Spec Builder
Gives you access to the rich set of features available to enable you to construct any backup or co-ordination task.

Source files:
Defines a folder path and file spec to shadow. Don't forget to click the 'New Line' button to create a new line. You can search for your folder using the browse button or drag and drop a folder from Explorer. Use drive letter or network notation as you prefer.

Alternative Shadow Destination /d:
Allows you to override the default backup folder. Useful if you want to shadow to 2 destinations simultaneously. The following example shadows my desktop PC data to both the server and to my re-writable  CD backup drive (d:) using the /d switch.
c:\mydata\*.* /s /d=\\server01\c-drive\shadow\mydata
c:\mydata\*.* /s /d=d:\shadow\mydata
The /d switch does not insert the source's drive letter or network drive into the shadow folder structure which can be useful. 
You will probably need to experiment with this feature to get the desired result. If you can't find your required folder using the browser (it may not exist yet) then key it in manually.

Include sub directories /s:
Include all sub folders of the folder defined in the path and file spec.

Compress files on the Shadow Destination /z:
Zip compression is available to licensed users.
Use the /z flag to save the shadow file as a compressed zip file.  For example:
c:\My Documents\*.*  /s /z 
Compressing files can save disk space on your server or removable backup device.
Compressed files are saved as follows:
Assuming you are shadowing to your d:\Shadow folder:
c:\My documents\Document1.doc will be backed up to d:\Shadow\c\MyDocuments\Document1.doc.zip
Notice that a ".zip" suffix is added and the original file extension is retained for reference.

A popular use for Shadow is to work in the office, shadow your files to a Zip disk then work on them at home.
Shadow's zip feature has been designed with this 2 way shadowing in mind so files in the office and at home are not compressed and can be used normally, but the files shadowed to the Zip drive are compressed saving space. Using Shadow's 2WayIdentical mode, all new files, changes and deletes are correctly managed. Shadow compresses and uncompresses files as necessary.

You can add the /z flag at any time and Shadow will compress all files in the destination folder automatically. You can also take the /z flag off at any time and Shadow will automatically uncompress all files in the destination folder structure.
You can compress selected subfolder structures leaving others uncompressed. 
For example, the following two lines backup the c:\My documents\*.* folder structure in uncompressed files but compresses the backup for c:\My documents\Big files\*.*
c:\My Documents\*.*  /s  
c:\My Documents\Big files\*.*  /s /z 

A word of caution: If you have two or more users synchronizing to the same folder then they must all use the same /z setting. If one user has /z on and another has /z off then all files in the destination folder structure will be alternately saved as compressed and uncompressed files. 

Include in time scheduled runs only /t:
This line will be processed at the pre-set scheduled times and not during 'Periodic Scan' runs. Recommended for folders where the data does not change often.
You can optionally specify a particular time of day (use 24 hour notation). If you do, then this line will only run at that time and not at any other time.

Changed and new files only /c:
Limits processing to files created on or after the specified 'since' date. Useful if your data files are mixed with earlier dated EXE files and DLLs etc. that you don't want to shadow. Also useful for picking up changes to INI files in the windows directory. eg:
c:\windows\*.ini /c /v2,0 will keep 2 old versions of all ini files allowing you to identify changes.
If you don't specify a 'since' date then the date of the last successful run is used.
Do not use this option unless you fully understand it's operation.

Exclude these files /x:
This path and file spec will not be processed. Use sparingly as can slow down processing if a large folder structure is excluded. Best for excluding single files as in:
c:\mydata\*.* /s
c:\mydata\big data extract.dat /x
which will shadow everything in c:\mydata except the big data extract.dat file.

Also use /x to exclude files containing a file path or file name phrase. This method is quicker for shadow to process. For example the following spec lines:
c:\mydata\* /s  /r include all files in c:\mydata folder structure
\mydata\temp /x+ /r exclude all files in \mydata\temp  folder structure
The + sign after the /x ensures that the exclusion is applied to all spec lines and not just those with a *.* file name wildcard as with the plain /x control switch.

Exclude if remote connection detected /e: 
If you sometimes connect to your server over a slow remote dial up connection you can prevent files from being shadowed while you are connected by using the  /e control switch.
The following two examples will be excluded from shadow runs if a remote connection is open. 
\\Server01\data\*.*  /s /e
h:\*.* /s /e 

Old versions to save /v:
This unique feature will get you out of trouble again and again.
When changed files are shadowed the old version is saved in a sub folder of the file's own folder. The newest old version is stored in a folder named shadow-1 the previous version to that is stored in shadow-2 up to the maximum of 9 old versions in folder shadow-9. You can store old versions on the source and/or shadow drives as you wish.  Use this facility for files which you change frequently such as sales proposal spreadsheets and presentations. If you make a big mistake or don't like the last change you made then you just go back to a previous version. Wow!

Weekday /w:
Specify to run on a particular day of the week.

Shadow only if file size is less than /m:
Use this function to set the maximum size of files that can be shadowed.
For example 
c:\My Documents\*.*  /s  /m=3
will exclude any files > 3Mb in the c:\My Documents folder structure.

Query first if file size is greater than /q:
Use this function to ask you to confirm shadow saves manually.
Queries are presented in a list. You select those you want to shadow by checking the checkboxes.
For example 
c:\My Documents\*.*  /s  /q>0.5
will query any files > 500Kb in the c:\My Documents folder structure and...
c:\My Documents\*.*  /s  /q>0
will query all files in the c:\My Documents folder structure.
Note that the "Query all saves" checkbox in the "Options" panel on the main form provides a method of querying everything and will override the /q switch.
There are two special exceptions to this rule
c:\My Documents\*.*  /s  /q=No
Use "No" to prevent a spec line from being queried even by the "Query all saves" option.
c:\My Documents\*.*  /s  /q=Deletes
When using /Identical shadow mode, use "Deletes" to always query files that are to be deleted. This feature is enabled by default if you specify /Identical shadow mode.

Shadow only if shadow volume name is /n:
If you backup to removable disks (volumes) you can instruct this line to run only if the currently mounted disk has a volume name that matches this field . 
Lines with no volume name specified will be shadowed to all volumes.
If you check "Private" then this line will be stored on the volume itself and will only appear when the volume is mounted. You will notice that the prefix becomes /n+ for private lines (instead of /n=).

Remarks /r:
Add a remark to the end of the line.

Shadow Mode:
Allows you to override the default shadow mode. Use this if you want to, say, backup all your data by default but do 2 way transfer to co-ordinate a specific folder.

1 Way Backup will backup files from your Shadow Set to the backup device which can be a server, a PD/CD ROM or other optical drive or a Zip drive etc.
1 Way Backup mode will warn you first if a file to be backed up is older than it's shadow.

2 Way Transfer will co-ordinate both sets of files allowing you to work on the server files or the PC files as you wish. Shadow will then copy the latest version over the earlier as appropriate.

2 Way Briefcase is similar to 2Way Transfer except that only files on the source PC are considered for the 2 way process.  This enables you to have a large number of files on the server and have a smaller subset of "live" files on the PC.  Any new files created on the PC will be copied to the server but new files created on the server will not be transferred back.

1 Way Aggressive mode will backup files without warning you first, even if the shadow copy is newer. For instance, this is useful for software testing, when you need to re-instate original files after a test.

1 Way Identical mode will keep the destination identical to the source. Files deleted on the source PC will also be deleted on the backup. Any file included in the set defined by the spec line, that is changed on the destination will be overwritten by the source file as in 1 way aggressive. Additionally, any new file created on the backup that meets the spec will be deleted (or sent to the recycle bin if available). Use this mode if you need to maintain an exact backup of  files on your PC but be aware that if you delete a file on your PC it will be deleted on the backup. 
By default, for safety the "save deleted files" checkbox is checked to save deleted files in a \Shadow-1.del\ sub folder and the "Query first if file size is greater than /q:" parameter is set to "Deletes" to present a query to you before deleting any file. To avoid the loss of valuable data, it is recommended that you keep these settings until you are confident that your /Identical specification is correct. If you do not want to keep a safety copy of deleted files, uncheck the "save deleted files" checkbox but be aware that the /v feature to save old versions also saves a safety copy of deleted files.

2 Way Identical mode is a combination of 2 Way Transfer and 1 Way Identical modes. 2 Way Identical mode allows you to identically synchronize folders on the server and your PC so you can work on the server files or on the PC files as you wish. Shadow will then copy new files created on one PC to the other and copy the latest version of changed files over the earlier as in 2 Way Transfer mode. However, with 2 Way Identical mode you can also delete or rename files and folders on one PC and they will be deleted or renamed on the other. 
2Way Identical mode will also synchronize file attributes so if you set a file to "Read Only" Shadow will change the backup to be "Read Only" too. There is an exception however. If the only change to the file is a change to the "Archive" attribute then the file will not be shadowed. This is because the "Archive" attribute is changed by some server tape backup systems and this could cause Shadow to perform unneccessary synchronization processing.

2 Way Identical example 1:
You have 2 PCs networked together and you want to be able to work on either PC and keep the data in them identical.
Run Shadow on one of the PCs and use a spec line like this (where h: is your other PC):
c:\My Documents\*.*  /s /q=Deletes /d=h:\My Documents /2WayIdentical=1

2 Way Identical example 2:
You work in 2 locations, in the office and at home. You transfer your files between home and the office using a removable Zip drive or rewritable CD ROM etc.
Run Shadow on both PCs using a spec line like this (where e: is your removable drive):
c:\My Documents\*.*  /s /q=Deletes /d=e:\Shadow\c\My Documents /2WayIdentical=1

As with 1 Way Identical mode it is recommended that you keep the default safety settings until you are confident that your specification is correct.

Launching other applications:
Shadow has an additional feature in that it can close and launch other programs.

To launch an application, type the path and filename of the executable file and/or document file in the "Application app /a:" field then select the launch condition from the drop down list.

Valid entries in the "Launch app /a:" field to open a file called c:\readme.txt are:
c:\readme.txt
notepad,c:\readme.txt
c:\windows\notepad.exe,readme.txt

If you specify the application executable file and the document name they must be separated by a comma.

Closing other applications:
Sometimes you need to close an application before you backup it's data. A good example is email. If you do not close Microsoft Outlook Express then the folder you are viewing does not get backed up because it is locked by Outlook Express. 
To close an application before backing up, you type all or part of the application's title bar caption into the "Application /a:" field then select the launch condition Close before run from the drop down list. 

To close Outlook Express before backing up, type Outlook Express in the "Application /a:" field then select the launch condition Close before run from the drop down list. 

Closing and re-launching an application:
Shadow can automatically close an application then re-open it after the backup run.
To close an application before the backup run then open it after the run you type all or part of the application's title bar caption then a comma then the path and filename of the application you want to launch.
 
To close Outlook Express then re-launch it after the run. type  Outlook Express,c:\Program files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe in the "Application /a:" field then select the launch condition Close before run, launch after from the drop down list. 

Total control over your schedules
Shadow is a very flexible scheduler!
You can schedule any backup, co-ordination task or application launch for any minute of any day of the week by using the "/t=" and "/w=" switches.

C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\Mail\*.* /s /t=13:15 /a>Outlook Express,C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe
This line closes Outlook Express every day at lunch time, backs up the email files then re-launches Outlook Express when the backup has finished.

Validation:
When you re-start the timer your changes will be validated and when the validation run is completed, Shadow will tell you how many files and how many megabytes of data will be shadowed at the next run.  If you are confident of your changes you can switch the validation mode off at any time by clicking off the 'Validate spec change' checkbox. Normal shadowing will resume.