MikeRadio Posted October 31, 2003 Report Share Posted October 31, 2003 Hi. I just purchased a Maxtor Drive and upgraded to Retrospect 6.5 for the added features. I know this may sound a bit "simple" but an answer would be greatly apprecaied. I used to use BackupMyPC, where you simply selected the files or folders you wanted to back up from a tree, save that as your "Backup Set" and chose that set whenever you wanted to back up those particular files. What I am trying to do here it the same thing. I want to group certain folders AND sime individual files that will be automatically backed up using the scripts (which I have no problem with). I DO have a problem creating this list of files and folders. It seems "volumes" only lets you define subfolders, but not individual files in the subfolders so you can chose them for backup. Making a custom selector does not have browse capability to select the files from the browser. The CLOSEST thing I can find is to go to volumes, and then browse the drive. Highlight the files and folders and then click save highlights. This will save it in a selector which I can use in a script. All would be FINE, however, unless I am missing something, once I do that there is NO WAY to edit the selector to remove or add more files that I may want to add or take out of being backed up later. It lets you take out other operators, but when you click the line that shows the amount of files you want to back up (which you selected originally from the Brower under volumes), it does not allow any editing (adding or taking files out of the selector). So basically what I am asking... Is there a SIMPLE way to select files and folders for a scripted backup that I can use every time, AND be able to change and modify the list of those files and folders (that are being backed up) at a later time? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I know I am probably overlooking something. This seems to bre a great program, but for it takes some getting used to. Thank you so much for helping! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natew Posted October 31, 2003 Report Share Posted October 31, 2003 Hi I'm not sure you can call it simple but... You can create a custom selector by hand that will select files based on name. You can also add selectors to selectors. For instance: you create a "save highlights" selector and then find that you have missed something. Create a new selector, add the "save hightlights" selector to it and then add another line for the files you missed. Clear as mud right? This is a lot harder than it could be but it does work. Nate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRadio Posted October 31, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2003 Quote: natew said: Hi I'm not sure you can call it simple but... You can create a custom selector by hand that will select files based on name. You can also add selectors to selectors. For instance: you create a "save highlights" selector and then find that you have missed something. Create a new selector, add the "save hightlights" selector to it and then add another line for the files you missed. Clear as mud right? This is a lot harder than it could be but it does work. Nate I have actually thought of that after reading you can add selectors to selectors, but it just seems strange that there is not an easier way to do something this simple... Also, what if I want to take a file OUT of the selector group, as opposed to add more into it? I really hope in an upcoming version they redesign this to make it easier. A simple solution I would think would be to make a browser window available in the selector and be able to browse to pick files and/or folders for it (or change it by doing an edit). They are called selectors, but as far as selecting files or folders from the drive, it doesn't really seem there is an easy way! All the other functions make them very powerful, but a basic function would be nice. If there are any other solutions I am overlooking to obtain what I am trying to, please post... otherwise I will do what was suggested. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abe Posted February 29, 2004 Report Share Posted February 29, 2004 Quote: MikeRadio said: Quote: natew said: you create a "save highlights" selector and then find that you have missed something. Create a new selector, add the "save hightlights" selector to it and then add another line for the files you missed. Nate I have actually thought of that after reading you can add selectors to selectors, but it just seems strange that there is not an easier way to do something this simple... Mike You got that right, Mike. I was just about to post exactly this complaint when I found your thread, so I'll add my voice here. Given the length of pathnames and potential for error in typing them out it is patently absurd that this functionality (mark folders/files for inclusion in a custom selector) is unavailable. I like Retrospect a lot, but are some basics to be annoyed with. That I should have to use another app like PowerDesk to copy a path as text, then paste that into a custom selector in a dedicated backup app like Retrospect, is pretty strange. At least Retrospect could offer a "copy path as text" option on the contextual menu when right-clicking on a folder in a browser window. After all, this info is already collected--it appears in the Properties window (though why Retrospect inserts spaces between folder names is beyond me--could have paths break on the backslash/colon/forward slash characters). It doesn't. So: how/where to submit this most basic request for an improved user experience? Users really shouldn't have to manually type long paths to be able to back up their stuff in a granular manner! OR use another app to make it easier, as I do. A dedicated app as powerful as Retrospect must have this functionality. Abe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.