There are basically two ways to back up your data:

  1. with the simpler but better way
  2. with the more complicated and worse way

ad 1) Save via AAF

First of all, switch to the data entry dialog and select the category in which the horoscopes are located that you want to back up, for example on an external data medium, or just to send them to another computer.

Then just select “Export AAF …” from the filing menu and decide whether only the selected horoscopes (multiple selection possible while pressing the command key or Shift key) should be saved, or all horoscopes in the selected category. Finished.

If you do not find the desired storage location in the menu below the file name, click on the button outlined in green to expand the save dialog:

Extend data export dialog in Kairon4

ad 2) Back up the automatic database

You can also save the internally secured, hidden database. This can be found in your local library at:

~/Library/Containers/com.Kairon.Kairon4/Data/Library/Application\ Support/Kairon4/Kairon.*

This is not recommended because we have no control over the data format. Apple reserves the right to change this at any time, so there is no guarantee that you will be able to open data saved in this way ten years later – unless you use the exact same version of Kairon that was used to save it.

Still, it may be interesting to know where the data is, and this information is useful for short-term experiments.

Categories

In order to organize your data more easily, Kairon4 provides the possibility in the data entry dialog to create any number of categories.

Organize Categories in Kairon4

With the yellow circled button the categories can be switched on and off, by clicking on the green circled tab they are also visible.

Classify into categories

First select a horoscope, then mark all the categories in which the horoscope should appear. Continue until you have all the horoscopes where you want them. A horoscope can appear in any number of categories.

Delete records

To delete a horoscope, please select the horoscope and click below the list of horoscopes on [-] and then confirm the dialog by clicking on “Delete” (or “Keep” if meanwhile you changed your mind).
Deletion cannot be undone.

Multiple selection is possible when deleting, in such a case all selected horoscopes will be irrevocably deleted after confirming the dialog box.

If you want to delete all horoscopes in a category, the easiest way is to select a single one of the horoscopes and then choose Cmd-a before clicking on [-]. Do not just delete the category, otherwise the horoscopes will no longer be visible, but will still occupy the storage space.

Editing categories

In the selection list to the right of the atlas you can create, rename and delete categories.

Editing categories in Kairon4

Create a New Category

Click on [+] and then rename the category.

Rename a category

Categories can be edited by double-clicking. You can then write the desired name directly in the list.

Delete a category

Select the category you want to delete from the list below and then click on [-]. Please make sure that you first assign any horoscopes in this category to one or more other categories so that they are not lost.

Kairon 4 is the sequel of Kairon 3.61 which is still available at https://kairon.cc for older Macs.

Data entry

Data can be entered directly, or imported.

Import

To import existing data, you need .aaf files. AAF is short for Astrological Exchange Format and is also the one and only file-format of Kairon 3.61. Therefore you can import all your existing Kairon-data by means of the import command of the File-menu:

Import into Kairon4

For a better overview, you can classify your horoscopes in Kairon by categories, such as family, friends, customers, celebrities, whatever. During the import you can create a new category or choose an existing one. The name of the file to be imported is always entered as default, but it is advisable to first look in the menu below to see which categories you already have. You can load any selection of horoscopes from a file, or all of them, or cancel the process. To select several horoscopes, hold down either the command key – “command” (for scattered individual selection) or the shift key (for the related selection).

Entry

The input dialog is used for data entry: You can always access it via the view menu in the first section – this section reveals the entire program to you. This is good to know, because you can hide all Kairon controls, even the menu bar – it only reappears when you move the mouse pointer to the top of the screen:

Navigate in Kairon4

You can also use the calendar icon of the page navigation to enter data: Sidenavigation of Kairon4 The page navigation is in the graphic view at the top right, in the data entry, however, above the name entry.

Data entry in Kairon4

Two areas are key-areas:

1. in green oval

[+] creates a new horoscope
[-] deletes the selected horoscope

2. in orange rectangle

Here you enter a significant part of the name of the place, for which you want to cast your chart. Next you select the entry from the list below, which fits the most. In case the automatically selected timezone for the place should not be ok, or the automatically chosen daylight-saving-time, then you can overwrite them.