Basic Settings for each backup set

1. Backup to folder. Check this for backuplist+ to back up files into a folder that you name in the following text field. See "choosing a backup folder" for more info.
2. Incremental backups. Check this to have backuplist+ make incremental backups. You should select a number greater than 3 to be truly effective. More on incrementals....
3. Dated folder. Check this to make a new folder for the backup files with the current date stamp on it. This required for incremental backups.
4. Synchronize two folders: Check this box if you want rsync to synchronize the contents of two folders. Usually backuplist+ copies the files or folders in the list window into the destination folder. If you check the "Synchronize two folders" box, rsync will copy the contents of the folder in the list window into the destination folder. It then copies the contents of the destination folder back into the source folder. It will not delete files missing in either folder and will not copy over any file that is newer. This preserves the latest states of the files exactly so each folder is identical. This is useful if you work on several different machines and want to keep a folder, such as your Home folder, identical on each. It is not advised to synchronize your own Startup disk or Hard drive with another while it is running. You must have only one folder present in the main list window to sync with the destination folder. If you choose "Sync folders", you can not select other options such as "Backup to folder", "Dated folder", "rsync delete option", "Recreate full folder paths", "Incremental backups", "Make Disk image" or "Burn folder."
5. Compressed archive. This will cause backuplist+ to make one single compressed archive from your list of folders/files. The compressed archive will appear in the destination folder and is a zip archive. This is not an rsync archive
6. Make disk image. This tells backuplist+ to create a disk image according to any disk image options you indicate in the "Disk Image" panel. See more about Disk image...
7. Recreate full folder paths. This will create folders on the backup that re-create the folder paths on your hard drive. For example if you are copying your Mail folder it will be copied into a sequence of folders that mimic its position on your hard drive, > Mail > Preferences > Library > Home folder .
8. Rsync delete option. This causes rsync to delete and files on the destination that are not on the source. Warning! This is a destructive action and will cause loss of any data in the destination directory that is not present in the source directory. You must know what you are doing with this choice or risk data loss.
9. Rsync uses checksums. This option tells rsync to compare files on source and destiantion using checksums. This is the more accurate but takes longer. This is not usually needed.
10. Before performing clone: Use this popup list to select one of three options to be performed automatically before backuplist+ copies your startup disk (makes a full system clone.)

• Selecting "Clone using rsync (update only)" will cause backuplist+ to copy the source volume to the destination and only update any files that have changed on the destination drive or, if the drive/partition is empty, it will make a complete new copy.
• Selecting "Clone using rsync (erase disk)" will cause backuplist+ to erase the destination volume prior to cloning. This is recommended for creating a pristine fresh System clone to restore from when needed. Warning! This is a destructive action and will completely and irreversibly erase the destination volume. You must know what you are doing with this choice or risk data loss.
• Selecting "Clone using asr" will cause backuplist+ to attempt a clone of your source volume to the destination volume. This is only possible if both volumes can be un mounted, and the destination volume is as large as the source volume. This form of clone is most accurate as it makes a mirror copy of the source volume and its entire file/disk structure. Warning! This is a destructive action and will completely and irreversibly erase the destination volume. You must know what you are doing with this choice or risk data loss.
• Note: if you wish to repair the disk permissions first on the source volume (if that is your startup volume) select "run permissions first" in the Automation panel.

1. Scheduling. Set a time for backuplist+ to perform a backup session. See the Scheduling page for more.....

Using the Exclude Preference Pane

The exclude list is available for each backup set you use. You must check the "Use exclude list" check box to edit the list and enable the exclusions for the backups. The list items apply to the items listed in the main list window.

• To add items simply drag and drop folders and files into the window and backuplist+ will format the path expression for the exclusions. Backuplist+ will attempt to create the correct exclude pattern for the intended item for any source files in the source list.
• You can also use the "Browse" button to add files via the standard finder dialog window, or press the + ( plus sign ) button to add a blank line for entering your own exclude items.
• See Exclude lists and Exclude patterns ... for more information on excluding items from backups.

Note: backuplist+ will only add exclude items if they reside within one of the source files you have listed in the main window. Obviously there is no point in excluding items that are not in the list of items to backup!

You can also check the "Delete excluded" checkbox which will ensure any items on the destination that are listed in the exclude list will be deleted, even if they already exist there before the backup session. Warning! This is a destructive action and will cause loss of any data in the destination directory that is excluded in this list. You must know what you are doing with this choice or risk data loss.

Disk Image

You can select to have your source files turned into a disk image. Disk images are useful for many things. In a way they are a complete file system in themselves and portable. A disk image of your whole hard drive (clone) could be used restore your computer from and can even be contained within your own hard drive or other volume without interfering with the workings of that system.

Disk Image Name : Enter the name for your image here.

Encrypt: Check the box and enter a password for the image - you will need to remember it later!

Read Only or SparseDisk Image:

1. Read Only: This will create a read-only disk image from the files/folders you have listed in your backuplist+ source list. It will use a moderate form of compression. This kind of disk image is created exactly for the source files and can not be written to. You can use it to restore from.The above options for Name and Encryption can be used as well. You can select to segment the image and enter a size (in MB) for each segment. The segments will then be copied to your destination and can be ssrestored by clicking on the first one. for instance this can be useful if you want to break up some large files/folders into smaller pieces to store on dvd's.
2. Sparse image: Sparse images on the other hand can grow in size to the maximum you enter in the text field. With this option backuplist+ will create the sparseimage, mount it and copy the source files into it. The next time you run this backup set, backuplist+ will mount the image and update the source files with any new changes.You must enter a size for the initial disk image. This should be the maximum size you think the sparse image will need. It will however only occupy the disk space of its contained files which is very nice.