PC Administrator/spravce.iso/TaskZip/TaskZip.EXE/TASKZIP_WISHLIST.TXT

Text File | 2001-10-06 | 16.5 KB | 420 lines

=========================================
T A S K Z I P   W I S H L I S T . T E X T
=========================================

Below is a list of new features requested by users.  Any
features listed here will eventually be done, but are big
changes and will have to wait until the next major release...
and given how busy I have been over the past year with one
son, having more will probably prevent me from doing much
other than limited bug releases for 3-4 years.

I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to install
and use TaskZip, and then to go beyond and email me with these
excellent suggestions.  Without your excellent input, TaskZip
would not have gotten this far.

-----------------------------------------
WISH LIST:
-----------------------------------------
09/25/2001
----------
- Earl Lumpkins: Runs as MMC, administerable from any
computer.

- Earl Lumpkins: Integrated basic encryption.

- Earl Lumpkins: Able to use hidden administrator only
shares for backup target folders, and source folders.

- Earl Lumpkins: Able to use TAR format to bypass ZIP 4 GB
limitation.

- Earl Lumpkins: Ability to use NET SEND commands to send
alert messages.

- Earl Lumpkins: Ability to send X number of backups to
one network path, and Z number of backups to a different
network path.

- Felix Schwarz: Incremental backups should perform a
complete backup for the initial run, not just the files
that are changed that date, or that happen to have the
archive bit set.

- Geoff Anderson: For CD-RW backups, would be nice to be able
to have TaskZip automatically determine whether correct disk
was in place based on volume name.

- Hynek Sladecek: Add Optional final report which summarizes
processing (e.g.: "Successfully archive 24 files and 10215
bytes").

- Mark Jermanski: Add a CRC check to the zip file if users
so choose (verify zip output with zip.dll call).

- Chris Barret: Have TaskZip recognize that a backup job
is overdue if computer was turned off when scheduled time
passed.  Instead of scheduling automatically for next date,
have TaskZip start backing up immediately.

- Stan Coleman: New feature to delete any ziaNNNNNN files
that started to compress, but then failed out.  Leaving
them in place eats up a lot of drive space.

- Stan Coleman: Allow users to choose a different path
for the temp file creation when zipping.  Currently, the
default is to use the same path as the Target (or output)
file is built.

- Michal Fryska/Charles Hawkes: Add ability to enter user
name and password for secure directories (such as Samba
shares on Linux).

- Michal Fryska: Add ability to schedule backups based on
size (exceeds certain pre-defined limit), or schedule based
on trigger of file being added.

- Keith Walton: Request to add option in File | Preferences
so that users can toggle on/off errors when file spec
items do not exist...just continue forward rather than
kill the entire backup job and move on.
Note that a current workaround is setup your directory
structure so that your backup item is a parent directory...
then the children directories can be empty without causing
a problem.

- John Reilly: Multi-machine backups for networked users.

- John Reilly: Remote control reporting (logs) too.

- John Reilly: Control via browser from home on holiday, etc.

- John Reilly: Feature to automatically determine files that
are out of date and back them up.

- John Reilly/David Starr: Defer backups of locked files,
checking until they are unlocked at which time the are
backed up...or figure out a way to unlock them.
TaskZip needs to handle locked files more gracefully.
Continue backing up all other files and wait to return
later when the file is not locked to back it up, or
figure out a way to unlock the file.
At present, TaskZip will successfully skip items in the
Add File dialog (entire folders with wildcard specs), but
will not successfully continue backing up individual items
if a locked file error is encountered.

- John Reilly: Feature needed where disk space is assessed
before backup to popup error before backup rather than after
backup failed.

- John Reilly: File restore would be a good feature to add.

- Earl Lumpkins: Ability for backup job to mirror copy
files not to a single drop point, but to multiple drop
points simultaneously.

- Earl Lumpkins: I.S. Administrators want the ability to
dynamically add and remove networked drives rather than
rely on UNC paths (\\Server\Path).  There are some things
you cannot do with UNC paths where a mapped drive comes
in very handy (esp. in conjunction with the undocumented
pre-backup and post-backup command-line batch jobs).

- Felix Schwarz: Show date and time column on main
window for Last Run.

- Felix Schwarz: Make it possible to have grandfathered
backups for non-compression just like compression...use
named folders with appropriate extensions just like
the zip files are made.

- W.Gaddis: Make a warning message that backup is about
to occur and user must exit out of any applications that
might lock files and prevent a successful backup from
occurring.

- Bob Cherochak: Make TaskZip compress to RAR, or gzip,
or other format.

- Mel Farmer: If there is an error that precludes TaskZip
from successfully finishing a backup, the zip file will
not be completed.  If user selects "No Stop, Keep Running"
then unless s/he checks the error and event logs, will
not notice that backup failed.  Fine and good, but what
about when the grandfathered backups keep chugging along
deleting good backups until after X number of days all
existing grandfather backups have been erased, with no
new ones replacing them...OOPS! User is Shit Outta Luck.

- Clean code up.

- Consider taking stuff off of this wish list and making
a shareware version of TaskZip, all the while maintaining
the freeware version too, albeit with lesser functionality.
Would have license activation code.  Am hesistant to do
it because of limited time...even if made money, may not
be worth the effort (time is more important).
...10/01/2001...Do not want to do this at all now due to
time constraints.  Cannot support the shareware app at
this time.  Leave 100% freeware with no shareware version.



12/06/2000
----------
- Update Help file with command line parms and other info
that is contained in the Readme.txt file.

- Add in John's new UI for handling command-line runs
before and after backup job (see below).




11/25/2000
----------
- Figure out how to get wildcard characters [, ], and ? to
work as exclude filenames...not parameters for exclude.
Some users use these wildcard characters in their filename
conventions.

- Have auto-scheduled backups occur without the tray icon.
Currently to have auto-scheduled backups run, you *must*
have the tray icon, or select manual mode where the
scheduled backups do not run.  Gerald Donker suggests
that a third solution in between would be beneficial to
prevent users from accessing what the I.S. staff setup.



10/29/2000
----------
- Make settings for command-lines to be run both before and
after the backup is run.  Users have requested this for ftp
functionality (send .zip file to web), and to run other
utilities before/after zipping.  Note: you can get something
like X-Drive (look this name up on search engine to find url) to
seamlessly work with TaskZip for ftp's (the drive looks like any
other to TaskZip).  John almost has this done.  It is getting
close...BUT I will defer for now due to time constraints.

- If change saving format from _1, _2, etc. to dated save,
the old format save is left forever.  User must know to go
in and delete old zip files left over after changed save
format...Maybe should go in if change format and delete,
or prompt to delete?

- Make option to map drive dynamically prior to backup,
execute backup, then unmap the drive.  This will help
with old Novell networks, etc. that do not fully support
UNC (universal named connections).  Could even check if
UNC paths work, then if not map a path.

- Schedule jobs to run at windows startup.

- Add date range critiera option to backup wildcard file
selection. [From John's List]

- Make non-compression backup jobs also keep history with
multiple named copies (Dir20001010, Dir20001011, etc.).
Size is an issue though...if keep too many grandfather
copies around, have to check source size first before
backup occurs. [From John's List]

- Make a wizard that takes a zip file and creates a .tzp
package from the zip file.  Henceforth, zipping would
be automated...but user would have to answer TaskZip
specific questions.  Zip file not store drives is one issue,
and if zip file not store paths, have to trap for and
notify user. [From John's List]

- Ability to highlight several backup jobs and relocate
their target directory. [From John's List]

- Ability to make backup job templates that can run against
other drives or directories.  Need relative path handling
of some sort.  However, could just copy a job and modify
the drive or directory. [From John's List]

- Multi-threading while executing a backup would make the
whole thing appear far more responsive, and leave room
for running multiple concurrent backups. [From John's List]

- Log edit, delete, and create of backup jobs.
[From John's List]

- Create method to categorize backup jobs (like with a
tree control and groupings) so make more sense rather than
just listed all on same equivalency. [From John's List]

- Cannot edit files in listbox, can only delete them, or
add more by clicking add button.  Would be nice to just
edit them in the listbox...I have to ponder this request
though because adds more to the code, but for what?  For
power users to save having to click a button at expense
of simpler users who need to be led along.

- Backup Jobs have schedule that includes both full and
incremental for same job.  Do not know how to make this
appear in GUI, need to give some thought.

- Have TaskZip shutdown other running programs like
Outlook so does not impact the backup.

- Add support for multiple languages throughout the GUI
dialogs.


10/18/2000
----------
- Number of days/weeks/months to keep grandfathered backups
around is a drop down.  That drop down contains the same
count as user set in preferences (1-99).  Would be better
if it knew 12 for months, 31 for days, and 4 for weeks,
or something like that (rather than 99 if that is what
user set for Keep N copies around in preferences window).

- Copying a backup job two times yields "Copy of Job", and
"Copy of Copy of Job".  Do like Windows Explorer (Copy 2).

- Running multiple backups would be nice if window title bar
indicated which backup job was currently running (leave
status bar text listing of file archived as is).


03/14/2000
----------
- Allow users to specify where the transaction log gets written
to.  Gilberto G. in Portugal wants to be able to redirect all
users transaction logs to a central Linux server so that all
the information regarding user's backups would be in one place
on the network.  Until I fix this, just make a backup job
using no compression that just copies that taskzip.log file
to the central server -- temporary work-around.


03/12/2000
----------
- For non-compression backups (not applicable to zip backups),
backup to a temp directory.  When entire backup is complete with
no failures, then delete existing directory, and rename temp to
that name.  Right now, the design is risky because if you have a
failure while backing up to the one-shot, no-older-copies-
kept-around, non-compression backup...then all is lost that is
not in the current backup.  This is an important design bug to
fix...but note that if a failure occurs during backup, user is
notified immediately and original source still exists.  This is
why I prefer backing up to zip files for the history, and then
weekly backing up my entire zip file history directory to
another computer.

- Make option to use as NT Service for NT installs (thanks Sean
and Earl).



Pre- 03/01/2000
---------------
- Make backups prompt users to immediately execute a backup job
if the previous run was skipped.  This one narrowly missed going
into the current release, but would have taken quite a bit of
testing and was risky so I skipped it.

- Make option for Auto-Notification via email for both
successful backup run, or failed backup run.

- Add logic so users can select "Last Thursday of Month",
"Second Monday of Month", etc.

- Make a new backup type similar to Incremental, but that just
updates a single zip file with changes.  This way, the single
backup would always contain one backup with the most recent copy
of everything in it.  One draw back is that there would be no
grandfather backups (_1, _2, etc.).

- Add ability to specify higher or lower compression rates.
Pretty easy to do since zip.exe supports it...but would require
addition to .tzp file structure so omit until later when change
the .tzp file structure all at once.

- Postpone backups until the network activity is below a
specified threshold.  This will prevent excessive network
traffic and is important for huge, multi-gigabyte backups.

- Make option for selecting files (wildcard-like) whose
date/time stamp meets specified criteria (between date range,
after specified date, etc.).

- Do not rename incremental backup files with the _1, _2, etc.
if there was nothing to backup...just leave the files as is.

- Instead of recurse subfolders checkbox applying to entire
backup job (all folders selected either on or off), make /s
switch apply to individual folder selections.

- Add Version Stamp to .tzp files.  Upgrades would then know
what fields to expect when loading / savving .tzp files.

- Add ability to span diskettes for removable media.

- Add -A option to backup job definitions.  This would allow
users to make self-extracting zip files instead of just zip
files.  I really liked this option for people who do not have a
zip utility...but most people have a zip utility.  Add it in
later when revise the saving of .tzp files.

- Allow option to pause after each backup job is executed, and
before next one is executed so that can put in new diskettes.
This item will go away when I eventually re-write the TaskZip
compression, removing the zip.exe engine and replacing with a
zip.dll with more features...one of them being the ability to
span diskettes.  Spanning will eliminate this feature request.

- Add ability to multi-select file types from the Pick File
dialog's wildcard selection tab.  This would be faster for user
than having to repeatedly hit the Add File... button and click
all the buttons and drop-downs to fill out their selections.



-----------------------------------------
REQUESTS WILL NOT DO:
-----------------------------------------
- One user had a good request that TaskZip list files like
WinZip rather than Backup Jobs in the scheduler window.
Although this would make TaskZip more like the other zipping
tools, it would defeat the purpose of the scheduling window
where you schedule backup jobs.

- If multi-select several backup jobs and click edit, will
just open the last job in list for edit.  Should open
all jobs, just the shared properties for altering.  Would
take too much work to implement though, so nix it.

- Add restore feature for recovery instead of popping up
Winzip or other zip utility.  Decide no because those
apps work fine and not need to duplicate the functionality.

- Make scheduler run as separate executable.  Decide no
because one of TaskZip's strengths is that is all in one
package and simple to use.  Splitting off the scheduler
would allow more sophisticated users to choose their own
scheduler (i.e.: Windows scheduler, or At command for NT);
but would cause less advanced users to opt out of using
TaskZip.

- Ability to make hierarchical backup jobs (one that calls
many sub-jobs).  Could use scripting too.  Will not do
however, because few people use it and take a lot of time
to build it well.   [From John's List]

- Mel Farmer: Could make TaskZip icon change as jobs are
active (backup is running) at task tray.

- User noticed bug where once upgrade to version 2.xx; you
can never downgrade back to 1.xx.  The fix will be for you
to manually change the .tzp files so that all the INI-like
text is removed at the bottom half of the file, and leave
the top half, plain-text, older .tzp format data intact.