Using Flexible Backup
Using Flexible Backup 3.0 View Help Map

Thanks for your interest in Flexible Backup! If this is your first time using the program, then please read this page and browse the topics listed in the Help Map (see above) so that you’re familiar with how Flexible Backup can meet your needs.

Flexible Backup is a Swiss Army knife of backup utilities, sporting an armload of features:

    Compressed backup (zip format)

    File copy

    Email of backup files

    FTP/Upload of backup files

    Custom scheduling

    Backup at the press of a hotkey

    CD/Zip Drive/Floppy compatibility

    Conditional backup

    Backup at system shutdown

    Password-protection

    Multiple configurations

    Access to previous versions of a file

    Archive bit support

Flexible Backup is primarily geared toward data backup - backup of the files you create on your computer - and it excels at that.

Some people want an exhaustive backup tool that will backup every file on their hard-drive. For those who do, we recommend that you purchase a tape backup system from your local computer retailer. Most people however just need a simple and inexpensive solution to recover files that become lost, accidentally deleted, or are just somehow no longer accessible. If that’s your purpose, then Flexible Backup is the tool that you need.

Flexible Backup 3.0 is available for $34.95 and comes with a 14-day trial period. Purchase is available via credit card payment by Internet or phone, PayPal, or check or money order.

If for any reason you have questions, comments, or need some help, please call toll-free (866) 763-2725 or (888) 337-6665 to leave a message after hours.

Once again, we thank you for your interest and for choosing to safeguard your data with Flexible Backup!


Main Window
Main Window View Help Map

The main window shows you the Backup Groups that you have created. You can see when it’s next slated for backup, and when the last successful backup ran.

(If for some reason a file was not backed up, then you’ll see a red exclamation point in the image beside the backup group. You can read more about that here.)

If a backup group has N/A as its Next Backup, this indicates that it is not scheduled for backup.

To create a new backup group, you can click on the icon with the blue plus sign, press Ctrl-N, or use the menu and select Create a New Backup Group.

This will open the Backup Group Properties window.


Backup Group
What is a Backup Group? View Help Map

A backup group is a collection of folders and files that should be backed up as a group. Each backup group can be individually scheduled for backup (daily, weekly, monthly), given its own hotkey, go to different drives, and so on. Essentially, any property of a backup group that you can edit in the Backup Group Properties window remains independent of any other backup group that you create.

This independence allows you a lot of flexibility in using Flexible Backup.


Options
Options View Help Map

Everything that you set in the program is stored in a file called “backup.fbc”. If anything happens to your hard-drive, then you’ll need a copy of this file to help you restore your data.

Use the box labeled, “Location for the backup of the setup file” to enter the folder where the copy of this file should be stored.

When creating Backup Groups, it’s possible that you will use the same backup location (the destination folder) each time. To make re-entry of this unnecessary, you can enter the default location in the box labeled “Default backup location.”

You can also automate the minimizing of Flexible Backup with these settings:

    When Flexible Backup opens, minimize it

    When minimized, place Flexible Backup in the taskbar tray.

The taskbar tray is in the lower-right corner of your screen where the system clock and other little programs reside.

There is a second tab on this window labeled “Shutdown Settings.” If you use the Backup at system shutdown option for any of your Backup Groups, you may find that it’s necessary to tweak these settings. Read more about it here.


Shutdown Settings
Shutdown Settings View Help Map

This tab contains settings that will read your system registry and control the values used to properly shut down your computer. The most simple means of using this window is to go to the dropdown labeled “Select shutdown settings defaults.” Select the version of Windows that is on your computer and then click the OK button.

If you continue to have issues with the shutdown process, please contact tech support.


Limitations
Limitations View Help Map

There are some limitations to Flexible Backup.

Flexible Backup works just fine with most CD drives. To see if Flexible Backup will work with your CD drive, open Windows Explorer and try to do a simple copy and paste of file to your CD drive. If that works, then Flexible Backup will work. If not, you might want to contact your CD manufacturer and see if they have an updated driver to allow a standard copy and paste.

If you opt for a compressed backup, the backup file that will hold your files is limited by the zip file format, which can compress a maximum of 65,536 files or just over 2 Gb of data. If the folders and files you’ve selected for backup surpass either of these limits, you’ll see an Error 203 message during your backup.

Flexible Backup cannot backup files that are held exclusively by other programs, processes, or by Windows itself. An example is Outlook’s mail file, named outlook.pst, usually deep inside the Windows folder. To backup this file, you’ll need to exit Outlook and then backup.

Some people have requested support for UNC drives. (If you don’t know what that means, then you need not worry.) That feature is not in Flexible Backup 3.0, but it will be in an upcoming version.


Backup Strategy
Backup Strategy View Help Map

There’s a lot that Flexible Backup can accomplish for you. Properly setting Backup Group properties across several Backup Groups might be the way to help you work smarter, not harder. Here are some tips on how to do just this:

Create a backup group for nightly backup for all of the files you’ve created and store the backup somewhere on your computer. If you work frequently on your computer, it’s even better if you sequence your backup to store versions of your files. Having this backup will make it extremely easy to restore files that you need as you work.

Backup your most critical files and upload them daily to the webspace made available to you through your email account, or if you own one, your website. If you don’t have enough webspace, store the backup to floppy, zip disk, or CD.

Many people want to use Flexible Backup to backup their email files. Flexible Backup can do this, but usually only after the email program, such as Outlook, is closed. (Outlook exclusively locks its mail files from copy by other programs while it’s running.) Create a backup group for your mail folder and set it up with a hotkey so that you can shut down your email for a minutes and back up your email files on demand.

You may be working on a small group of files in several folders and need to get those home to work on them. You could create a backup group just for these files and set the properties of your Backup Group to email the file to your home email address.

If you don’t want others looking at certain files, use the Password-Protection available to you and backup these files separate from other files.

The possibilities are endless, but Flexible Backup gives you access to a number of solutions through the creation of Backup Groups. Take some time to think through how the program can best help you.


What to Backup
What to Backup View Help Map

Flexible Backup is designed to backup your data files - those you create on your computer. If your computer’s hard-drive goes belly up, you’ll be able to reinstall your programs from the program CD’s, but not the documents you created. These could be Word documents, databases, project files from work – anything that can’t be replaced by a simple re-installation.

If you save your work mainly in a couple of folders on your computer, like My Documents, you’ll want to backup those entire folders. This is a good option for those who wouldn’t label themselves as expert in computers.

For those who know exactly which files and what data need backing up, then target those individual folders and files.

So what not to backup?


What Not to Backup
What Not to Backup View Help Map

Flexible Backup is designed to backup your data files - those you create on your computer. It wasn’t designed to backup actual program files, the system registry, or other system files. It can back those up, but it’d be wise to consider that in the event of a computer crash, you’ll probably have to re-install Windows and in so doing, you’ll change the registry and other files in ways that may be at odds with what you have in backup. If you then do a system restore, you may end up with more trouble than if you use installation CD’s to reinstall your programs and Flexible Backup to restore your data.

If you need an exhaustive tool to restore system files on your hard-drive, we recommend that you purchase a tape backup system from your local computer retailer.


Purchase and Licensing
Purchasing and Licensing View Help Map

Flexible Backup is $34.95 and is very easy to purchase. You can purchase in 1 of 4 ways:

    Credit card purchase over the Internet

    Credit card purchase over the phone

    Purchase via PayPal

    Check or money order via the mail

Click the Purchase menu for details.

Once you purchase Flexible Backup, you can install it on no more than 2 computers that you personally and daily use. If you need additional copies, then click Help/Purchase Additional Copies. We work very hard to provide quality software. Please respect our effort.


Tech Support
Tech Support View Help Map

Please take a look at the Troubleshooting section before contacting tech support.

Email: brett@appinnovations.com

Phone Support Hours

    Eastern: 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM

    Central: 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM

    Mountain: 6:30 AM to 4:30 PM

    Pacific: 5:30 AM to 3:30 PM

Phone toll-free: (866) 763-2725

Emergency After-Hours Messaging: (888) 337-6665

Address:

    App Innovations

    704 1st Street

    Suite 105

    Lorimor, IA 50149


Thanks
Thanks View Help Map

“Projects are never completed; you only find a temporarily interesting place to pause.” - Tom Wujec

Any good product is the result of spoken desire heard. There are some significant people who helped to shape Flexible Backup in its initial concept and beta stages.

My lovely wife, Jackie

Matt Ortiz, whose input is priceless and generous

Jonathan Wood of SoftCircuits (www.softcircuits.com)

Bob Holcomb, my favorite critic

Scott Mathews, owner of Geek Stuff (www.geekstuff.com)

Flexible Backup’s compression is powered by a very speedy zip library. Milen Georgiev (www.bigspeedsoft.com) is an extremely talented programmer and a very patient man.

Special thanks to Al Harberg (www.dpdirectory.com) and Ralph Grabowski (www.marketingVP.com), who provided input on the current version and have helped to give me direction with the next version.

And to those who provided significant feedback during the testing phase:

Ezra, Ken, Carol, Dick, Monty, and George.

And as always, Chris Pirillo (www.lockergnome.com)

Much thanks to all of these very giving people.


Setup
Setup View Help Map

Before starting with the creation of a Backup Group, it’s a good idea to get into the Options first to set your default backup destination.

Once you’ve set that, use the setup menu or the toolbar to manage your Backup Groups.


Creating a Backup Group
Creating a Backup Group View Help Map

To create a new Backup Group, click on the left-most icon with the plus sign, or press Ctrl-N, or use the Setup menu - all from the main window.

If you’ve already opened the Backup Group Properties window, start by naming the Backup Group.


Naming a Backup Group
Naming a Backup Group View Help Map

When naming your Backup Group, be sure to give it a unique name. Do not include any special characters (letters and numbers only).

If you opt for a compressed backup, an Internet-friendly name will be derived from the name of your Backup Group to name the compressed backup file. For example:

“Mp3 Files” will become “mp3_files.zip”.

It’s important that you not change the compressed file name if you intend to upload or email the compressed file.

After naming your backup, you’ll need to determine when to backup.


When to Backup
When to Backup View Help Map

Flexible Backup gives you many options for choosing when to backup your data. As you can see in the image above, you can choose to backup as follows:

At system shutdown: this takes place when you click Shut Down from the Task Bar. Flexible Backup gets a message from Windows that you’ve chosen to shut down the computer, interrupts that action, and performs a backup at that time, then continues the shutdown process.

By hotkey: a hotkey is any combination of Alt, or Ctrl, or any one of the F-keys at the top of the keyboard. By default, the hotkey for a backup is Ctrl-Shift-F11. You can change this, if you’d like.

On schedule: you can choose a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule for backing up your data.

If you choose to backup on schedule, you have the option of choosing a conditional backup, which means that the backup will not begin until a file that you specify is either absent or present, your choice. This works very well for running a series of processes and running your backup once a previous process has finished.

You can also backup manually by using the toolbar or the menu on the main window.

After determining when your backup will run, you’ll need to select folders/files for backup.


Shutdown
Shutdown View Help Map

When you choose to backup at system shutdown, Flexible Backup looks for a message from Windows that you’ve chosen to shut down the computer. It then interrupts that action, performs a backup at that time, then continues the shutdown process.

Some versions of Windows, such as Windows ME, use different settings for this process than does Windows 95, 98, or NT. If you have any problems with this option, please look at how to alter the shutdown settings within Flexible Backup.

After determining when your backup will run, you’ll need to select folders/files for backup.


Hotkey
Hotkey View Help Map

Settings a hotkey is an easy process - you simply open the New Hotkey window and press the hotkey combination you’d like to use. Just be aware that this hotkey will be recognized from anywhere in Windows, so it’s important that if you choose to change the hotkey, you make sure it does not conflict with other hotkeys in other programs.

After determining when your backup will run, you’ll need to select folders/files for backup.


Scheduling
Scheduling View Help Map

Scheduling with Flexible Backup is easy. You can schedule a Backup Group for daily, weekly, or monthly backup.

First, enter the Backup Time. This is the time at which your backup will run.

If you’d like a daily backup, select Daily and enter the number of days between backups. Enter 1 for every day, 2 for every other day, and so on.

If you’d like a weekly backup, select Weekly and enter the frequency of weeks and select the weekday(s) on which you’d like your backup run.

If you want your backup to run every other Sunday, then enter 2 and select Sunday.

If you want your backup to run every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, then enter 1 and select Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

If you want to backup monthly, click Monthly and then decide whether to run your backup on a particular day of the month (the 5th, for example) or on a certain weekday (the 3rd Sunday). You’ll also need to enter the number of months between backups.

When you do opt for a scheduled backup, you have the choice of running your backup conditionally, which means that the backup will not begin until a file that you specify is either absent or present (your choice).

For instance, if you want to backup an Access database that everyone in the office uses, but you want to wait until everyone has gone home, you could enter the following settings:

In this example, your backup would start checking at 5:15 PM each weekday to see if H:\marketing\databases\prospects.ldb was no longer there. (The LDB file for an Access database is removed when no one is in the database.) Once it was absent, the backup would begin.

After determining when your backup will run, you’ll need to select folders/files for backup.


Selecting Folders/Files for Backup
Selecting Folders/Files for Backup View Help Map

Flexible Backup relies on folder selection before allowing specific files to be named or excluded, so begin by clicking Select Folders.

If you need to backup certain types of files on your computer, like all Word documents, then select C:\ or the drive that contains the files.

If you need to backup certain folders, then select those folders.

If you need to backup certain files, then select those folders where the files exist.

Within this window, you can select as many folders as you need by placing a checkmark next to them. Choose whether you need to recreate the path for files that will be backed up and whether to also include subfolders in the backup.

If your purpose is to backup files, then please keep both of these options selected. But if you need to copy files from one folder to another as part of a process, then you might deselect them.

Some people merely want to backup the entire contents of their folders. If that covers your backup needs, then you’re done. But if you need to specify individual folders or files to include in the backup or to exclude from backup, then select that option and read on about naming specific files.


Naming Specific Files
Naming Specific Files View Help Map

You can enter specific files by name or by wildcard (such as * or ?). In the example below, all files of certain types were named and entered to backup across all listed folders.

When you name files to backup in all folders, then for every folder listed, all files matching your entry will be backed up unless you list them as an exclusion.

For example, you might want to backup in all folders every file that matches “*.doc”. But you may want to exclude any file that begins with “copy”, in which case you would enter “copy*” as an exclusion for all folders.

You can also be specific to a folder when naming files, as you see below.

If you wish to specify by folder, you might select the Browse button. This will open an Explorer-type window to more easily select 1 or more files.

In this case, no matter how many folders are listed, only files that match the entry for the selected folder from the list will get backed up. This is how you target individual files for a particular folder.

Read about naming exclusions.


Naming Exclusions
Naming Exclusions View Help Map

You can enter specific files by name or by wildcard (such as * or ?). In the example below, all files that matched the listed entries would not be backed up in any folder.

If you wanted to generically exclude certain files but force them to be backed up for a certain folder, then specifying a file to backup for a selected folder will override any exclusion listed for all folders.

You can also name files to exclude within a particular folder by selecting the folder, selecting the Exclude from Selected Folder tab, and naming the file to be excluded.

If you wish to specify by folder, you might select the Browse button. This will open an Explorer-type window to more easily select 1 or more files.


Destination
Destination View Help Map

The Destination tab in the Backup Group Properties window determines what will be done with the backup once it’s finished.

Start by naming the folder where the backup will be stored. If you’d like to have a default folder to aid in creating multiple backups groups, then use the Setup menu on the main window and select Options.

If you decide to make a floppy, zip disk, or CD-W drive your destination and if you choose a Compressed backup, your backup will automatically be split so that it fits correctly on the media you choose.

Next, you’ll need to determine which type of backup you need.


Two Types of Backup
Two Types of Backup View Help Map

There are 2 types of backup: Copy and Compressed.

Copy will do just as it sounds - make a copy of your files and place them in the destination folder. There is no password-protection, no ability to upload or email or sequence your backup, and you cannot use this to span disks, such as CD-W or floppies. It’s a straight file copy, if there’s room on the destination drive for it.

A compressed backup takes every file that you choose to backup and compresses them into a single file, or a few files if you choose to split your backup. This allows for far more options once the backup is done.


Copy (Backup Type)
Copy Backup View Help Map

A Copy backup will make a simple copy of your files and place them in the destination folder with no compression. There is no password-protection, no ability to upload or email or sequence your backup, and you cannot use this to span disks, such as CD-W or floppies. It’s a straight file copy, if there’s room on the destination drive for it.


Compressed (Backup Type)
Compressed Backup View Help Map

A compressed backup takes every file that you choose to backup and compresses them into a single file, or a few files if you choose to split your backup. Using a compressed backup allows for far more options once the backup is done.

A compressed backup is saved as a file with a ZIP extension (such as backup.zip) unless you choose to split the backup file. In this case, there will be a file with the ZIP extension and other files, such as backup.z00, backup.z01, etc.

Flexible Backup’s compressed files are compatible with WinZip, but with a few caveats.

A compressed backup is limited by the zip file format, which can compress a maximum of 65,536 files or just over 2 Gb of data. If the folders and files you’ve selected for backup surpass either of these limits, you’ll see a message about Error 203 during your backup.


Split Backup (Spanning Disks)
Split Backup (Spanning Disks) View Help Map

You can setup your backup group to split the finished backup file if you opt for a Compressed backup. There a few reasons why you may want to do this:

-To automatically place the backup on floppy, zip disk, or CD.

-To email the backup to another computer.

-To prevent people from opening your compressed backup with WinZip.

Flexible Backup makes it easy to place your backup on external disks. You can do that by naming the external drive as your backup destination folder in the Destination tab. If you plan to sequence your backups across multiple disks, you’ll have difficulty during the restore process. We recommend instead that you store sequenced backups that will require multiple disks to a hard-drive.

If you do this, you must also select to split your backup. If not, when you press OK to accept the changes, you’ll see this prompt:

You will then need to specify the maximum size of the file to be placed on the drive.

It’s a good idea to leave a little wiggle room. Here are the recommended settings:

Floppy	1.25 Mb
100 Mb Zip Disk	80 Mb
250 Mb Zip Disk	225 Mb
CD-W	90% of capacity


Compressed Backup Options
Compressed Backup Options View Help Map

When you opt for a compressed backup, you can choose from the following:

    Password-protection

    Span disks to CD or floppies.

    Email your backup

    Upload your backup

    Sequence your backup to store versions of your files


Password Protection
Password-Protection View Help Map

Flexible Backup offers password-protection in 2 places:

    The overall setup, to disallow others from changing your configuration

    A Backup Group with the compressed backup option, to disallow others from opening your files**

You can set password-protection on your setup by going to the Setup menu and choosing Password-Protect Setup.

If you have not previously entered a password, then leave the Current Password blank. Enter and re-enter your new password. We strongly recommend that you also supply a hint to yourself about the new password to help you remember it in case you forget.

When trying to open a password-protected area of the program, you’ll see this window:

If you do forget your password, you’ll need to contact tech support to ask how to retrieve the hint. We do this to prevent others from seeing your hint and possibly guessing your password more easily.

**Please note that if someone tries to access your files with WinZip or some other zip utility, they will be able to read the file names in your backup, but they will not be able to open any of your files without the password.


Upload Settings
Upload Settings View Help Map

Flexible Backup offers easy-to-use upload capability. It does, however, require that you have the webspace to upload your backup file, and if so, that you have the information handy to set it up correctly. App Innovations can help you with this process, but there’s a $15 charge to help you set it up correctly.

When you select Upload to a web address and click on Upload Settings, you’ll see this window:

At the very least, you’ll need to enter the Host, Logon Name, and Password.

The Host is a web address, such as www.appinnovations.com, or an IP address, such as 219.20.173.44

The Logon Name is your unique name to authenticate your right to be there.

The Password is always required to make sure that you are who you say you are.

If necessary, your can enter your account, and if you have a subdirectory on your space, you can enter that as well.

Once done, you can click Test Connection to make sure that everything is setup correctly.

Although you don’t have to do so, you can choose to delete the previous backup file on your webspace before you send the new one. You can also elect to send your setup file (backup.fbc) to the site as well.

Firewall:

If you need firewall support, select the type of firewall that you have from the dropdown.

Please talk to those who manage your firewall. App Innovations cannot assist you with your firewall settings, although if there are any problems with uploading and you are confident that you have the right settings, App Innovations will be glad to help you.


Email Settings
Email Settings View Help Map

Emailing a backup? Yes, to our knowledge, Flexible Backup is the first program to do that. But you could easily overstuff the email inbox of the receiving computer with this method if you’re not careful.

To avoid that, please learn the maximum attachment size for the sending and receiving computers and inbox limit of the receiving computer before you send so that your attachments aren't too large. If you don't know, split your compressed backup file into files no larger than 2 Mb.

As you email your backup, it's important that you pace sending each file to give the receiving computer time to receive before sending the next file.

To help with this, Flexible Backup features a connection speed calculator to help determine the pace.

Enter the connection speeds for each computer and use that to help guide your decision in how long to wait between each attachment sent. Be sure that the receiving computer is ready to receive email automatically and frequently before you backup and send or you may overstuff their inbox.

After you’ve calculated the pace of sending the backup, you’ll need to fill in the remainder of the window. Flexible Backup automatically looks for Eudora, Netscape, and Outlook email settings to aid you with this. If any settings are found, the first one in each list (From addresses and SMTP servers) is auto-selected for you. You can choose another from the dropdown list or type in your own, if necessary.

Enter the email addresses of the person (people) who will receive the email. If you’re sending to multiple people, please choose the slowest connection speed when calculating the pace.

Then enter the subject line for the email and any note you wish to attach.

Firewall:

If you have a firewall, please talk to those who manage your firewall and use the Advanced… button to enter those settings. App Innovations cannot assist you with your firewall settings, although if there are any problems with emailing and you are confident that you have the right settings, App Innovations will be glad to help you.


Sequence (File Versions)
Sequence (File Versions) View Help Map

If you need to keep versions of your files, you’ll want to sequence your backup. Let’s say that your backup file as given in the Destination tab is “my_backup.zip”. Here’s how it works:

The first time you backup, your backup is named my_backup1.zip

The second time you backup, your backup is named my_backup2.zip

And so on until you’ve reached the height of the rotation (in the image above, it’s 7). Once you backup to my_backup7.zip, it starts over again.

Flexible Backup does not keep 7 versions of each file, but rather has access to 7 historical backups. There might be 7 versions of a file - there might be 1 version of a file.

You can sequence up to 99, if you like and if you have the space for it.

If you need to reset the number for the next backup, you can edit the next sequence number.

You also have the option to backup only changed files. Without getting too technical, there’s a flag for each file on your computer called “Archive.” If you’d like to backup only recently changed files, choose this option. When you do, Flexible Backup will search for the files from folders you’ve selected and find those that have the Archive flag. Flexible Backup will then backup the file and turn off the Archive flag.

If you want to maintain a copy of the files that you’ve selected at all times, select the second option to do a full backup at the beginning of each rotation. Each time the sequence number is 1, Flexible Backup will perform a full backup. For any other sequence number, Flexible Backup will backup only the changed files.

The benefit of using these 2 options is that the space required to maintain a version history will be much smaller.

The caveat is that if you copy a file into a folder and the archive flag for that file is turned off, Flexible Backup won’t detect it and it won’t get backed up until the beginning of the rotation (backup #1), if that option is used.


Summary of Backup
Summary of Backup View Help Map

If you’d like to know what you’re about to backup, Flexible Backup will build an Explorer-like snapshot and show you by folder exactly what’s being backed up. You can also see how many files are involved, the total amount of data, and the estimated size of the compressed backup file, if you chose a compressed backup.

Having this available before you backup will help you make adjustments where necessary.


Backup
Backup View Help Map

When your backup begins, you have the option to click the cancel button on the progress window.

After you backup successfully, the Last Backup on the main window will be updated. If for some reason a file was not backed up, then you’ll see a red exclamation point in the image beside the backup group, as you see for the Outlook group in the picture below.

You can right-click on the backup group and select View Backup Log from the popup menu. This will open a text file that will explain what was not successful.

If you’d like, you can read a more detailed explanation of what happens during backup.


Ways to Start a Backup
Ways to Start a Backup View Help Map

A backup can begin in the following ways:

    -Clicking the menu Backup/Backup the Selected Backup Group

    -Click the backup icon in the toolbar

    -Press Ctrl-B in the main window

    -Right-click on a backup group and select Restore from the popup menu

    When the system is shut down

    At the press of a selected hotkey

    On schedule, and if you choose a conditional backup, once the condition is met


What Happens During a Backup
What Happens During a Backup View Help Map

If you choose a Copy backup, then Flexible Backup simply copies your files to the destination drive. Once completed, a log of each file’s source and destination is stored and compressed into a file with the extension FBZ.

If you run a compressed backup, then several things take place.

First, an assembly folder is accessed. This is usually the “temp” subfolder in the program directory, although you can name a custom folder. It’s inside this folder that your backup is assembled. This means that you should have enough room on the program’s hard-drive to create the compressed backup file.

Once the backup is put together, it’s copied to the destination folder, where it will be scanned and indexed to aid with restore. If you use Sequencing, the previous versions are also scanned and indexed. This index is stored in a file with the extension FBV.


Restore
Restore View Help Map

Restore gives you the option to cancel, however, this only cancels files not yet restored. The restoration of files up to the point of cancel cannot be undone.

There are 2 types of restore, based upon the 2 types of backup: Copy and Compressed. They each present you with a different window.

(If you’d like, you can read a detailed explanation of what happens during restore.)

If you’re restoring from a compressed backup, then read about file selection here.

Restore from a Copy backup is fairly straightforward.

Checkmark the files that you need. Then click OK.


Ways to Start a Restore
Ways to Start a Restore View Help Map

A restore can begin in the following ways:

    -Clicking the menu Restore/Restore the Selected Backup Group

    -Click the restore icon in the toolbar

    -Press Ctrl-R in the main window

    -Right-click on a backup group and select Restore from the popup menu


What Happens During a Restore
What Happens During a Restore View Help Map

Copy Backup

If you restore a Copy backup, then Flexible Backup simply copies the files you select to the their original source folder by using the log of each file’s source and destination, which is stored in a file with the extension FBZ.

Compressed Backup

If you run a restore for a Compressed backup, then the index for the backup is opened (a file with the extension FBV) and used to create an Explorer-like list of your files available for restoration. After you select your list of files to restore, Flexible Backup retrieves them from the compressed backup file(s) and places them in the original source folder, or an alternate location that you choose.

Flexible Backup will first look to see if your backup is available. It has a ZIP extension, such as my_backup.zip. If you get a message which says that the backup file does not exist, it may be because you have the backup file on a different disk or in different folder.

If you get a message that the drive is unavailable, be sure that you have your disk correctly in the drive. If you need more help, contact tech support.

If you’ve previously uploaded your backup file to the web, you might be prompted to restore it from the web. Please be sure that your computer is ready to open an Internet connection before you begin this process.


Selecting Folders/Files to Restore
Selecting Folders/Files to Restore (Compressed Backup) View Help Map

(If you need to read about restoring files from a Copy backup, click here.)

When you start your restore, you’ll see a progress window and it will take anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or so if you run your backups in sequence.

You can then select your files to restore by folder or by file name.


Find Files By Folder (Restore)
Find Files By Folder (Compressed Backup) View Help Map

(If you need to read about restoring files from a Copy backup, click here.)

The restore window displays your files just like Windows Explorer.

You can make your selection by placing a checkmark by the file, or by placing your checkmark by the folder, if you’d like every file in that folder restored.

If you sequence your backups, you’ll need to select the appropriate version. The versions of a file are listed most recent to earliest You’ll know that a file has earlier versions available by clicking the + sign beside it.

If you’re unsure which version to restore, you can view the file without restoring it by clicking View File or by double-clicking the file. This will open the file in its native program and allow you to view it. (Any changes made to the file while you view it are not saved to the backup.)

Once you’ve made your selections, click OK to begin the restoration of your files.

You can also find your files by file name.

A more detailed explanation of the restore process is available, if you’d like to read it.


Find Files By File Name (Restore)
Find Files By File Name (Compressed Backup) View Help Map

(If you need to read about restoring files from a Copy backup, click here.)

The restore window displays your files in alphabetical order.

You can make your selection by placing a checkmark by the file.

If you sequence your backups, you’ll need to select the appropriate version. The versions of a file are listed most recent to earliest You’ll know that a file has earlier versions available by clicking the + sign beside it.

If you’re unsure which version to restore, you can view the file without restoring it by clicking View File or by double-clicking the file. This will open the file in its native program and allow you to view it. (Any changes made to the file while you view it are not saved to the backup.)

Once you’ve made your selections, click OK to begin the restoration of your files.

You can also find your files by folder.

A more detailed explanation of the restore process is available, if you’d like to read it.


List of Files to be Restored
List of Files to be Restored (Compressed Backup) View Help Map

(If you need to read about restoring files from a Copy backup, click here.)

Your files that are selected for backup are shown with the File Name, Folder, File Date, and File Size. This list is for display only. If you need to modify your selections, please do so by file name or by folder in the appropriate tab.


Alternate Location
Alternate Location (Compressed Backup) View Help Map

(If you need to read about restoring files from a Copy backup, click here.)

You can choose an alternate location for your restored files.

Check the box to enable your entry of the destination path. Either type in a valid path or use the Browse button.


Total Recovery
Total Recovery View Help Map

If you’re reading this, you’re either curious or your computer has crashed.

Here are the 5 easy steps to recovering your files.

1. Re-install Flexible Backup. If you don’t have a CD with Flexible Backup on it, you can download Flexible Backup from the web (http://www.flexiblebackup.com).

2. Go to the Options in the main window. Enter the path where the copy of your setup file is located. Click Restore. If you stored a copy of your setup file on the web, leave the path blank and you will be prompted for your webspace settings to retrieve your setup file.

3. Close Flexible Backup and re-open it. Enter your license into the purchase screen. If you don’t have access to your license, contact us and once we’re confident that we’ve found you in our customer records, we’ll give you your license over the phone.

4. Select the backup group that you wish to restore and begin the restore process. If your backup files are on the web, it may take a while to download them.

5. Select the files you need restored and click OK.

If you have any questions at all to help you through this process, please contact tech support.


Working with WinZip
Working with WinZip (Compressed Backup) View Help Map

It’s a common question: does Flexible Backup work with WinZip? The answer is yes, very nicely, but there are some differences.

Any compressed backup file created by Flexible Backup can be opened by WinZip unless you use the split option for your backup. WinZip is not capable of reading split files that are not on removable media (floppy, CD, etc).

Also, WinZip does not store complete folder names. WinZip strips the drive letter from the path.

For example, if you placed C:\My Documents\project.doc into WinZip, its folder would be given as My Documents\. Flexible Backup stores the complete path, with drive letter, so that the file can be restored to the correct location.

You can add and subtract files from Flexible Backup’s zip (compressed) files using WinZip. If you do this, you MUST (please pay attention) use the button labeled “Re-index Files.” This will scan your backup files and refresh the list of what’s available for restore.

Once re-indexed, any files that you manually added to the archive with WinZip will be displayed under the folder

“FILES ADDED:\”

This is because their drive letter was not available.

Because WinZip only stores partial path information, you will be prompted to supply the path for any manually added files that you select to be restored.


Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting View Help Map

Here are some frequently asked questions when things don’t seem quite right:

I don’t see my network folders.

The program is designed to work only with mapped network drives and not with unmapped network folders. If you’d like to select a network folder for the Source or Destination, then find it first in the network and map it as an assigned drive letter. You can then select it and backup to or from it. The next version of Flexible Backup will support UNC drives.

Why didn’t my sub-directories (sub-folders) and their files get backed up?

First, double-check your settings for that folder to ensure that you have Include Sub-Folders checkmarked. If you do, it is possible that you don’t have the ability to create sub-folders on that disk. This occasionally happens with removable drives, such as zip disks. Try manually creating a sub-folder on that disk as the program should and see if you can. If not, then you may need a different disk. If you can, contact tech support.

Some folders/files were not backed up.

The most common reasons for this are that the destination drive was full or that the file was exclusively open and locked. Check the disk space available on that drive to see if that may be the cause. It could also be that the files were held exclusively by another program (Outlook does this with its files). Try shutting down any program that may be holding the file and perform a backup then.

I set password-protection and I’ve forgotten my password.

If you are the person who purchased the program, email me from the email address supplied at the time of purchase and I’ll respond to that address with the means for retrieving your password hint.

I don’t want Flexible Backup to automatically open each time my system starts up.

This is setup for you on installation, but it's easy to turn off. Go to Start/Programs/Startup through your taskbar menu. You'll see the shortcut to Flexible Backup there. Right-click on it, then choose Delete from the pop-up menu. This will stop it from auto-loading on startup.

I need to name a custom TEMP folder for my backups.

Open the fbackup30.ini file from the program folder.

You’ll see that it contains the following lines (although please don’t change the numbers!):

[Settings]

Left=780

Top=2535

Width=10215

Height=3690

To name your own folder, you’ll need to add the following line to the Settings section:

Temp=E:\backup\temp

Set your temp folder appropriate to the location you’d like to use.


Using Flexible Backup     Main Window     What is a Backup Group?     Password-Protection     Options         Shutdown Settings     Limitations     Backup Strategy         What to Backup         What Not to Backup     Purchase and Licensing     Tech Support     Thanks	Setup     Creating a Backup Group     Naming your Backup Group     When to Backup         Shutdown         Hotkey         Scheduling     Selecting Folders/Files for Backup         Naming Specific Files         Naming Exclusions     Destination     Two Types of Backup         Copy         Compressed             Compressed Backup Options             Split Backup             Upload Settings             Email Settings             Sequence (File Versions)     Summary of Backup	Backup     Ways to Start a Backup     What Happens During a Backup     Uploading a Backup     Emailing a Backup Restore     Ways to Start a Restore     What Happens During a Restore     Selecting Folders/Files         Find Files by Folder         Find Files by File Name     List of Files to be Restored     Alternate Location     Total Recovery Working with WinZip Troubleshooting


A backup group is a collection of folders and files that should be backed up as a group. Each backup group can be individually scheduled for backup (daily, weekly, monthly), given its own hotkey, go to different drives, and so on. Essentially, any property of a backup group that you can edit in the Backup Group Properties window remains independent of any other backup group that you create.

This independence allows you a lot of flexibility in using Flexible Backup.