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You have just downloaded Back up user prefs 2.3.4, a Mac OS X AppleScript freeware application, that backs up a user's ~/Library/Preferences folder for safety in the event of corruption of either individual preferences or the entire folder. It also backs up the preferences folders for Chimera (Navigator) and OmniWeb that lurk in the ~/Library/Application Support folder and Mozilla and Safari in the ~/Library folder. (Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape, iCab, and Opera preferences are automatically backed up when the ~/Library/Preferences folder is saved.) It can, at the user's discretion, back up his or her  ~/Library/Mail folder. In addition, allows the user to elect to save previously backed-up preferences in the event that something goes wrong.

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(PLEASE NOTE: For those for whom the meaning of the "~" in the documentation below is unclear, "~" signifies that whatever follows is located in the home folder of the current user. Thus, for example "~/Library/Application Support" refers to the path "/Users/<username>/Library/Application Support".)

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What it does
 
When the application is launched and the first few annoying but necessary dialogs are out of the way, the user is presented with the choice whether or not to run the Repair Disk Permissions operation from the Disk Utility application in the /Applications/Utilities folder. It is strongly suggested that this operation be run, even though it can be skipped should the user desire.

After this dialog, one of these things will occur:

1) If the application is being run for the first time, a  folder called Backup_preferences will be created on the desktop, and within it, a folder called Saved_preferences. The user's Preferences folder will be copied into the Backup_preferences/Saved_preferences folder. If the user has installed Chimera, OmniWeb, and/or Mozilla, another folder, Backup_preferences/From "Library" will be created. If Chimera and/or OmniWeb are/is installed, the folder Backup_preferences/From "Library"/From "Application Support" will be created and the Chimera and/or OmniWeb preferences folders will be copied. If Mozilla is installed, the Mozilla preferences folder will be placed in the Backup_preferences/From "Library" folder. (If neither Chimera nor OmniWeb is installed, the folder Backup_preferences/From "Library"/From "Application Support" will be absent.) The user will be asked to specify whether or not the Mail folder is to be backed up. Any older related folders will be placed in the Trash and the user will be asked whether or not s/he wants to delete them.

2) If a folder called Backup_preferences already exists on the desktop, the user will be presented with a choice between deleting this folder and continuing or quitting the application and renaming the folder. Otherwise, the user will be asked to locate a previously-created backup folder or creating a new one in the event that none already exists. A folder named Backup_preferences will then be created on the desktop and the preferences copied to it. If a previous backup does exist, the user will be asked whether or not s/he wants to back up the previous backup, in which case every previously backed-up folder will be copied in to a new folder (this application is nothing if not comprehensive!) or not. At the end of the process, the application will overwrite the previously-created folder with the new one, or, if there is no existing folder, it will ask the user to specify the location in which to save the the archived folder, saves it there, deletes the Backup_preferences folder on the desktop, and then quits.

3) Should the user choose the "Back up" option, everything should proceed as above. If the "Restore" option is chosen, the user is warned ad nauseam that this operation entails some risks, and that s/he should have read the documentation. If the choice is to continue with the restoration of preferences, the operation should proceed smoothly. The program will ask the user to specify where it should look for a previously-created folder and then set about the work of restoring the preferences. (The Mail backup option is treated separately from the others; the user is always prompted to specify whether or not the Mail folder is to be copied, since if it is, all previous mail-related files will be overwritten.) If there is an error, the application will attempt to rectify it. In either case, the computer must be restarted after the restoration has finished.

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The Case of the Mysterious "Backup_preferences"
and/or "Screw-up_folder" Folder(s) on the Desktop

Mac OS X introduces the permissions issue so basic to Unix-based systems and so confusing to the previous Mac user who has no experience dealing with it. Different users can custom-configure their systems in various ways. Some of these may involve the replacement of files and/or folders with aliases. In order to ensure compatibility in most if not all cases, we have chosen to have the application either 

1) create the folder Backup_preferences on the desktop, work its magic in that folder, and then, at the end of the process, allow the user either to save it elsewhere, in which case it will delete the folder Backup_preferences on the desktop, 

or 

2) copy a pre-existing Backup_preferences folder to the desktop, perform all modifications in the folder on the desktop, save them in a specified location, and then delete the folder Backup_preferences on the desktop.

If during the restoration of previous preferences an error is encountered, an additional folder called, appropriately enough, Screw-up_folder will also appear on the desktop. Under normal conditions, both the Backup_preferences and Screw-up_folder will be deleted at the end of the process.

So if you find the folder Backup_preferences or the folder Screw-up_folder popping up on the desktop during the execution of the program, don't panic. Unless you have received an error message and one or both of these folders remain(s) on the desktop, everything has gone according to Hoyle.

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If there is a problem . . .

A normal restoration ends with a notice that the process has been successful and that a restart is required. In the event of an error, the application will usually recover from it and  cause the computer to revert to its state prior to the aborted restoration. However, if this does not occur, then the computer can be restored manually to its former state.

There are two contingency plans here. . .

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If the program terminates abnormally and a folder 
called "Screw-up_folder" remains on the desktop

1) Drag each of the folders within the Screw-up_folder to its appropriate place on your disk (each one replacing the one that is there, if any):
	
	a) Chimera and OmniWeb to the "~/Library/Application Support" folder

	b) Mozilla, Safari, Preferences, and/or Mail to the "~/Library" folder

2) Delete the empty Screw-up_folder, restart the computer, and you're done!

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If the program terminates abnormally and a folder 
called "Screw-up_folder" is not on the desktop

If the application quits with an error message during the process of restoring the previously saved preferences, it may be restored to its former state if the user manually follows these instructions:

1) Do not empty the trash!

2) Drag the ~/Library/Preferences folder to the Trash.

3) If the following folders exist on your computer, then drag each to the Trash:

	In ~/Library/Application Support:
		Chimera		
		OmniWeb
		
	In ~/Library
		Mozilla
		Safari

4) Open the Backup_preferences folder on your desktop. Open the Saved_preferences folder. Option-drag the Preferences folder to the ~/Library folder.

5) If a folder called From "Library" exists within the Backup_preferences folder on your desktop, open it. If the folders Mozilla, Safari, and/or Mail are there, option-drag them to the ~/Library folder.

6) If a folder called From "Application Support" exists within the From "Library" folder, open it and option-drag its contents to the ~/Library folder.

7) Now restart the computer, and you're done!

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Version History

Version 2.3.4 adds a documentation page which, in the event of encountering a file or files that cannot be copied because of owner and/or permissions errors, will open at the user's request in his or her default browser and which outlines step by step the procedure to follow to correct these errors.

Version 2.3.3 adds a feature discovered after it was determined that the copying problems that some users were experiencing were due not only to the presence of the file called IM_Installer.plist, but could in fact be caused by any file in any of the folders to be copied whose owner was set to "system" or "root". Back up user prefs 2.3.3 contains a trap to detect such files and to provide the user with a list of the offending files so that he or she can delete the file(s) or change the owner to allow the copying operation to take place.

Version 2.3.2 adds a second trap to detect the presence of the IM_Installer.plist file in the ~Library/Preferences folder (see the v 2.3.1 note immediately following) that I missed in v 2.3.1. Mea culpa!

Version 2.3.1 adds a trap to detect the presence of a file called IM_Installer.plist in the ~Library/Preferences folder. This file is usually the one responsible for an error that occurs when the previously backed-up folder is copied to the desktop. If an error condition exists and the application detects the presence of this file, the user will be prompted either to change the owner of the file or to delete it.

Version 2.3 adds a much more robust error-recovery feature and corrects a bug that would sometimes report that a backup was successful when it was not.

Version 2.2 added the option of backing up the ~/Library/Mail folder.

Version 2.1 added user selection of the location of the backed-up preferences folder.

Version 2.0 added to the previous version (v 1.2) not only the ability  to back up the user's preferences, but also a feature that enables the user to restore your preferences from those that this application has previously backed up.

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This software runs only on Max OS 10.2 and later! If launched under an earlier version of Mac OS X, the program will return a message to that effect and will then quit.

Back up preferences 2.3.4 has been carefully tested on several different computers running Mac OS X v 10.2 and later, including v 10.2.3, and it has performed as intended on all of them. It is possible that it may not work on a small number of machines, but it should run on most without problems. If it does not run, but instead returns an error message, running the "Repair Disk Permissions" from the "First Aid" tab of Disk Utility, which can be found in the "/Applications/Utilities" folder may fix the problem. However, if it does not, it will cause no harm when running in back-up mode; rather, it will simply quit with an error message. However, if an error is encountered while the user is attempting to use this application in "Restore" mode, you must follow the directions in the preceding paragraphs or serious damage to your system requiring a complete re-installation of the system may result!

You've been warned!
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License:

This software and associated documentation are provided "as is" without any further warranties or support. You use this software at your own risk! When you launch this software, it is assumed that you have read the accompanying documentation and that you are aware that the "Restore" function entails some risk to your system and that you are willing to accept this risk. 

No responsibility is taken by M-T Software for the use or misuse of this software and/or the documentation supplied with it.     

Unmodified redistribution of the disk image containing this software is permitted.

M-T Software
February 17, 2003

Report any bugs to support@m-t-software.com.

© Copyright 2003 by M-T Software
http://www.m-t-software.com