Keep The Original Until You Have Checked The Copy
Aiplorer’s shortlist lives in browser storage, not an account. A different browser does not automatically have your saved tools or notes. Before clearing site data or moving devices, open your shortlist in the original browser and expand Export, backup and restore.
Choose Download backup for a restorable JSON file. Download brief creates a readable decision document, not a restorable backup. Keep the original browser data until the restored copy has been checked.
Know What Moves
The shortlist backup contains saved tool paths, candidate checks, decision stages, private test notes, local test dates and the shortlist’s stage/date views. It does not contain:
- Announcement read checks or Change Watch filter preferences.
- Reset-history checkpoints or recent search state.
- Vendor accounts, projects, subscriptions or tool outputs.
The file is not encrypted by Aiplorer. It may contain notes and reveal which tools you are evaluating. Keep it in an approved location and transfer it using a method appropriate for that information. Do not place secrets, customer data or confidential content in shortlist notes or in a shared backup.
Inspect The Restore Before Accepting
In the destination browser, open the shortlist and expand Export, backup and restore. If that browser already has useful data, download its own backup first. Close other Aiplorer tabs during the restore to avoid competing edits to the same browser storage.
Choose Restore backup, select your JSON file, then inspect the confirmation:
- Incoming saved-tool count and a sample of tool names.
- Counts of notes, test dates and completed candidate checks.
- Tools omitted because they are not in the current reviewed directory.
- The current saved-tool count that will be replaced.
Accept only if this is the intended file and destination. Restore replaces the local evaluation data; it does not merge two shortlists. Cancel if you need to preserve the destination data first. A file with no currently recognized tools cannot be restored.
Check One Known Candidate
After a successful restore, choose a tool whose previous note you recognize. Expand its candidate evaluation and compare the note, stage, checks and local test date with your original. Reload the page and confirm the data remains. If a restored filter hides a candidate, clear the shortlist filters.
For example, a fictional two-tool shortlist might have one candidate in Testing with a short sample-result note, and one still Researching. Confirm those distinctions survived; do not turn all checks on just to match a count. Restored dates and checks are your own records, not new tests or fresh vendor verification.
If storage is blocked or full, do not assume a restore succeeded. Keep the backup and follow the error message. If recovery cannot be verified, inspect the destination data before retrying or clearing anything. A local file is still useful even when a browser cannot save it.
Continue From The Unresolved Question
Return to the candidate’s next test, not just its saved status. Use the small retest exercise if an announcement affects your workflow.
Your announcement read checks are separate from this backup, so a new browser may show notices as unread. Review Change Watch without treating that count as a new vendor event or a failed restore.