SwiftBackup uses a "Backup Set" to define a backup operation. Each set consists of:
Each of these is documented in detail in the following section.
When SwiftBackup runs you have the option to
The backup sets are listed when the program starts and can be selected for editing or removal by clicking on it using the mouse. When you select and edit a backup set or you add a new one you have a number of options that you can change:
| Parameter | Description |
| Backup set name | This is the name that is displayed on the screen when SwiftBackup is running. It should be used to describe what the backup set describes, e.g. Music Files |
| Specify the root folder (Advanced) |
Normally SwiftBackup expects to be installed on a USB flash drive or external hard drive. As the drive letter assigned can vary the SwiftBackup program will use its location to work out where to store the backup data. So if SwiftBackup is installed on the X: drive you would find the following folders: If you select this option you can select the target root folder for the backup. This is useful is you wish to override the default backup target location. You might want to do this if you are backing up to a network drive. |
| Append computer name to root folder | Selecting this option appends the computer name to the backup target
root folder. This allows a single device to hold the backups for
several computers keeping them clear distinct. If the computer name is FRED and x:\backup is the root folder the backup target will be x:\backup\FRED This option is turned on by default. |
| Append backup set name to root folder | Selecting this option appends the backup set name to the backup target
folder. This is applied after the
computer name is added (if selected). This allows the different backup
sets to be distinguished. If the computer name is FRED and x:\backup is the root folder and Mail Files is the backup set name then the backup target will be x:\backup\FRED\Mail Files This option is turned off by default. |
| Special Subfolder |
This option specifies if a sub-folder is created under the backup target. You have 3 options:
This option is applied after applying the computer name and backup set name options. |
| Create full source path under backup target | This option determines how folders are created under
the backup target. If selected this option causes the full source path
to be replicated under the backup target. The drive letter will be
replaced with a single letter (i.e. the colon will be dropped). Example If we are backing up files and sub-folders from the folder d:\dbfiles\qwerty to the backup target x:\backup\FRED and d:\dbfiles\qwerty contains the following files and folders: d:\dbfiles\qwerty d:\dbfiles\qwerty\a.txt d:\dbfiles\qwerty\b.txt d:\dbfiles\qwerty\c.txt d:\dbfiles\qwerty\sub\1.txt d:\dbfiles\qwerty\sub\2.txt If this option is turned on the backup will contain: x:\backup\FRED\d\dbfiles\qwerty x:\backup\FRED\d\dbfiles\qwerty\a.txt x:\backup\FRED\d\dbfiles\qwerty\b.txt x:\backup\FRED\d\dbfiles\qwerty\c.txt x:\backup\FRED\d\dbfiles\qwerty\sub\1.txt x:\backup\FRED\d\dbfiles\qwerty\sub\2.txt If this option is turned off the backup will contain: x:\backup\FRED\a.txt x:\backup\FRED\b.txt x:\backup\FRED\c.txt x:\backup\FRED\sub\1.txt x:\backup\FRED\sub\2.txt |
| Auto-Limit number of special subfolders | This option is used in conjunction with the Special Subfolder options 2 and 3 to limit how many subfolders are created. This can be useful in preventing backup devices becoming full with multiple backups. |
| Parameter | Description |
| Source Folders | This section contains the initial folder list that are
scanned for backing up. The folder names can contain wildcards so c:/Documents and Settings/*/My Documents would backup all the My Documents folders for all users in c:/My Documents. You should use one entry per line. |
| Included Files |
This section contains a list off all file names that are included in the
backup. By default this section is blank which means all files will be
backed up. If you enter *.doc *.txt only the files with those extensions will be backed up, all other files will be ignored. You should use one entry per line, wildcards are permitted. |
| Excluded Files | This section allows you exclude certain files from being backed up.
This is typically used when Included Files is left blank and can be used
to excluded temporary files and logfiles. So if you enter: *.log *.tmp all the files with those extensions would be omitted from the backup. You should use one entry per line, wildcards are permitted. Note that this is applied to file names only, To exclude folders you need use the Excluded Folders section. |
| Excluded Folders | This section is similar to the Excluded Files section, except that it operates only on folder names, not file names. |
| Parameter | Description |
|
Follow Symbolic Links and Reparse Points (Advanced) |
By default this option is turned off as it can cause data to be backed up multiple times. Turning it on will cause SwiftBackup to follow reparse points by considering them to be the same as subfolders. This option should only be turned on if you are fully aware of the consequences of doing so. |