The Work Environment Scheme that I started with in AC9 was set to "Make Backup Copy". I have not used this option in the Past. I guess there are obvious advantages to using this option.
Absolutely!! It's a very important data safety option. This is what creates the .bpn file and should always be on IMO, because if anything happens to your current .pln you can open your .bpn which is always one save behind and resave it as your .pln.
Yep, gotta do it. I wish you could assign a custom path to save it, though. It's too easy to open by accident with it right next to the PLN. (Um, this guy I know, has this problem...) Same goes for the BBK. Multiple backups would be nice, like TeamWork.