!Back_it V1.61 16th April 2003 by Stuart Halliday   Quantum Software
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First, the legal stuff....
This application is SHAREWARE. See below.
The user is personally responsible for any loss of data or any other damage
caused due to the use of !Back_it.
So I suggest you test !Back_It with non-valuable date before committing it
to valuable data.

This is just a wee backup program that was designed for use inhouse
at Quantum Software. I thought others may like to use it. :-)

Needs a RISC OS machine running RISC OS 3.1 minimum.
Tested with RISC OS 4.29 SELECT.
So some files may have > 10 characters.

Customers report it works on RISC OS 5 too! Though, see 32bit notice below.


WHAT DOES IT DO?
----------------
It copies directories or applications (and their contents) to a preset 'backup'
directory into a dated directory.
It does the backup as quietly as possible and tries to keep the Desktop
as workable as possible as it does this.

1)
The first time that !Back_It is run.
e.g. when you boot up or when ran by !Alarm for example.

3)
Within half an hour after midnight of each new day.


For example: If today was the 2nd April then a directory called 02/04/2002
would be created within the Backup directory and all files you asked to be
backed up will be copied into '02/04/2002'.

If the program is ran again in the same day then the files are NOT touched
or backed up.

The program takes up only 120Kbytes on a RiscPC / A7000 machine and uses less
than 0.1% of the computers time when left running idle and does *not* interfere
with any other programs. So it is safe to leave it running 24hours.

However when it is actually performing its backup then there will be a slow down of your computers operation.
 

WHY USE THIS BACKUP PROGRAM?
----------------------------
Due to the way people work they often forget to take a current backup of vital
programs, letters, etc. This program ensures that this process it is not
forgotten and no valuable files are lost.
!Back_it is unique as it tries its hardest to work in the background, so for
the majority of the time you can continue to do work on your computer whilst
it is performing the backup.



FEATURES
--------
It does two types of double checks after it performed a backup.

1. It tests the backed up ZIP files to ensure they can be opened and read.

2. It counts the number of files in the ZIP files and in the source to see
   that they match.

3. It tries to work in the background so you can get on with things.
   However this program was tested on a StrongARM RiscPC. Slower computers
   will take more time to transfer files and compress data.



USER OPTIONS
------------
!Back_it has some user options that you can alter and these are documented here.

These options are contained within the 'MySettings' file within !Back_It.
So you'll need to load this file into a text editor to use it the first time.

Of the options below, you only really need to amend the first two.


The first one is important. It tells !Back_It where to place your backed up
data.

1:
The path were the Backup directory is placed.

This is set in the MySetting file inside !Back_it so look for a line:

Set backit$backupdir <backit$Dir>.^.Backups

and alter it to suit your own needs. For example:

Set backit$backupdir ADFS::5.$.backups

If you don't alter it then all your backed up data is stored in a directory within !Back_it.

You are strongly advised to set this to a _different_ hardrive from where the
original data is held. Why? Well if your main harddrive dies on you then your
data could be lost! 


2:
The number of directories kept within your backup directory.
To stop the number of backed up directories getting out of hand, !Back_it is
preset to only hold 5 directories.
You can reduce or increase this amount by altering the line:

Set backit%number 5

Note: a directory can only hold a maximium of 77 objects using RISC OS 3.7 or below.


3:
You now have the option to make these dated directories held within your backup
directory compressed. I have included the latest ZIP program which can
dramatically reduce the amount of file space your backups will consume.
Note however that the ZIP program takes a significant amount of time to
compress files. 

If you want zipped archives made then alter the following line in the MySettings file.

Set backit$zip Off
to
Set backit$zip On

You will need a Zip uncompress program to view the contents, but Spark
(commerical), SparkFS (commerical), SparkPlug (freeware), InfoZip (freeware)
or ZipEE (freeware) can do this.
You've probably got such a program already.

If you're running RISC OS 5, then you'll need to replace the Zip, Unzip & Zipinfo programs within !Back_it.Resources with the 32bit versions.
See http://www.sbellon.de/sw-ports.html


4:
The preset setting of the amount of ZIP file compression is set to 5.
The Zip program uses a value from 0 to 9. Where 0 is not compressed, just joined
together end to end as it were. Nice and fast, but not that economic with disc space. A setting of 9 will compress the most but will mean it will take far longer to compress the files.
I recommend a setting of 5.
See the file !Back_It.Docs.comexample for a table detailing speed.


5:
Logging.
It's important to *know* that your data is backed up correctly and for the
computer to tell you this has happened.

So if you've got the application !SysLog (this program records events that
happen in your computer so you get a nice list of what's going on) then a
record is kept. RISC OS SELECT Users have !Syslog built into the OS. Nice.
Other RISC OS users can get it here:
http://www.compton.nu/syslog.html


6.
Excluding.
V1.61 now adds the ability to exclude one type of path from being backed up.
I tend not to backup the Scrap directory as it's usually full of useless data.
So you'll find a line in 'MySettings' called:

Set backit$exclude *!Scrap.ScrapDirs*

Please note that the contents of this variable are lettercase sensitive.
So if you enter: 

Set backit$exclude *!Scrap.scrapDirs*

and your !Scrap directory is called ScrapDirs then it *will* be backed up.

If you want this option to be turned off. Just add a | to the front of the line.

ie
|Set backit$exclude *!Scrap.ScrapDirs* 


  


HOW DO I USE BACK_IT?
---------------------
OK, first place !Back_it in a directory in your computer.
If you want, after you are happy with it running you could set it up so it is
ran each time you switch on the computer.

Open !Boot_It and double click on the 'Objects' text file.
(If it is not present create a text file called 'Objects').

Place in the text file the full pathnames of any files or directories
you want to be backed up.

ie.
ADFS::HardDisc4.$.!Boot
ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Quantum.Development.Blinds
ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Images.00-49
ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Images.My_Photos
ADFS::HardDisc4.$.!Boot

The *really* easy way to do this is to keep the shift key pressed down and
drag and drop the applications or files into the text file.
 
You may, if you wish, place comments in here by prefixing a comment with a '|'
character.

ie
| Valuable data, must not lose!
ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Quantum.Development.Keystroke
| How to make the Universe V2
ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Quantum.Development.BigBang

Now resave this file again.


Now you need to edit the Mysetting file.
Remove the first two lines to enable it to run.
ie the 2 lines:

| Remove the following line
ERROR 0 You MUST read the !Help file provided before using Back_It

The default setting in MySettings are usually okay. But read the 'USER OPTIONS' section of this !Help file on how to fine tune it. 




Note: I really recommend backing up EVERYTHING.
Some people say only backup the valuable data. But then if your drive becomes
broken (and this CAN happen overnight) you will have the awful job of
reconstructing your drive. This is very time consuming.
I know, it happened to me. :-)

A good idea is to use !Back_it and list each directory in your main Harddrive in the !Back_it Object file. Okay, it will take its time doing all of this. But you'll know your data is save. 

!Back_it is now ready to use...

To run it, double click on it. 
You can see what it is currently archiving by looking in the Task Display window.

History
-------
V1.61 - Option added to exclude copying the Wimp$ScrapDir directory,
        which is often full of junk in any case.
        Added check for extra spaces at end of a line in the Objects file
        as this caused system freezing.
        This is caused by Zap Users dragging and dropping pathnames into
        the Objects file and silly Zap adds an extra space to the end of
        the pathname.
V1.60a- Discovered a silly mistake in the MySettings file. Corrected it.
V1.60 - added a ZIP file test so ZIP files are checked to see that they can
        be opened. Added a count compare on the zip files and the source files.
        Just to reassure you that it did backup the same number of files.
        Now uses !Syslog to record events.
V1.57 - Did an overhaul on it. 
V1.53 - This version doesn't stop when the backup directory doesn't exist!
V1.52 - Altered dates so that in the year 2000, it will still work correctly.
        Made the copying a 'fileraction' so that the computer can still be used
        when it is backing up files.
        Added the option to make the dated directories zip files.
V1.51 - Second version
V1.10 - First version

If you use it then please tell me (Stuart Halliday) as I'd be interested.
stuart@quantumsoft.co.uk
(Well, if no one is using it, why bother upgrading it for the outside world?)


Extra Notes
If you've altered the Object file and wish to rerun Back_it. Then you will
have to delete the 'last' file held within !Back_it as this holds
the date of when it was last run. Quit !Back_it and then rerun it again.

STOPPING BACK_IT
To stop it whilst you've started a backup. Do this.
Open the Task Display  and quit the Back_It application
and then quit the BackitZip_<whatever> application.
(Menu click over the Back_It line and choose the Quit option).


TODAYSCMOS?
Back_it also copies the CMOS settings of your computer into a tiny file
called todaysCMOS.
These are compatible with the !SaveCMOS program provided with RISC OS.
To restore your CMOS, place it within !SaveCMOS as a file called Saved.
Then Run !SaveCMOS and click on Restore.
This is just in the very rare case you loose your CMOS settings and now you've
got a backup of them too! :-)


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READ THE README FILE IN !Back_it.Docs FOR SOME EXTRA IMPORTANT ADVICE.
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License conditions :
This software is now SHAREWARE as of 10/12/97 and applies to *all* versions
of !Back_It.
If you continue to use it for more than 28 days then you must register it
with us by sending a 10.00UKP note or cheque (no credit/debit cards).
This will ensure the continued development of the program.
(Especially if you require a tailored version).

As a registered owner you can also claim 5.00 discount from one or more
of our popular commerical programs such as Keystroke, Blinds, Impressive,
Undelete.

Send your details and money to :
Quantum Software
35 Pinewood Park
Deans
Livingston
EH54 8NN
Scotland
Tel:01506 411162
email:sales@quantumsoft.co.uk
web  : http://www.quantumsoft.co.uk/


 Quantum Software 1998-2003