A new backup in Dobry Backuper can be created by two simple methods: using drag-and-drop method or choosing New Backup command in the menu or on the program toolbar.
To create a new backup by drag-and-drop method, you should:
- select in Finder all folders and files you want to be saved in one backup;
- drag the selected folders and files to the Dobry Backuper window and drop them onto the list of backups.
To create a new backup using the New Backup command, you need to:
- choose the menu item New Backup in menu File or press New Backup on the toolbar;
- in the opened dialog, select the folders and files that need to be saved in a backup, and press Choose .
After this, the program will create a new backup and add a line with the name of the first selected file or folder to the list of the opened backups. All the selected folders or files will be added to the content table of this backup. In future, the created backup can be renamed.
Please note: creating of a backup does not mean it will be saved, or a corresponding archive will be formed. This is done during another procedure - building of a backup. The procedure of creating a backup just informs the program on what kind of backup you want to build and with what files, and where its archives should be saved.
We need to stress that all information on the opened backups (all parameters and settings) is stored by Dobry Backuper in special files - backup information files. These files can be saved in two formats depending on the Preferences of the program: in a binary format with extension 'bif' or in xml with extension 'bifx'. These files, for all opened backups, are saved automatically in the '~/Library/Application Support/Dobry Backuper/Backups/' folder. Please, never remove them from there manually - this is the service databank of the program.
The list of the opened backups, in the left part of the program main window, displays the sorted names of all opened backups created by the current user. Here, the following operations should be performed on this list: changing of sorting by ABC-order, renaming of a backup, forced saving of backup properties, closing backup, opening backup.
To change the sorting by ABC-order, just click on the Backups list header.
To rename a backup, double-click on the chosen backup in the list, enter the new name, and finish by pressing Return .
To force saving of backup properties, you need to choose the menu item Save Backup Info in menu File . All settings of the selected backups will be saved in the folder '~/Library/Application Support/Dobry Backuper/Backups/'. Note the program does that automatically for all opened backups during quitting.
To close a backup choose the menu item Close Backup in menu File . The corresponding '*.bif' or '*.bifx' file will be removed from the service folder '~/Library/Application Support/Dobry Backuper/Backups/'. Note that none of the archives of the backup being closed disappear from the place where you built them. Later, you will be able to open such backups. Closed backups are not processed by the program and thus, are impossible to be rebuilt on schedule.
To open a backup you should:
- choose the menu item Open Backup in menu File ;
- in the opened file dialog, choose the backup information file with 'bif' or 'bifx' extension; normally, this file is in the folder with same name next to backup archives;
- then, in the dialog, press Open .
The program will open the chosen backup and add it to the list of the opened backups.
Usually, you may need to open a backup when it is not in the list of the opened backups due to the following:
- the backup was closed before;
- the backup was created in another system and given to be restored on yours;
- You are going to restore the data from your backups in case of an emergency with your hard drive, with your system or with your computer.
For more details on the scheme of building a backup, created folders structure and archive files, see the «Backup properties» and «Building and Restoring a backup» sections.
In the lower part of the main window, under the list of the opened backups and the content table, the backup properties area is located. Here you can edit different settings for the current and all selected backups, such as Backup Location, various options, filters, schedule. These settings have been grouped into according pages, to which you can refer by clicking the tab with the same name:
Backup Location. Here backup archive location can be set:
- Drive - the device where backup archives should be stored; you can choose one of the available in the pop-up list;
- Folder - the place where the built backup should be stored; enter the path in the field or use the file dialog by pressing Choose .
Please note: you can use both hard drives or CD/DVD burning drives, and any mounted devices, including the network ones, and those connected via USB or FireWire ports. The main condition is the current user should be authorized to copy/write on such a device. One of the best backup means are, of course, devices with quick access, such as: network devices (in case of high speed of transmitting data through the network), devices connected via FireWire or USB 2.0, extra hard drives, and RAID arrays.
Also, note that when making a backup on a CD or DVD disc, you will not be able to specify a folder. In this case, the created backup will be saved in the root of the resulting disc, creating there a folder with the same name.
Options. Here you can specify the method of backup creating:
- Backup Method - a method to be used by the program for making a backup; the program supports the following methods: Full , Incremental , Versioned ; choose one of the suggested radio-buttons;
- Use compression - indicates whether to use compression when building backup archives;check the check-box, if you want to use it, otherwise just uncheck it;
- Backup archive size limit - the maximum size of the backup archive file; setting such a limit you can create a multi-volume backup, on building which the program will create several connected archives, if the full size of your backup exceeds the limit; this setting cannot be chosen together with the compression; to set the size limit for your archive, choose one of the variants in the pop-up list; on choosing Custom , you can specify the size in megabytes in the appeared field.
The chosen backup method will determine the way the program will build backup archives.
Full - this method implies that all the files included in a backup will be resaved to the new archive. At the same time, the previous archive of this backup, will be, if possible, removed to provide more free space on the device.
Incremental - this method implies that every time you build a backup, in the new archive, only the last changed files (from last backup building), included in the backup, will be saved. In this case, the previous archives remain unchanged.
Versioned - this method is similar to the Full method with just a difference that the previous archives are never removed. This method, though the most space requiring, allows to restore data from any backup archives made at different time moments.
Your choice of a backup method depends on the nature of the saved data and on the free space on the device, where backup archives are located.
Using compression allows to minimize the size of the resulting archives, depending on the nature of the saved data for 10-60%. However, of course, here more time is required for building, restoring and service retrieving of backups. Remember, some data are poorly compressible, normally they are files of the built-in compression format, for instance, image-files in '*.JPEG' format.
Any additional information on backup methods can be found in the «Managing backup archives» and «Building and Restoring a backup» sections.
Filters. Here, you can specify which excluding filters should be used:
- Invisible files - indicates whether the invisible (hidden) files should be excluded from the resulting backups; check the check-box if they should, otherwise, uncheck it;
- Finder data - indicates whether the Finder files should be excluded from the resulting backups; check the check-box if they should, otherwise, uncheck it;
- Applications - indicates whether the application files should be excluded from the resulting backups; check the check-box if they should, otherwise, uncheck it;
- Aliases - indicates whether the link-files to the original files or folders should be excluded from the resulting backups; check the check-box if they should, otherwise, uncheck it;
- By pattern - indicates whether the files, whose names match the pattern in the next field, should be excluded from the resulting backups. Check the check box if they should, otherwise, uncheck it. If you have checked the setting, then in the next field you can enter a regular expression based pattern. You can also use a special file-dialog, which helps to form a pattern on the existing files. This dialog is called by pressing Capture .
The regular expression based pattern processed by the program should meet the standard IEEE Std 1003.2 ('POSIX.2'), sections 2.8 (Regular Expression Notation) and B.5 (C Binding for Regular Expression Matching). To learn more on regular expressions, read the man-documentation on system utilities using regular expressions for files. For example, you can do this by launching '/Applications/Utilities/Terminal' entering the command 'man re_format'.
Schedule. Here, you can set up the schedule for regular automatic backup building:
- Use scheduled backup - indicates whether you should use the schedule for automatic backup building . Check the check-box, if you want to use it, otherwise just uncheck it. If you have checked the setting, then in the pop-up list next to it you can specify the time intervals for regular backup building.
- On the day - indicates the day for weekly backup building, or the date, in case backups are built every month. Choose the date using the pop-up list. Please note: the given element is not displayed in case of daily backing up.
- At the time - indicates desirable time for automatic backup building; using the pop-up lists, make all necessary settings.
For more details on using of schedule for automatic backup building, see the «Using scheduled backups» section.
Dobry Backuper offers a number of quite flexible possibilities on managing backup contents.
In the main window, on the right of the list of the opened backups there is a backup content table. Each row of the table displays the added file or a folder together with their attributes:
- in the column Folders & Files the names of the added folders and files in the current backup are displayed; their original icons are shown there as well;
- in the column File location are displayed icons corresponding to location of a file or a folder in the backup current archive or in the original place on the hard drive; a file can also be located in both places at the same time;
- in the column Date Modified the dates of the latest file modification are displayed;
- in the column Size sizes of files are displayed;
- in the column Include there are check-boxes indicating whether files or folders have been included to the future backup archive; check the check-box if you want to include a file, otherwise uncheck it.
All files in the table are sorted alphabetically. To change the sorting order, just click on the header of the column Folders & Files .
Dobry Backuper offers the possibility of adding any files or folders to the current backup at any moment.
So, to add a file or a folder to your backup press Add Files on the toolbar. Then, in the appeared file dialog select the needed files and press Select . You can add files the same way using the menu item Add Files in menu Backup .
As an alternative to the above described methods, you can add files by drag-and-drop method. For this, in Finder choose the needed files and drag them into the content table of the current backup.
To remove any file from the backup select them in the content table and press Remove Files on the toolbar or, in menu Backup, choose the menu item with the same name.
Depending on the chosen backup method, Dobry Backuper builds backups with different names, but with the uniform name format, and with the indication of the start date and time of building a backup archive:
methYYYYMMDDhhmmssn.ext ,
where meth - backup method: 'full' - full, 'incr' - incremental, 'vers' - versioned;
YYYY - the year of building (for instance, 2005);
MM - month (for instance, 01);
DD - day (for instance, 14);
hh - hour (for instance, 22);
mm - minutes (for instance, 23);
ss - seconds (for instance, 17);
ext - extension: 'tar' - for archives without compression, 'tgz' - for archives with compression.
For example, the archive with the name 'full20050114222317n.tgz' shows that it was built as a full archive on January 14, 2005 at 10:23:17 p.m., with compression enabled.
Please note: for a full backup the old archive is replaced with a new one. Thus, there is only one archive for each backup. For the other methods, there are as many archives as there are times your backups were build.
Generally, all the files built of the current backup can be seen in the pop-up list Backup archives , located right under the list of the opened backups. The archives are all sorted, so that the latest is on the top of the list. So, for incremental and versioned backups you can choose the archive from which restoring should be done. You can also see which files are located in each archive looking at the column Location in the content table of the current backup, after you have chosen an archive.
As for incremental backup every next archive contains only modified files, then in the pop-up list Backup archives, you can put them together with the help of virtual archive 'All incremental backups'.
Please note: in the list Backup archives, the top archive is chosen by default. This allows working by default with the fullest and the latest archive.
Building of a backup is the process of direct saving of backed up files to archive-files. For this purpose, Dobry Backuper uses the system utility 'tar'. That is why, all the formed archives are fully compatible with common tar-archives.
Building of a backup can be done both automatically, in accordance with the schedule set for a backup, and when initiated by the user. For more detailed description of scheduled automatic building, see the section «Using scheduled backups».
To launch building of a backup you should:
- in the list of the opened backups, select the backups to be built;
- press Build on the toolbar or choose the menu item with the same name in menu Backup .
While building a backup, on the specified backup device Dobry Backuper creates a subfolder with the same name as that of the backup. To this subfolder, the backup info file and made archives will be saved.
Restoring of a backup is the process of direct copying of files from backup archives to a specified hard drive location. Dobry Backuper allows to restore files from a backup archive both to their original location on the hard drive, and to the folder specified by the user. At this, the program saves all the original subfolders and file attributes.
To restore all the backup files to their original location on the hard drive, you should:
- choose the needed archive in the pop-up list Backup archives ;
- press Restore on the toolbar or choose the menu item Restore to Original Location in menu Backup .
To restore all the backup files to an alternative location on the hard drive, you should:
- choose the needed archive in the pop-up list Backup archives ;
- choose the menu item Restore to Folder in menu Backup ;
- in the appeared file dialog, choose the needed folder and press Choose .
Please note: while restored the files from the backup will fully replace those with the same names on your hard drive. That is why, if you want only some selected files to be restored, then first, restore the whole backup to an alternative folder, and then using Finder, copy the needed files to the final location.
The process of building and restoring can take some time depending on the number and the size of the files backed up. That is why, the program performs these operations in the background mode displaying corresponding messages in the status bar. During this process, most operations in the program are unavailable, and in the log, service messages are displayed reflecting the course of the process.
You can cancel the process of building or restoring at any moment by pressing Stop on the program toolbar or by selecting the menu item with the same name in menu Backup .
One of Dobry Backuper features is the possibility of backing up any data straight to CD or DVD discs. This is possible, if you have the according burning drive installed in your computer.
For storing the generated backup archives, you will need recordable CDs or DVDs. Normally, you may use discs of such types: CD-R, CD-RW or DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW. However, before purchasing the according discs make sure that your burning drive supports their both recording speed and type.
Using of the incremental or versioned methods is recommended to backup on CDs or DVDs.
To make backups on CDs or DVDs you should specify the drive that supports burning standards of these discs as the drive of the backup location. For more details on choosing of a drive, see the «Backup properties» section. The processes of building and restoring backups on CD/DVD are launched as described in the «Building and Restoring a backup» section.
You should remember that for building of a backup on CD/DVD the program uses some extra space on the hard drive. The size of this extra space equals to the maximum size of presumed backups that are planned to be saved to CDs or DVDs. Basically, it should be accessible on the device where tmp folder for the current user is located. The location of tmp folder can be, if necessary, changed by the system administrator.
If you believe that the size of your backup can exceed the space available on your CD or DVD, then you are recommended to use a multi-volume backup with the backup archives size limit, which can be located on one CD or DVD.
Before the direct burning to a disc, the program offers the user to choose the burning parameters via the corresponding standard dialog, and, if necessary, insert your disc into the drive. That is why the process of backing up on a CD/DVD cannot be fully automated.
Dobry Backuper provides a possibility of flexible automation of regular building of scheduled backups.
Setting of a backup schedule is described in the «Backup properties» section. However, some necessary general settings can be tuned in Preferences of the program. There are general permissions for using a schedule and the permission for using a special agent-program. Originally, both these parameters are in the permitted status. Therefore, once you have permitted using of a schedule, the program starts tracking the time with a ten-second interval. And when the due time comes for building a backup, the building process is launched.
On finishing its work Dobry Backuper, if allowed, launches a special agent-program "DobryBackuperAgent". This program works in the background mode, tracking the time when the next backup should be built with a ten-second interval. When it is time, or when the time is overdue the agent, right away, launches the main Dobry Backuper program, which builds the needed backups. When the main Dobry Backuper program launched the agent is terminated. Besides, the agent is launched by default after starting the operating system on turning on a computer.
DobryBackuperAgent consumes quite an insignificant amount of system resources, and is not noticeable for a user, but at the same time, it allows to clearly track the time the next backup is to be built.
To control backup processes Dobry Backuper has a separate log for each program start session. In this log, the program displays various service and diagnostic messages, which allow tracking all the processes. The program log is saved in a text file, located in the '~/Library/Application Support/Dobry Backuper/Logs' folder. Besides, the program log is displayed in a special drawer-window, which is opened and closed by pressing Log on the toolbar or by choosing the menu item Toggle Log in menu View . The message detail level and location of log-files can be set in Preferences of the program.