OS/2 Shareware BBS: 11 Util/11-Util.zip/bar2_14.zip/bar.HLP

OS/2 Help File | 1994-06-26 | 22KB | 477 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

BaR  is a PM-based front end for OS/2's backup and restore utilities.

Its purpose is to simplify the process of backing up your files/data to
floppies by allowing you to create what are called profiles.

For help on the window objects, refer to the Creating/Configuring BaR topic.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Using BaR ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This section explains how to configure and use BaR.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1. Creating/Configuring Profiles ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When you first launch BaR, you are presented with a blank window with a series
of raised icons along the top of the window and a series of embedded icons
along the right-hand side.

The top icons are pushbuttons and they serve the following functions:

 creates a new parent profile.

 edits and/or deletes log files created by backup.exe.

 configures the INI file backup feature.

 exits BaR.

The embedded icons along the right-hand side serve the following functions:

 backs up the child profile dragged on to it or all of the children if the
parent profile is dragged here.

restores only child profiles, i.e. parents cannot be dragged here.

 opens the backup parameters notebook for the dragged child profile.

 creates a child profile beneath the dragged parent profile and opens the
backup parameters notebook.

deletes the dragged child profile or all of the children if a parent is dragged
here.

 provides information on the family, regardless of whether a child or parent
profile is dragged.

You first begin by creating a parent profile, beneath which actual
backup/restore profiles will be defined.  The advantage of this is that you can
group similar (or dissimilar) backup sessions beneath one parent, for e.g.

   Documents
      c:\notes\*.*
      d:\misc\letters\*.*
      e:\general\reports\*.*


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2. Deleting Profiles ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You can delete a parent profile and/or its children in one of two ways:

 1. Select the parent or child, right-click, and click Delete selected...

 2. Drag the parent or child to the trashcan.

Deleting a parent profile deletes all of its children as well.

Note:  You are first required to confirm the deletion before the child or
family is actually removed from bar.ini.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3. Renaming Profiles ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To rename a child or parent profile, press and hold the Alt key and left-click
on the name you would like to change.  Click anywhere on the container to
accept the change or press Esc to abort.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4. Moving Child-Profiles ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To move a child profile from one parent to another, click on it and drag it to
the new parent.

Note:  For the move to be successful, the child must be dropped on the new
parent's name, as opposed to one of its children.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5. Viewing Information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To view information concerning a specific family - parent creation date and
time; the last backup date and time and expired days for each child - drag the
parent or child to the information icon.

Note:  If you backed up all the children by dragging the parent to the backup
icon, only the last child in the family tree will contain the date/time
information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6. Working with Archive Attributes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you select the Modified backup option in the General page of the backup
parameters notebook, you will be prompted when you backup the child profile if
you would like to set/clear the archive attributes manually.  Selecting Yes
displays a window where you can set and/or clear the attributes.

Note:  If more than one child profile has this option checked, each will have
its own Attributes window with the child's name in the title bar.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.7. The File Exclusion Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

A small window appears alongside the main BaR  window. The list box contains
the extension of files you would like OS/2's backup to ignore, such as BAK,
TMP, and TXT files, for example.  To add to this list, right click on the list
box and choose the Add...  menu item.  To delete an entry, select it,
right-click, then choose Delete.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.8. Working with Logs ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you chose to have OS/2's backup log the backup process to file, a file which
you name will be created in BaR's own directory.  If you want to
view/edit/delete a file, click on the Log file pushbutton.  A listbox will
appear in which all of the files in the directory with the extension .LOG will
appear.  To edit a file, double click on it, or select the file, right-click,
then choose the Edit menu item.  To delete a file, select it, right-click, and
choose Delete.  To exit the window, either double-click on the system menu or
right-click and select Exit.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.9. Backing Up ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To backup files to floppies, drag either an individual child or parent profile
to the backup icon.  You can also select it and press CTRL+B.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.10. Backing Up INI Files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

BaR is equipped with an, admittedly, crude INI file backup.  What this
essentially does is copy the user-selected .INIs to an equivalent directory
structure beneath BaR's own directory.  For example,

   D:\BIN\BAR\
      |
      |____Drive_C\
      |    |
      |    |____OS2\
      |         |
      |         |____OS2.INI
      |         |____OS2SYS.INI
      |
      |____Drive_D\
      |    |
      |    |____OS2\WINOS2\
      |    |    |
      |    |    |____WIN.INI
      |    |    |____SYSTEM.INI

The INI backup facility is intended to take the bother out of backing up
crucial INI files by doing it for you every xth time you launch BaR.

To enable this feature, you first click on the INI pushbutton to invoke the
preliminary setup window.  Here you enable the INI backup feature by checking
the Enable INI backup feature checkbox and selecting a frequency, from 1 to 9,
which represents which invocation of BaR the INI backup should take place.  For
example, selecting 2 means that every second invocation of BaR will backup the
selected .INI files.

Once you have enabled the INI backup feature, click on the Files... button to
invoke a window in which all of the .INI files found on your system appear.
Select those you would like BaR to backup and click Save.  To scan the
available drives, click Scan.  To select non-INI files, click Other.  To delete
items from the list, select them and click Delete.  Once you are satisfied with
the list of files, click Save, which dismisses the INI File List window.  To
save the INI backup feature settings, click on the Save button in the INI
Backup Setting dialog box.

Note:  BaR doesn't actually backup your INI files.  It simply copies them to an
identical directory structure beneath its own directory, the root of each drive
being Drive_C, etc. Because BaR attempts to maintain directory and file names,
if you are backing INI files from an HPFS drive or partition, be sure to
install BaR on a similar drive or partition.  I'm not sure what will happen if
you try to copy HPFS directory and/or file names to a FAT-formatted drive or
partition, but I am almost positive the results will be less than satisfactory
if either does not conform to the 8.3 DOS limitation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.11. Restoring ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To restore files from floppies, drag a child profile to the restore icon.
Select the restore options from the window, and press Restore.  To display the
files which would be restored, press the Display pushbutton.

Note:  You cannot drag a parent to the Restore icon to restore the entire
family.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Backup Options ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This section describes the various options available when creating child
profiles.

The titlebar of the notebook contains the parent name and the child, separated
by a '+' character, e.g. Documents + Notes.

To save the parameters for the newly-created child profile, click on the Save
pushbutton.  To abandon the profile, click on Discard.

The backup notebook contains five pages:

 1. Directory
 2. General
 3. Drive
 4. Log
 5. Date/Time


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. Directory ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Directory notebook page contains a list of files and directories for the
current drive.  To select the backup directory, double click on a folder within
the Directories container.

Note:  Filenames are included in the container to make it easier to see what
exactly you will be backing up.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. General ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The General notebook page contains general backup parameters.

Append files to previous backup
          appends the backup to previous backups, useful for incremental child
          backups, for example.

Apply file exclusion
          excludes the files with the extension you specify in the File
          Exclusion Window.

Backup only modified files
          backs up only files with the archive attribute cleared.  On
          setting/clearing archive attributes, refer to the Working with
          Attributes topic.

Backup    subdirectories
          backs up the files recursively.

File      mask
          backs up only the files matching the specified file mask.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. Drive ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Drive notebook page contains options specific to the floppy diskette drive.

Select one of two diskette drives to which data should be backed up.  These
are:

          backs up to drive A:
          backs up to drive B: <default>

If you want backup.exe to format unformatted diskettes first, check the Format
diskette(s) first checkbox and move the slider to the media format.

Note:  It is not necessary to have the slider reflect the media format if you
have not checked the Format diskette(s) first  checkbox.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.4. Log ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Log notebook page contains options specific to the logfile created by
backup.exe.

Log backup to file
          when checked instructs backup.exe to keep a log file of the backup
          process.

Overwrite previous log
          instructs BaR to delete a previous log file for the current child or
          parent (if applicable).  This is the default.

Append to previous log
          instructs BaR to keep the current log file.  The new backup process
          will be appended to the end of the file.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.5. Date/Time ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Date/Time notebook page contains options specific to date/time backup
restrictions.

Backup files since date
          instructs BaR to backup only those files which have changed since the
          date you specify.

Backup files since time
          instructs BaR to backup only those files which have changed since the
          time you specify.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Restore Options ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This section contains information on the available Restore options.

There are five sections to the Restore Options dialog box:

 1. Profile Information
 2. General
 3. Before Date/Time
 4. After Date/Time
 5. Drive

To begin the restoration process, click on the Restore pushbutton.

To display the files that would be restored without actually restoring them,
click on the Display button.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. Profile Information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Profile Information groupbox contains information specific to the current
restore:

Name      is the name of the profile to be restored.

Path      is the target directory to which the files will be restored.

File mask is the file mask to be used on the files to be restored.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2. General ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The General groupbox specifies general restore parameters:

Permission requests permission from the user before restoring any files that
          have changed or are no longer on the target drive.

Modified  restores only those files whose archive attribute is cleared.

Non-existant restores only those files that are no longer found in the target
          directory.

Fail      instructs restore.exe to fail if the target does not support extended
          attributes and the source file contains extended attributes.

Recursive instructs restore.exe to restore files recursively.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3. Before Date/Time ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Before (xx-yy-zz) / (hh:mm:ss) groupbox specifies the date  and/or time
parameters for restoration of files modified on or before the specified date
and/or time.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4. After Date/Time ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The After (xx-yy-zz) / (hh:mm:ss) groupbox specifies the date and/or time
parameters for restoration of files modified on or after the specified date
and/or time.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.5. Drive ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Drive groupbox specifies the source drive for the restoration process.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Trouble Shooting ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Should you find that Profile names do not correspond to backup options, you can
do one of two things.  Either delete the BaR.INI file and start over, or edit
the INI file manually.  BaR.INI conforms to standard OS/2 (c) INI files, but
the data is written to the file in ascii format.  The basic structure is:

   [BaR]
      BaR_Dir = e.g. D:\USR\BaR\BaR.INI
      INIOptions = Yes|No x where x
                   is a number from 1 to 9
      Exclude = e.g. BAK !!! TMP
      Invocation = is a BaR invocation count used for INI backups
      DateFormat = xx-yy-zz where x, y, z represent the system
                   dependent format

   [Parent-ProfileName]
      CreationDate = date time (of when the parent was created)
      Child-ProfileName = backup parameters (see below)
      Child-ProfileName__DateTime = date time (of when the last
                                    successful backup took place

   [INIBackup]
      x = INI file (where x is a sequential number beginning with 1)

Backup parameters are written and read in the following order:

   ProfileName = <parameters>

   Parameters
      Path      = e.g. C:\*.*
      Drive     = e.g. B:
      Log       = e.g. /L:Profile.log
      Modified  = /M
      Append    = /A
      Recursive = /S
      Format    = e.g. /F:1220
      Date      = e.g. /D:xx-yy-zz
      Time      = e.g. /T:hh:mm:ss
      Exclude   = Exclude_Yes | Exclude_No
      LogFile   = Log_A | Log_O

Each option must be separated by a space, and non-selected options are
represented by the string <none>. Path, Drive, Exclude, and Log File must have
a valid string, i.e. something other than <none>; otherwise, BaR is likely to
fail.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Registration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

BaR Front End is released as freeware, which means that you are not required to
register if you decide to use this utility. If you feel that BaR offers a
significant improvement to your daily computing needs and that its author
should be renumerated, then you can send whatever you like to:

   Paul H. Caron
   c/o Mr. J-P Caron
   A10-420 Westmount Avenue
   Sudbury, Ontario  P3A 5V4
   CANADA


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Disclaimer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This program is supplied with no warranty whatsoever either expressed or
implied.  Neither its author nor Watcom International can be held directly or
indirectly responsible for any loss or damage to your data and/or system as a
result of the use and/or misuse of BaR Front End.  If you decide to continue
using BaR, you understand that you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK.

All software and documentation is supplied AS IS.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Copyright ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

                      BaR Front End (c) 1994 Paul H. Caron
                           OS/2 (c) IBM International
                        VX-Rexx (c) Watcom International


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Contacting the Author ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you find a bug or have suggestions for improvements, feel free to contact me
at

  [e-mail].


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden>  ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 Profiles are, in a sense, folders in which backup sub-profiles, called child
profiles, are located.  Each child profile is an actual set of parameters which
are passed to backup.exe.  Each parent profile may contain any number of
related or unrelated children.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden>  ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 Because the date format is system dependent, the installation utility
requested that you specify the date format for your system.  The value you
selected is used to determine the date sequence which appears above the
relevant spin buttons, as in the Backup files since date parameter in the
Date/Time notebook page.

If, for example, your date format was year-month-day, then the string Format
yy-mm-dd would appear above the spin buttons and you would, necessarily, enter
a date such as 94-12-01.