help excluding a folder from backup

[bradprice]

I've created a backup script where the source volume is my entire 60GB Mac OS X HD drive. However, I wish to exclude from the backup, a 33GB folder at the root level named "EXTRA".

 

I tried changed the "Selecting" option from "All Files except Cache Files" to the advanced choice of Creating file selection criteria, and specified always exclude files matching

 

Enclosing Folder path name exactly matches /EXTRA

or

Enclosing Folder path name exactly matches /EXTRA/

 

Why two? Because I wasn't sure of the syntax with the trailing slash. Anyway, it doesn't seem to work. When the backup starts it reports the starting size of the source files as 60GB, so I know that's not right.

 

Any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong with my exclusion? Seems like a simple need, backup the whole hard drive except folder ABC. The interface isn't exactly intuitive, so I read the User Manual, but I don't see what I'm doing wrong.

 

Brad

[bradprice]

I found the answer to my own question. Google helped me find this

http://list.dantz.com/pipermail/retro-talk/2005-May/009168.html

 

and this

http://kb.dantz.com/display/2n/articleDirect/index.asp?aid=5196&r=4.232424E-02

 

which explains syntax for using "path" as a selector criterion.

 

The key is that the full path, including the volume name, must be used. Also the trailing slash is absolutely necessary. So in my case above, I got it to work by using

 

Enclosing Folder path name exactly matches

Mac OS X HD/EXTRA/

(where "Mac OS X HD" is the name of my actual volume).

 

ONE ADDITIONAL CAVEAT I learned by doing some testing, is that the path is relative to the volume being used for the backup. That is, if you have defined a subvolume in Retrospect, then you would start there when specifying the path. E.g. On a hard drive called MacHD, containing a folder STUFF defined as a subvolume, when specifying the actual path MacHD/STUFF/somefolder/ as a path in a selector, it would be STUFF/somefolder since STUFF is the subvolume being used.

 

This is not discussed at all in the Users Manual. EMC/Dantz should endeavor to explain the syntax a little better, so people don't have to spend hours like I did figuring this out.

[CallMeDave]

Believe it or not, Retrospect's filter language does not use "/" as the begining a path.

 

You need your filter path to begin with the name of your Source volume; if your Source volume is your hard drive, your filter path starts with that name.

 

Dave