  Just like HTML, CSS and and now XML, these file formats have a much more complicated format, but much more can be done with them.  I'll address some of those ideas in some later posts.  Right now, those members who do understand XML file formats are the ones you see getting really excited, just like when HTML capabilities were included on your AR Blog posts. Trust me when I say, This is a good thing.  :-))

Hey all, Here's a couple links I found on the web:  I want to try and keep this as simple as possible so it will make sense to those who don't understand XML, how to use it, or why.  There will be more information coming about these backup file options when I get the chance.

What is XML?

What is XML for?

Some quick answers about XML

What XML software is available?

If you Google search info about XML, you'll find hundreds of articles written about the many aspects of this type of File format.  I'll do my best to break it down into simplified and useful terms you can understand and use.  Baby steps.....   :-)

Al and Peggy - you'll need to check with Point 2 and see if they work with XML file formats, this is yet another example and opportunity of how these files can and might actually be used.  Contact their support department to see what they have for an answer on that one. 

TLW - thanks for motivating me to find a video that does a decent job of explaining what and how to use XML.  This guy does a pretty good presentation about XML and discusses a few ways it can be manipulated.  He also shares how to create an XML file, but that part won't be needed as the XML files have already been created and downloaded thanks to this new feature.  I hope this helps.

Just Remember that this stuff is really advanced and usually managed and utilized by webmasters, programmers, developers etc., so beyond the fact that it's great to have a backup of your entire AR Blog and all the posts contained in it, I'll still try to simplify and share information like this with our members. 

To many, this will always seem greek and very technical, and that's ok, just having the knowledge of what it is and how it can be used in the future will give many some level of comfort and security.

TLW - we can never get enough of you, there's just not enough of "The Lovely Wife"  to go around. 

BTW - Love the red comments, Black and Red is one of my favorite combinations of colors.  :-))

Hannah - you can leave it unzipped and place it in a folder somewhere on your computer for safe keeping if you like. :-)

Hi Lisa - I have no idea what happened in the process of you downloading the file and trying to open it.  If you want to give me a call this week, I can try to walk you through it and see if we can get it resolved.  In the meantime, Big Bang four in a row sounds like an interesting tic tac toe game!  lol~   Seriously though, here to help if you need.  :-)

Hi Erika - you're welcome.  Having them backed up is great, however finding another place to use them might not be the best use of your time and effort.  If your blogs here on AR have already been indexed and show up on google, then placing the same exact content elsewhere might not get you the best results.  If you are pushing your content to your outside blog here on AR, this is where we are trying to get you the maximum SEO and indexing for your AR Blog content. 

Hey Michael - great to hear from you. I would say we are about a 50/50 split, but that's my guess. Not sure we have a stat with that report but that would be my guess.  :-) 

Jen - you got me on that one. I post directly to AR and use scribefire from time to time for fonts. That's about it. Not too familiar with Live Writer. We don't have a remote posting URL for your Blog.  You can create AR posts and have them pushed to your AR Outside Blog, but that's not what you're asking, at least I don't think.  Wish I could help you more. :-)

Hi Cheryl - if you needed all the content from your blog to use in another location with the xml format, you could. It's also might help you sleep better at night if you have 500 activerain posts all backed up on your harddrive somewhere.  I'm not an XML expert and have yet to find the time to explore some of the other many uses that might be available for this, but when I do, you can bet I'll be posting about it. :-))

The xml file can be used to backup your posts. It also works well with any platform that support xml formats. :-)

TLW - exporting this file should have nothing to do with your operating system.  Opening it on the other hand may.  Any text editor will open the file unless of course your operating system is setup in a way that conflicts with this file type being opened. 

Hi Bob, not certain of any SEO benefits from duplicate content in blogs or out on the web, but backing up your data on your computer an out on the cloud is alway a good idea. I'm glad AR implemented this capability. I just backed up my blog a couple days ago and dumped it into my http://BradAndersohn.com. It turned out pretty cool and I also now have all my posts backed up on my site. Not really looking for the SEO on this one, like others, I get plenty of that SEO here on AR! :-))