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Extract Directly from Time Machine

Normally you use Time Machine to restore lost data in a file like this: within the Time Machine interface, you go back to the time the file was not yet messed up, and you restore it to replace the file you have now.

You can also elect to keep both, but the restored file takes the name and place of the current one. So, if you have made changes since the backup took place that you would like to keep, they are lost, or you have to mess around a bit to merge changes, rename files, and trash the unwanted one.

As an alternative, you can browse the Time Machine backup volume directly in the Finder like any normal disk, navigate through the chronological backup hierarchy, and find the file which contains the lost content.

Once you've found it, you can open it and the current version of the file side-by-side, and copy information from Time Machine's version of the file into the current one, without losing any content you put in it since the backup was made.

Submitted by
Eolake Stobblehouse

 

 

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DealBITS Drawing: SmileOnMyMac's browseback

Google is great, but it won't help you find information on just those Web pages you've viewed. For that, you need a utility on your Mac, such as SmileOnMyMac's recently released browseback. Unlike other Web history utilities, browseback presents the pages you've visited as chronologically stacked decks of card-like thumbnails, making it easy to, well, browse back through your Web travels. You can also perform full-text searches to limit the view to just those pages that match, and once you've found the page in question, you can view it in PDF as it was when you visited it, go to it in your browser again, save it to PDF, print it, or send it to someone via email. browseback is both fun and useful (Macworld gave it a Best of Show Award at Macworld Expo San Francisco earlier this month), and it's well worth a try. It's a 2.6 MB download, and there's a universal binary version available for those folks with new Intel-based iMacs.

<http://www.smileonmymac.com/browseback/>
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/01/12/ bestofshow/>

In this week's DealBITS drawing, you can enter to win one of three copies of browseback, each worth $29.95. Entrants who aren't among our lucky winners will receive a discount on browseback, so be sure to enter at the DealBITS page linked below. All information gathered is covered by our comprehensive privacy policy. Be careful with your spam filters, since you must be able to receive email from my address to learn if you've won. Remember too, that if someone you refer to this drawing wins, you'll receive the same prize as a reward for spreading the word.

<http://www.tidbits.com/dealbits/browseback/>
<http://www.tidbits.com/about/privacy.html>

 

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