Backup4all 2.3.3
================
README file date: 4-Jul-2005

Copyright (c) 2002-2005 Softland. All Rights Reserved.


Table of Contents
=================
  1. Overview
  2. Revision history
  3. System requirements
  4. Installation
  5. Features list
  6. Frequently asked questions
  7. How to contact us


Overview
========
Backup4all is an award-winning backup software for Windows. It was designed to protect your valuable data from partial or total loss by automating backup tasks, password protecting and compressing it to save storage space. Its feature rich and intuitive interface makes this backup application easily accessible for both beginners and professionals.

Backup4all performs all four backup types: full backup, differential backup, incremental backup and mirror backup. Using the wizard you can easily set up any backup configuration you wish. You can define powerful file filters and schedule your backups any way you want. Once a backup is performed, you can see what files changed since the last backup using the explorer-like tree view or you can read the statistics about the next backup execution. Using the context menu from the tree you can run standard actions associated with the file type. 

Backup4all creates standard zip files. This means that your data is not at the mercy of the backup utility itself. You can access it with any zip compatible utility. The backup software tests the backed up files automatically to ensure the backup is safe and correctly executed (uses CRC32).

Backup4all keeps track of file versions. You can easily restore any version of files or a whole folder, filter the files to be restored or use the restore wizard of the backup application.

Backup4all works with any drive letter, including mapped network drives and UNC paths. It comes with its own built in CD and DVD burning support. Just set the destination to the CD or DVD burner and execute the backup item. However, if you prefer, you can use the UDF format (using products such as DirectCD or InCD).

Backup4all is compatible with Windows 95/98/Me/NT 4.0/2000/XP/2003 Server and requires approximately 6MB of free disk space.

Get the latest version from http://www.backup4all.com


Revision history
================
What’s New in Version 2.3.3 (4-Jul-2005)
 - Show backup item name in title bar
 - “One Touch Backup” feature extended
 - Merge process optimized
 - Minor bug fixes

What’s New in Version 2.3.2 (16-Mar-2005)
 - Command line parameters introduced in the main application
 - Command line application extended with extra parameters 
 - Minor bug fixes
 - Updated help file 

What’s New in Version 2.3.1 (14-Feb-2005)
 - Extensions to the “One Touch Backup” feature
 - Close application to tray
 - More accurate backup progress reporting
 - Minor bug fixes
 - Rewritten help file 

What's New in Version 2.3.0 (26-Nov-2004)
 - “One Touch Backup” feature
 - File comparison criteria
 - Optionally reset archive bit
 - Play custom success, warning and error sounds at the end of the backup
 - Do not split files in mirror backups when spanning option
 - Use temporary folder to create zip files option
 - Choose log folder location
 - Optionally show file warnings
 - Support for file and folder paths longer than 260 characters (turn off file parsing)
 - Erase CD and DVD tool
 - Faster zip merging
 - Faster program startup
 - New command line switches

What's New in Version 2.2.1 (7-Sep-2004)
 - Optimized zip testing
 - Choose ASPI layer to use (internal or external)
 - After backup program/action executed between backup and test. Now it is the last operation
 - Help file adjustments
 - Windows XP Service Pack 2 compatibility
 - Fixed writing large zip files to DVD
 - Fixed merging backups
 - Fixed backup statistics
 - Fixed “List index out of bounds“ error that happens when there were only excluded files
 - Other minor bug fixes

What's New in Version 2.2.0 (11-Jun-2004)
 - New Backup4all edition (Backup4all Classic Edition)
 - Added DVD support. Extended CD support
 - Test files automatically after backup (uses CRC32)
 - Possibility to verify backup item integrity with a click of a button at any time
 - Preview files before restore
 - Keep multiple versions for full and differential backup
 - Limit the number versions for full and differential backup
 - Switch between full, differential and incremental backup types without clearing the backup
 - Copy files directly into the destination folder (for mirror backup)
 - Set backup, test and restore priorities
 - Resizable windows for “New Backup Wizard”, “Backup Properties” and “Restore Wizard”
 - Improved log system. Now logging restore and test actions
 - Remember column widths, positions and states (visible/invisible) for all grids
 - Option to make each backup on a new (removable) disk 
 - Improved statistics

What's New in Version 2.1.0 (3-Mar-2004)
 - Unlimited zip size (zip64 support), faster zipping algorithm, zip compression compatibility 
 - CD burner engine updated to support more CD writers
 - Separate description for each backup version
 - Multi language support 
 - Multiple selection in the Explore view
 - “Clear backup” action with parameters
 - Backup errors are separated from the backup warnings
 - Minor bug fixes

What's New in Version 2.0.1 (15-Dec-2003)
 - Drag and drop support for adding files and folders as sources
 - Option to show a warning message before erasing removable media
 - Option to keep the CD ejected after burning
 - Daylight saving time fix for NTFS file systems
 - “Check all” and “Uncheck all” commands to easily select/deselect all sources
 - Override file filters for root sources  
 - Minor bug fixes

What's New in Version 2.0.0 (3-Nov-2003)
 - Differential backup type: faster than full backup, backs up only new and modified files
 - Incremental backup type: limit the number of backup versions
 - Disk spanning, disk labeling, customize and preview zip names
 - Mirror backup type: one to one copy of the sources, fast mirroring 
 - Customize destination folder name, recreate source folder structure in destination
 - Handle data volumes larger than 2 gigabytes
 - Built in CD burning support. No need for third party drivers
 - Show Size and “Modified date” of files in Explore view. Sort files in tree
 - Easy restore of a whole folder by right-click menu in Explore view
 - Command line support
 - Create shortcut to execute one backup item
 - File finder in Explore view (by name)	
 - Show available space in destination on Statistics view
 - Run program/action only once	

What's New in Version 1.5.0 (23-May-2003)
 - Execute all backup items in a group
 - “Backup Properties”: added support for .bmp files
 - Restore latest file version directly from the tree in the Explore view
 - Corrections of the backup progress status
 - Access backup item log and application log from the View menu
 - Optimized “Expand All” process in the Explore view
 - Use absolute path for destination and temporary folders

What's New in Version 1.4.0 (30-Apr-2003)
 - Password protection
 - Improved statistics
 - Open “.bkc” files from the main menu
 - Sort backup items in the backup groups
 - Changed “.bkc” file structure. Existing “.bkc” files will be converted to the new format
 - Delete non-empty backup groups
 - Corrections made in scheduler
 - Add “Expand all” and “Collapse all” for the Explore view
 - Corrections of the tray icon

What's New in Version 1.3.0 (19-Mar-2003)
 - Help file
 - Corrections made in the file filter configuration
 - Enhanced support for browsing Explore view during the backup process
 - Improved statistics
 - Corrections made in handling “.bkc” files
 - Improved backup logging, error log added
 - Corrections made in scheduler
 - More precise progress status when backing up
 - Warning dialog if the backup size exceeds 2 gigabytes 
 - Optimized access to removable media

What's New in Version 1.2.0 (7-Feb-2003)
 - Backup speed was dramatically improved 
 - Minimize to tray option 
 - Backup summary was improved in both layout and content 
 - Option to hide the background image on the left side of application's main form 
 - Add individual files to the backup source, not only folders 
 - Corrections made to the incremental backup type
 - Corrections to the shut down problem of Win2000 
 - A visual sign for backups in execution. Active backups window was added
 - A new option to hide scheduler warning 
 - Cosmetic changes to the user interface, new shortcuts 


System requirements
===================
To install Backup4all you need Windows 95/98/Me/NT 4.0/2000/XP/Server 2003 and approximately 5 megabytes of free disk space. Installing additional language files may increase the space requirements.

Because the application uses zip compression, additional disk space is needed for the temporary directory. The amount of free space depends on the size of files to backup.


Installation
============
To install Backup4all on a computer you need to have administrative rights. The installation process does not take much time. All you need to do is to follow the instructions of the “Backup4all Setup Wizard”. There is no need to reboot at the end of the setup; you can run the program right after it is installed on your machine.  

If you have already installed an older version of Backup4all, you can install the new version on top of the older one, no need to uninstall it (the installer will recognize if the program is running and ask if you wish to continue). You might need to close Backup4all manually if it is in a middle of an operation.

If you wish to install additional languages you can run separate language setups. You can add as many languages as you wish and switch between them later from the application interface.

First you need to close the application. Then go to the Backup4all application group (from the Windows “Start” menu and click “Uninstall Backup4all”).
You can also uninstall the application using the “Add/Remove programs” icon from the “Control Panel”. Languages have to be uninstalled separately (from the “Control Panel”).


Features list
=============
Intuitive interface – With the help of the file tree, you can see all files included in the backup and the new files that will be stored at next backup execution. You can sort and search this file tree. You can start the application at Windows startup or minimize it to the system tray.

Flexibility – Backup4all is very flexible, allowing you to run almost any backup operation you might require. 

Backup items – You can define multiple backups and save them for future use. On the main form, you have an overview of all defined backups organized in groups. You can create shortcuts to any backup item and execute it with a double click from your desktop. The application comes with several predefined backup items: “My Documents”, “My Pictures” and “Internet Favorites”. 

File context menu – Integrates available file operations into Backup4all’s interface, multiple file and folder selection is possible. 

Statistics – You can actually see the number of files that will be processed at next backup (very useful when you have a large number of files). Other information refers to the size and date of the executed backups and the available free space on storage destination.

Summary – Textual description of all configurations made to a backup item.

Backup wizard – Provides step-by-step definition of a new backup item. 

Easy file and folder selection – You can browse a folder tree to select individual files and folders as source of the backup or you can include or exclude them individually.

Backup destination – You can store the backup in a local folder, on the network, USB hard disks, CDs or DVDs or other removable media (OTB edition writes only to the USB hard disks).

Built in CD and DVD support – The application comes with its own built in CD and DVD burning support. Just set the destination to the CD or DVD burner and execute the backup item (OTB editon does not write to CDs or DVDs). 

UDF support – If you prefer, you can still use UDF format to burn your CDs and DVDs (OTB edition will not write to CDs or DVDs).

Backup types – Backup4all performs four backup types: full backup, differential backup, incremental backup and mirror backup (see the capabilities of each edition for the backup types supported).

File filters – Powerful filtering engine with lots of options (filter by attribute, size, date, name and type). You can build filters using a combination of restrictions and you can define separate filters for inclusion and exclusion. 

Built in scheduler – You can easily set up a powerful scheduler using the available scheduler configurations to make unattended backups.

Extra actions – Perform extra actions before and/or after the backup execution.

Test backup – The application tests the backups (using CRC32). This ensures that the files have been backed up properly and the backup is safe. You can also test the backup integrity at a later time from the application main menu.

Standard zip compression – Backup4all creates standard zip files. This means that your data is not at the mercy of the utility itself; you can access it with any zip compatible utility. 

Customized zip names – You can customize name prefixes for the zip archives, which store your backup versions.

Password protection – You can protect your zip files by setting a password to each backup. 

Snapshots – The mirror backup type makes an exact copy of selected files and folders. 

Disk spanning – Automated support to split your backup between removable disks or even on the same media. You can specify the maximum size of the zip archives. 

Multi-thread – The application allows you to start more backups at the same time, to execute a whole group of backups at once, showing the progress of each backup.

Logs – The operations performed by the application are logged.

Command line – There is a command line version of the application available. Use “Windows Scheduler” (or third party) to schedule backups.

Restore wizard – Restore backed up data step-by-step. Allows you to choose the version of files, filter and preview files that will be restored. 

Restore – You can quickly restore any file version, the latest version of the files or a whole folder from the backup item.

Compatibility – Restore can also be performed via any standard zip software, giving you more flexibility, if you need to restore on a different computer.


Frequently asked questions
==========================

Q: How can I create a new backup item? 
A: Backup items are created by the “New Backup Wizard”. The wizard can be started from the File menu or by clicking the “New Backup Wizard” button from the toolbar or the CTRL+N keyboard shortcut. Follow the steps of the wizard and click Finish when ready. 

Q: How can I copy a backup item (create a new one similar to another)? 
A: Select the backup item you want to copy from the list of available backups. Click the “Create Like” button or CTRL+L. The new backup item will be added to the same group as the original one. 

Q: How can I see only new and modified files in the Explore view? How can I see only the files already backed up? 
A: First you need to switch to the Explore View. Click the Explore button or F2.

To show only new and modified files make sure that:
 - “Show New Files” is pressed (CTRL+1)
 - “Show Unchanged Files” is not pressed (CTRL+2)
 - “Show Modified Files” is pressed (CTRL+3)
 - “Show Excluded Files” is not pressed (CTRL+4)
 - “Show Deleted Files” is not pressed (CTRL+5)

To show only the files already backed up make sure that:
 - “Show New Files” is not pressed (CTRL+1)
 - “Show Unchanged Files” is pressed (CTRL+2)
 - “Show Modified Files” is pressed (CTRL+3)
 - “Show Excluded Files” is pressed (CTRL+4)
 - “Show Deleted Files” is pressed (CTRL+5)

Q: How can I hide empty folders in the Explore view when expanding all folders?
A: Open the Options window, go to the General page and check the “Hide empty folders on expand all” option. After this option is set, the “Expand All” operation will not show empty folders. Note: Expanding all folders can be time consuming, especially if you add the whole drive as the source of the backup. You can always stop pressing the ESC key.

Q: How can I see the number of files that will be backed up? What about the number of changed files since the latest backup? 
A: First you need to switch to the Statistics view by clicking the Statistics button or F3. Press the “Calculate Statistics for Next Backup” button or CTRL+F5. Wait until the file count finishes. The results are shown in the text below. The left column shows the counters for files to be backed up and the right column shows the counters for files changed since the latest backup. 

Q: Somehow I lost my backup item configuration. I only have the “.bkc” file. Can I restore the backup item?
A: Yes, you can. Just double-click on the “.bkc” file. Backup4all will open and a new backup item will be created based on the information from the backup catalog “.bkc” file.

Q: How can I make a shortcut to a backup item, so that I can run it from the desktop?
A: First select the backup item you want to run. Right-click on it and select the “Create Shortcut” menu item. Save the shortcut to the desktop.

Q: How can I run a backup when I am not logged in to Windows?
A: First you will have to create a shortcut to the backup item you want to execute. Open “Windows Scheduler” and add a new scheduled task. Schedule the shortcut to be run at the time you want and use your Windows username and password. For more information on using the “Windows Scheduler”, see Windows help.

Q: Zip files created by Backup4all are compatible with third party zip utilities?
A: Yes. If the zip file size is less than 2 gigabytes, Backup4all generates standard zip formats. This format is compatible with any zip utility available on the market. For zip files greater than 2 gigabytes, Backup4all uses zip64 technology (which allows unlimited zip file size). Zip compatibility means that your data is not at the mercy the backup application; you can access it with other third party applications also.

Q: How does Backup4all handle archive bit for backed up files?
A: By default Backup4all does not modify the archive flag. Backup4all uses its own catalog file (“.bkc”) to keep track of the new and changed files. The advantage of a catalog is faster backup execution. Another advantage is that you can run Backup4all together with other backup applications because they will not interfere with each other. However if you wish to set the Archive bit, you can choose so from the Type page of the “Backup Properties” window.

Q: Can I backup to tape using Backup4all? 
A: No. The current version does not support tape drives. 

Q: What's the difference between Backup4all's Mirror, Classic and Professional editions?
A: The major differences between Mirror, Classic and Professional editions are the supported backup types. Professional edition implements all four backup types (see “Backup Types” section for a full description of backup types), Classic edition does not implement incremental backup type and Mirror edition implements only the mirror backup type. 

Q: How do I restore the default layout for all Backup4all windows?
A: Open the View menu and select “Restore Default Layout”. This will restore all windows to their original size and position, and will also reset the column order, size and visibility for all grids.

Q: What happens when I change the backup type?
A: Backup type can be changed from the Type page of the “Backup Properties” window. You can change between full, incremental and differential backup types without having to start with a fresh new backup. However changing from full, incremental or differential to mirror (and vice-versa) will clear the backup content and will start a new backup.

Q: How can I set the compression level of the zip files?
A: Open “Backup Properties”, go to the Type page and press “Zip Advanced Settings”. Here you can choose from four compression levels: none, low, medium or high. 

Q: How can I split a backup across several disks?
A: Open “Backup Properties”, go to the Type page and press “Zip Advanced Settings”. You can choose a predefined split size or define a custom one. Spanning is automatically done when the removable disk is full.

Q: How can I give customized names to the zip files?
A: Open “Backup Properties”, go to the Type page and press Advanced button. You can customize the zip file name prefix there.

Q: I use incremental backup to removable disk (CD). How can I make sure only the new and modified files are backed up?
A: For this you have to continue an existing backup. You must first insert the CD with the latest backup catalog (“.bkc”) file and then perform the backup. The system will read the “.bkc” file and build the list of new and modified files. Then press backup and you will be asked to enter a new CD (if the “Ask for a new disk before backup” option is set in the Options window, Backup page). Only new files will be copied to the new CD.

Q: I have used Backup4all for some time now and I have a large number of zip files in the destination. How can I clear them and start over again?
A: Open the “Backup Properties” window for the backup item. Go to Advanced page, check “Run program/action before backup” and choose “< Clear backup >” from the combo. This will delete the backup files in the destination before the execution of the backup item. If you check the “Run only once” option, the “<Clear backup>” action will be executed only once (at next backup execution) and after that it will be disabled. The “<Clear backup>” action has parameters to further customize its functionality.

Q: I am using incremental backup. How can I clear all backed up files and start with a fresh full backup every 7 days?
A: You can edit the “< Clear backup >” option from the combo to "< Clear backup d=7>". This will clear the backed up files only if 7 days passed since the first backup run. If you check the “Run only once” option, the “<Clear backup d=7>” action will be executed only once (when 7 days have passed) and after that it will be disabled. 

Q: How can I limit the number of backup versions?
A: Open the “Backup Properties” window for the backup item. Go to the Type page. Here you can set the “Limit number of stored backups to” option and specify the desired limit.

Q: Backup4all does not recognize my CD burner. How can I burn CDs? 
A: The built in CD burner might not recognize your CD writer device. If so, you will see the message that the device “Does not appear to be a writer or it is busy”.
First you should open the Options window, go to the Backup page and disable the option “Burn CD/DVD using internal ASPI”. After disabling this option close the program, reboot the computer and try again.
If this does not help, you can still burn your CDs using the UDF file system (with DirectCD or InCD). You can select this burning option in the "CD/DVD Advanced Settings" window.

Q: How can I store many versions of my files and keep the backup size as small as possible?
A: Our recommendation is to use incremental backup type with maximum zip compression. The incremental backup type ensures that only new and modified files are backed up. 

Q: How can I run a backup using the command line? 
A: Command line works with a backup item configuration file (“.ini”) or a backup catalog file (“.bkc”). You can create a valid “.ini” file from Backup4all’s interface and use the full path to this file as a parameter of the command line application. Typically the “.ini” files are located in the “Application Data\Softland\Backup4all\IniFiles” folder of your user profile. After the first backup execution, a “.bkc” file is created in the destination. You can use this “.bkc” file also (again with the full path) as parameter of the command line application.

Q: How can I create backup versions with mirror backup?
A: Backup4all can copy the files to different folders each time the mirror backup is performed. This is done by customizing the destination folder name. To do this open “Backup Properties” and go to the "Type" tab. Customize the subfolder names as you wish. Note that Backup4all does not keep track of all destination folder names and can restore only from the latest destination folder. However you can restore an older backup version made with mirror backup manually. 

Q: Is there a way to test (verify) files automatically after each backup?
A: Yes, there is. Open the “Backup Properties” window, and set the “Test after backup” option on the Advanced page.

Q: How can I test older backup versions?
A: First select the backup item you want to test. From the Actions menu and choose Test. This will show a list of all backup versions. Select the backup version you want to test and click the Test button.

Q: How can I restore one or more files? 
A: To restore the latest version of one file you need to select the file from Explore view, right-click on it and select “Restore Latest Version” or “Restore Latest Version To...”. If you want to restore more than one file, you can select all of them in Explore view and restore the latest version using the right-click menu (as mentioned above).

Q: How can I restore an older version of a file? 
A: To restore an older version of a file you need to select the file from Explore view. Then look for available versions in the list displayed below the file and folder tree. Select the version you want to restore, right-click on it and choose “Restore” or “Restore to...”

Q: How can I restore many files from older backup versions?
A: Sometimes we need to restore files from an older backup version. To do this open the “Restore Wizard” by clicking on the Restore button, select the custom “Restore type” and click Next. Now the list of available backup versions is shown. You can select one or many versions (use the SHIFT and CTRL keys to define the selection). In the next pages you can apply file filters or individually select each file from the selected versions that you actually want to restore. 

Q: How can I restore everything?
A: Open the “Restore Wizard” by clicking on the Restore button. Select the standard “Restore type” and click Finish.

Q: How can I restore my files to a different folder? How can I filter the files to be restored?
A: Open the “Restore Wizard” by clicking on the Restore button. To restore to a different folder, select “Choose another location” option and enter the full path where you wish to restore the files, or browse to a folder of your choice. To filter the files define your filters on the second page (or the third page in case of a custom restore) you can filter the files that will be restored.

Q: What happens to excluded files? Will they be restored?
A: No, excluded files will not be restored. After all that is why you excluded them, you no longer need the files. However if you select a backup version where the file was not excluded yet, you can restore it from there.


How to contact us
=================
You can check for new releases at:

http://www.backup4all.com/

Tech support e-mail: support@backup4all.com
