Earlier this week I released a new Fuji X Weekly App update, which I’m excited to share with you. I didn’t announce this right away because there was a minor bug that I wanted to fix before telling everybody about this, which has since been fixed and updated, so, as of late last night, that’s no longer an issue. There are two major new features, plus several really minor things you’re unlikely to notice—we’ll just focus on those two big things in this article.

First up is something that’s been under development in one way or another for five years. I explored many different ways to implement this idea in principal, and there were a couple failed attempts, just because of the complications in making it function smoothly. Ultimately, the approached that worked best and most consistently was less intuitive than what I would have ideally preferred, but it was the best option all things considered. I actually rolled it out first in the Ricoh Recipes App, just so I could work out any unforeseen issues before adding it to the Fuji X Weekly App. What is this new feature? Backup/Restore.

Notes, Favorites, and Custom Recipes are stored locally on your phone within the App’s data, and there has not been a way to share them among devices. If, for example, you have both an iPhone and iPad, you’d need to manually input all your Custom Recipes into both devices—they don’t synch. If you switched phones or lost your phone, it was possible to lose your Notes, Favorites, and Custom Recipes. Now, with Backup/Restore, you can save a copy, and share it among devices.

To save a backup, tap the Gear icon, then choose Back Up Data. You’ll be prompted to either Cancel or Continue. If you select Continue, you’ll have the opportunity to choose where you want the .zip file to be stored—it can be on your device or in cloud storage. Once saved, you can share this .zip file with any device that has the Fuji X Weekly App. To restore, simply choose Restore Data, locate the .zip file and tap on it (if it’s a different device, you may need to download the .zip file onto that device). One note of caution: when you Restore Data, it will override and replace whatever you may have added and/or changed since the Backup file was created. For instance, if you have a Custom Recipe on your iPad that’s not on your iPhone, but you Back Up Data on your iPhone and Restore that .zip on your iPad, you’ll lose the Custom Recipe on the iPad. It doesn’t add the backed up data on top of what’s already there; instead, it replaces it.

My recommendation is to periodically Backup the Fuji X Weekly App, even if you don’t have intentions of sharing it to another device. If you add a new Custom Recipe, or you made some changes to your Favorites, that might be a good time to select Back Up Data and create a new .zip file. Cloud storage is probably the most ideal place to keep it, just so if you lose your phone or change devices, you’ll have it available. Should something unforeseen happen, which does occur now and then, it’s better to be safe than sorry. With Backup/Restore, you can now have that peace of mind, and also match up your Notes, Favorites, and Custom Recipes between multiple devices.

The other big feature of this update is a major overhaul to Custom Recipes. Not only is adding Custom Recipes easier and more intuitive now, but they look and behave more like the 400+ Fuji X Weekly Film Simulation Recipes that come in the App. For example, you can add them as Widgets. You can Filter them, and Search them. You can add them as Favorites. If you sort alphabetically A-Z/Z-A, they will be in the correct place. This is a very significant improvement.

All of the fields (except Sensor generation) are freeform text; however, many have a dropdown menu or -/+ field for easier selection. If (for example) you type Velvia instead of selecting it from the dropdown list, the App will still include this Recipe in Filter by Velvia (just as long as it’s spelled correctly). Custom Recipes created prior to this update are fully compatible and will automatically be transformed to the new system (which was probably the trickiest part of revamping it). If you leave a field blank, that field will not appear in your Custom Recipe in the App. For instance, those with X-Trans III cameras can skip Color Chrome Effect, Color Chrome FX Blue, and Clarity, since X-Trans III cameras don’t have those options, and they will simply not show in the finished Recipe. Once you save it, at the very bottom of the Recipe you’ll notice a Notes field, which wasn’t available in the old system.

Those who use the Custom Recipes feature of the Fuji X Weekly App will absolutely love this update. This has been in the works for a long time, and I’m very happy with how it turned out. And it needed to be done prior to the implementation of Backup/Restore. In a sense, as far as the coding goes, these two features go hand-in-hand, and that’s why they were done together. While this update is mostly beneficial to Patron subscribers, there are some small under-the-hood improvements that affect everyone, so even if you are using the App for free, I do recommend updating to the latest version, if your phone did not do so automatically.

The Fuji X Weekly App is free to download and use. Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.