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F I L E - S A F E Version 3.00 A backup management system for IBM PC's and compatibles R E F E R E N C E G U I D E Play it safe - Protect your files The easy way TABLE OF CONTENTS Topic Page _____________________________________________________________ Introduction...............................................4 Getting Started............................................6 Chapter 1 General................................................8 Chapter 2 Reviewing/Adding Entries...............................9 Chapter 3 Analyzing/Backing Up Files............................14 Chapter 4 Reviewing/Restoring Files.............................18 Chapter 5 Printing A Catalog Report.............................20 Chapter 6 Changing Configuration Parameters.....................21 Chapter 7 Helpful Hints/Suggestions.............................24 Appendix A Summary of Keyboard Functions.........................27 2 LICENSE AGREEMENT This product is licensed to you for your personal use or for use in your business or profession. It is copyrighted by Marcor Enterprises, Indianapolis, Indiana which retains ownership and all rights to all materials associated with it. Marcor Enterprises grants you the right to reproduce, distribute and use copies of this software product, subject to the limitations specified below, and on the express condition that you do not receive any payment, commercial benefit, or other consideration for such reproduction or distribution (except for covering your own costs), or change this license agreement or the copyright notices which appear in the software, documentation, and magnetic media. Limitations You may make and keep one (1) back-up copy of the software for your personal use, provided that (i) you copy all the copyright, trademark, and other information included with this product onto your backup diskette, and (ii) you are a registered user of this product. Also you may distribute copies to other persons, but solely for their evaluation (i.e., to decide whether to continue using the product and therefore register), and provided that you include all copyright notices and material included in the original package. THIS PRODUCT IS LICENSED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND AS TO MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, PERFORMANCE, OR OTHERWISE. ALL WARRANTIES ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. BY USING THIS PRODUCT, YOU AGREE THAT NEITHER MARCOR ENTERPRISES NOR ANY OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, AFFILIATES, OWNERS, OR OTHER RELATED PARTIES WILL BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS PRODUCT, OR FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF WE ARE NOTIFIED OF SUCH POSSIBILITY IN ADVANCE. (SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.) You may not reverse-engineer, disassemble, modify, decompile or create derivative works of this product. You acknowledge that this product includes certain trade secrets and confidential information, all of which is the copyrighted intellectual property of Marcor Enterprises. All rights are reserved. 3 This product must not be sold or otherwise provided as part of a larger system, or as a part of a more inclusive product or service, without express written consent and licensing from Marcor Enterprises. The rights to receive any such financial or other benefit, and to modify the product or employ its components in any kind of derivative work, are reserved exclusively by Marcor Enterprises. This license and your right to use this product is terminated if you fail to comply with any of the terms or conditions of this license agreement. Marcor Enterprises 8857 Commerce Park Place Suite D Indianapolis, Indiana 46268 (317) 876-9376 Copyright (C) 1989-1990, Marcor Enterprises IBM and IBM PC are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation. 4 INTRODUCTION Data in a computer is a valuable asset whether it is for you personal use or for a business. As hard disks have become more and more prevalent, the ability to store ever greater amounts of data in one place has grown with it. Unfortunately, even though the disks are extremely reliable, the exposure to potential loss of data has also increased. While the probability that a hard disk will fail is small, the risk is still there and it has happened. An even grerater risk, however, is human error. It is relatively easy to recover a file that has inadvertently been erased, but if a file is accidentally written over, the original data is gone forever. Thus there is a very real ned for some sort of procedure for protecting your data. For anyone to maintain the self-discipline to systematically and routinely make backup copies of files is a difficult task at best. More ofter than not, it simply doesn't get done ir is done on a haphazard basis. File-Safe provides a simple and effortless way to protect your data. All you have to do is tell it one time what you want backed up and how often. From then on, it takes over, leaving you without any worries. The only thing you have to do is keep a supply of backup diskettes and put them in the disk drive when File-Safe tells you to. When a backup has been successfully completed, File-Safe records the date so you can automatically be reminded when it is time to back up the data again. Many of the files on a hard disk do not really need systematic backup because they are software programs for which you already have backup disks - those they came on. What DOES need backing up are those data files which you create - customer files, accounting records, letter, documents, spreadsheets, etc. File- Safe is designed around the concept of backing up directories, where any given directory has its own set of rules for which types of files should be backed up and how often. Anti-Virus Guard File-Safe has a special feature which detects the possible presence of a computer virus. Every time you start one of the programs it performs this check provided you start the program from the drive and directory where the program resides. If you start it from a different directory (such as from the root directory and execute the program by entering FILSAFE\FI), the check is not performed. If everything appears to be in order, a small checkmark is displayed in the lower left corner of the main menu. If something is wrong, a small "x" will flash at that location. Should this happen, you should compare the program size and date/time stamps with the original program on the 5 distribution disk. You should be able to correct the situation by replacing the suspect program with the original. 6 GETTING STARTED File-Safe may be installed on your hard disk using the automatic procedure provided. It assumes that your hard disk is drive C: and will install the system in a sub-directory called FILESAFE. It gives you the opportunity to override these parameters if you wish. It will also create two batch files in the root directory of drive C:, but, again, will give you the opportunity to override this. It will not install either of these files if either one already exists. Installing File-Safe 1. Place the distribution disk in Drive A. Set the current or default drive to A: Note: The distribution disk you receive is probably a 5.25 inch diskette unless the distributor it came from offers 3.5 inch diskettes. If your A: drive is a 3.5 inch drive and you have a B: drive for 5.25 inch diskettes, you can put this distribution disk in the B: drive and copy all the files to a newly formatted disk in your A: drive by entering COPY B:*.* A:. You could also enter ASSIGN A=B at the DOS prompt. This will cause all references to drive A: in the installation procedure to act on drive B:. If you do this, be sure to reset these values when you are done by entering ASSIGN and pressing enter. Refer to your DOS manual on the ASSIGN command. 2. Type INSTALL and press ENTER You can also specify your own parameters initially by entering INSTALL x: name where "x" is the name of the drive you wish to use and "name" is the name of the directory you wish to use. 3. A menu of instructions will appear telling you about the directory that will be built. If you wish to use a different drive letter or directory name, you should press Ctl-Break and reply "Yes" to the question "Terminate batch job?" Then re-enter INSTALL with your own parameters as described above. 4. When the system has been installed, another screen of instructions will appear before the batch files are installed. Again, you will be given an opportunity to interrupt or cancel the installation and supply your own parameters. 7 To run the batch file procedure independently, set the current drive and directory to where File-Safe was installed, Then enter INSTBAT x: name where "x" is the drive to be used and "name" is the name of the directory where the File-Safe system was installed. The batch files which will be built are: FIM.BAT FI.BAT This procedure will not run if either of these files already exists in your root directory. These batch files are not absolutely required if you wish to use your own technique for running the system. 5. Once the system has been installed you should add FI to your autoexec.bat file. This way, File-Safe will automatically determine whether any files should be backed up. If no examination is necessary, it will return directly to DOS. 6. File-Safe is distributed with configuration parameters which tell it to run in black & white. By choosing the Configuration Menu from the Master Menu, you can change the system to operate in color. You may select any color you wish for foreground, background, border, highlighting, and emphasized characters. See Chapter 6, Changing Configuration Parameters. TECHNICAL NOTES File-Safe operates on IBM personal computers and on IBM compatible computers. It requires DOS vers 2.1 or later, 320K of memory, and, obviously, a hard disk is recommended. A printer is optional (for printing the backup catalog). When File-Safe is run, the current directory must be set to the directory where the programs reside. (The installation procedure takes care of this automatically.) 8 Chapter 1 General All of the functions of File-Safe are accessed from the Master Menu which appears when you run program FIM.EXE. In addition, you may include the optional parameters CHK and ALL. When you add entries for Directories to be checked, one of the pieces of information you specify is how often you want them backed up. Similarly, in the Configuration Menu, you can specify how often you want File-Safe to even look at the directories. If you include the parameter CHK when you first begin the backup program (e.g. FI CHK), File-Safe will look at all the directory entries regardless of what is in the configuration parameter, but it will still only display the directories that should be backed up. (When you run the master menu program, FIM.EXE and select Analyze/Back Up Files, it will always look at the entries just as if you had entered the CHK parameter.) If you start either program with the ALL parameter (e.g. FIM ALL or FI ALL), then all directory entries will be displayed, regardless of when they were last backed up. You can also press F2 while the Master Menu is displayed to set a switch which will force the program to display all directories when you select the Analyze/Back Up Files option. File-Safe will not necessarily look at every directory in your computer. It will only look at those directories for which you have made an entry from the Add Directory Menu. The independent backup program, FI.EXE, performs the same functions as the Analyze/Back Up Files option on the Master Menu. If you choose not to use the operating procedures provided on the distribution disk, be sure that the current directory is the same directory where the programs are located; File-Safe looks in its own directory for the control information it needs. While the Master Menu is being displayed, you can press Alt-V and a special menu will be displayed which shows the current version of File-Safe as well as the serial number of your system. Pressing any key will return you to the Master Menu. If, for any reason you need to contact us for assistance, you should have this information available. To select a particular function, you can either use the cursor keys to highlight the desired line and press Enter, or simply press the highlighted letter of the desired option. 9 Chapter 2 Reviewing/Adding Entries Adding/Modifying Entries Selecting this option from the Master Menu allows you to review all existing directory entries, make changes to them, and add new ones. This is the first step in originally setting up the system for your particular computer. When you select the Add option on this menu, you will see the menu for specifying a directory to be backed up. All of the required fields of information are already filled in. They are taken from the default information in the configuration file. All these default values can be changed to anything you wish in the Configuration Menu. See Chapter 6, Changing Configuration Parameters. The first item on the menu is the name of the directory to back up. Here you enter the complete path to the directory you want as well as it's name. You must follow the same rules required by DOS including the "\" character. Do not put a "\" at the end of the name. Example: C:\SALES\REGION\SLSFORCE If you have a lot of directories set up on your disk, this process can be greatly simplified by using the Select Directories option on the Main Menu. See Selecting Directories below in this chapter. Any time you make an entry in any of the fields on this menu, the field is highlighted to show you a change is pending. When you press the Enter key, the new information is accepted and the highlight is removed. If you press Esc, the field is restored to its original value and the highlight is removed. The next ten fields on this menu allow you to specify some rules about the kinds of files you want File-Safe to look for or specifically ignore. With the cursor on any of these ten lines, function key F2 will toggle between Include and Exclude for that line. If you press the Enter key on the first line without entering anything, File-Safe will automatically insert "*.*". It will not allow you to have both "*.*" and Exclude since this would tell the system "Don't look at anything"; nor will it allow you to specify Exclude with an empty line. The wildcard characters "*" and "?" can be used just like they are in DOS file specifications. Refer to your DOS reference manual for more information on wildcard characters. 10 By using up to ten different combinations of file specifications and Include/Exclude options, you have an extremely broad range of controlling which files in a directory get backed up. File-Safe follows a specific set of steps when applying these rules. First it selects files that match all the rules for inclusion, and then it removes from that list those files which match the rules for exclusion. If you specify one or more rules for inclusion and don't have "*.*" specified, then ONLY files which match those rules will be considered. Files are then excluded from that list according to the exclusion rules you have specified. Similarly, if the ONLY rules you specify are for exclusion, then all files will be treated first as though they were included and then excluded if they match any of the exclusion rules. Note that with this flexibility, it is also possible to end up with either redundant or contradictory selection rules. For example: if you entered Include ABC?.DOC on the first line and Exclude A??*.DOC on the second line, then no files ending in .DOC would ever be selected. Similarly, putting Include *.* on the first line and Include ABC*.DOC on the second line would be redundant. If you have directories that contain both programs and data, you might want to exclude *.EXE or *.COM or include only *.DOC or *.TXT, etc. When File-Safe backs up a file, it creates a special directory on the backup disk. This accommodates the possibility that identically named files in identically named directories from different disks might be backed up up on the same disk. Since you can control the name of this backup directory, you can avoid possible problems when trying to back up two files that have the same name but contain different data. File-Safe initially sets this default value to BACKUP, but you can change it to anything you want. You can also change the default name to anything you want by selecting the Change Configuration Menu from the Master Menu. See Chapter 6, Changing Configuration Parameters. The use of this special directory is optional. If you don't want to use a separate backup directory, you should go to the Configuration Parameters Menu, select the Set Default Directory Entries, and remove this directory name (erase it with F9). The system will still force you to specify a backup drive such as A:\. We recommend you establish an organized method of naming (labeling) disks that will hold backed up files. File-Safe allows you to use wildcard characters in the same way you can in selecting files. This means that the files for any given directory can be backed up to a series of disks. For example, if you specify a label of BK-1-*, then File-Safe will accept BK-1- 01, BK-1-02, BK-1-03, etc. Of course, at the time you actually back up a file, you can override the label selection if you wish. 11 Function key F10 is used to display additional parameters in checking a directory and selecting files to be backed up. First is the analysis interval - how often do you want File-Safe to even look at the directory? You can select months or days with function key F2. Next is the age of the file - how long it's been since it was last changed. When File-Safe selects files for backup, it compares the date of the file with the current system date, and, if the age doesn't meet this criterion, the file is not selected. Finally it considers the archive flag. All files in DOS contain a flag which is turned on whenever the file is changed. Whenever File-Safe backs up a file, that flag is turned off. (The DOS program BACKUP does this also.) Consequently, if this flag is not on, it means the file has not been changed since it was last backed up and probably doesn't need to be backed up. If you choose Yes on this line by pressing F2 (or the letter Y), then File-Safe will only select a file if this flag is on. If you select No, then File-Safe will not pay any attention to it - that is, it will select files for backup regardless of whether the flag is on or off (depending on the other selection criteria). It could be that you want to back up old files depending solely on their age without regard to whether they have been changed. You would do this by setting this option to No. Pressing either F10 again or the Esc key will close this window. When you have finished entering or changing all the information, press Esc. If changes have been made, you will be asked whether you want to save this record or continue. If you respond yes or no, you will be returned either to the Selection Menu, the Directories List or the Directory Tree Listing (described below), depending on how you got to this menu. Pressing "C" for Continue will simply allow you to continue entering or changing data. There is nothing to prevent you from having more than one entry in the system for the same directory. If for some reason you have sets of files in a directory with different characteristics and want to use different backup criteria for them, you can do so. Selecting Directories Selecting directories to be included in the backup schedule can be greatly simplified by using this option, particularly if you have a lot of directories. When you use this option, File-Safe displays a "tree structure" of all directories on your disk. You can use the arrow keys and the PgUp, PgDn keys to scan the entire list. You can also use the Home/End keys to move to the top or 12 bottom entry shown on the screen or Ctl-Home/Ctl-End to go to the very beginning or end of the list. When you find the directory you want to add, simply highlight it and press Enter. You will then be shown the Add/Modify Menu with the full directory path already filled in. (The rest of the fields will also be filled in according the the default data set in the Configuration Menu). When you leave the Add/Modify Menu, you are again returned to this tree structure display. To return to the Selection Menu while the directory tree is being displayed, press Esc instead of Enter. When you first select this option, File-Safe asks you to tell it which disk (letter) to display. Initially it sets this value to the letter of the current drive (probably "C" for most people). If this is what you want, just press Enter; otherwise enter the drive letter you want to be displayed and then press Enter. Once you scan a given disk, the directory tree is kept in memory until you either select a different drive or leave the program. Listing Entries Choosing this option from the Selection Menu will display all the directories you have previously entered into the File-Safe system. If you have several pages of data, you can use the PgDn and PgUp keys in addition to the directional keys to point to different directories. You can also use Ctl-Home and Ctl-End to move to the beginning or end of the list. Function key F2 will select a directory for modification using the menu described above. Only one directory can be "selected" at any given time. F10 flags a directory for delection when you return to the Master Menu and F9 will cause the entire list to be re-sorted in alphabetical order. When you select an item for modification using F2, you are immediately presented with the Modify Menu described above. When you return to the File List Menu, that item is shown as "Selected". If you press the Enter key, you will be returned again to the Modify Menu for that item. If you press Escape, any selections will be cancelled and you are returned to the Selection Menu for Review/Modify. (Pressing Enter when nothing is selected produces the same result.) Special Recommendation Remember that the whole purpose in backing up data is to be able to restore files in case they are lost. The easiest way to do this is to use File-Safe. However, in order for File-Safe to restore files, it must have access to its backup catalog. 13 Therefore, one of the first directories you should enter in your backup schedule is the File-Safe directory itself. If you make such an entry, you can either enter a file specification of "Incl *.*" or "Incl *.MRE". With the former entry you will back up all the files and programs, which will require more than one disk. If you enter the latter, you will back up the master file, FILESAFE.MRE, and the backup catalog, FICAT.MRE. How often you back up this directory is up to you, of course, but for maximum safety it should be at least as frequently as the most frequent of your other directory entries. Be aware that the backup catalog is itself updated after all backups have been completed for any given execution of the program. Therefore, if the backup catalog is backed up in the same "backup run" as other directories, those other backups will not be reflected in the backup copy of the catalog. To get the very most recent data in the backup copy of the catalog, it should be backed up in a run by itself. File-Safe makes backup copies of files in DOS compatible format, which means that DOS can read and/or process those files - you don't have to have the File-Safe program itself. This means that if all else fails, you can use DOS to list directories and files on the backup disk and to copy those files back to your hard disk. Caution: If you use the DOS COPY command, DOS does not warn you if the file already exists; it just replaces it. It is theoretically possible for you to have multiple copies of a file on different backup disks (which the File-Safe backup catalog would clearly show). Be careful that you don't restore a file "twice" through the careless use of "COPY *.*". 14 Chapter 3 Analyzing/Backing Up Files Directory List File-Safe displays all of the directories that should be analyzed based on the interval of months or days you specified when you first made the entry. If you choose this option from the Master Menu, all the directories will be examined for their respective analysis intervals. If you run the independent backup program FI.EXE, the configuration analysis interval is first checked, and, if the specified time has not elapsed, the directories are not even looked at, and you are returned immediately to DOS. Because of this feature, you can put FI in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and File-Safe will make a preliminary check every time you turn on your computer. However, it will only present directories for backup as often as you want it to, whether it's every day or every few days. This way you don't have to remember to back up files - it's done for you automatically. As explained in Chapter 1, you can always force File-Safe to look at the directories or display all the directories by adding the parameters CHK or ALL when you start the program. Note that in the Configuration Menu, you can set the interval analysis to zero (0) days. If you do this, File-Safe will examine the directories every time you start your computer (and run the AUTOEXEC.BAT file) or every time you run the program. If you set it to one day, then File-Safe will only check the directories the first time you start your computer or the first time you run the program on any given day. Function key F2 selects or unselects a directory for analysis of files in that directory. The normal condition is for all of them to be selected. If you started the program with the parameter ALL, then all directories in the system are displayed, but only those that or due for analysis are preset to "Sel". By pressing the letter "A" you can signal to File-Safe that you want to see every file in the directory regardless of whether it should be backed up. Pressing Esc will either return you to the Master Menu or to DOS. Pressing the Enter key will begin the file selection of the first selected directory. If you press the Enter key and there are no directories selected, the program reminds you of this and asks if this is what you intended. If you respond yes (Y) or press Enter, then the program simply ends; if you say no (N) or press Esc, it returns you to the Directory List. Both in this list and in the file list described below, you can scroll through the listed items using the cursor keys, Home/End keys to move to the top or bottom of the current display, 15 PgUp/PgDn to scroll an entire screen, or Ctl-Home/Ctl-End to move to the beginning or end of the entire list. Selecting Files for Backup Depending on whether you set the "Show all files" option on the previous screen, this screen shows those files which should be backed up. As with the directory listing, if you force a display of every file, then only those file needing backup are preset to "Sel". File-Safe does not automatically back up any files. Rather, it looks for files that meet the backup selection criteria. It shows you the same information that a DOS directory listing does (name, size, and date) plus the file attributes. These attributes are r (Read Only), a (Archive), s (System), and h (Hidden). Normally files with r, s, or h attributes will not be shown, but, if you wish, you can set an option in the Configuration Menu so that they can be displayed. File-Safe will allow you to back up any files with these attributes (r, s, h) but it will not allow you to delete them, since these types of files are presumably essential to the applications with which they are associated. If you attempt to delete one of these files, File-Safe will sound a "beep" indicating that this is not allowed. (Remember that the Archive attribute, which is set by DOS, means that the file has been changed since it was last backed up.) For more information on file attributes, refer to your DOS reference manual. Notice that this screen also shows you which directory you are currently looking at as well as a preview of what disk will be asked for when you do back up these files. If you press the Enter key without selecting any files, you are reminded that nothing has been selected and asked if this is what you intended. If you respond "Y" (or press the Enter key), then you are returned to the Directory List. If you respond "N" (or press Esc), then you are returned to the File List. If you respond "Y" to this question, File-Safe now considers this directory to have been checked, and will not display it again unless you force it to with the "ALL" parameter or until the backup interval has elapsed again. If you leave this screen by pressing Esc and you have not backed up any files, then the analysis date is not updated. Use function key F2 to select or unselect a file for backup. Function key F10 gives you the opportunity to delete a file rather than back it up. Pressing F10 merely flags the file for deletion. If you leave this menu by pressing Esc, and there are files flagged for deletion, they will not be deleted. You must specifically ask for a file to be deleted. To do this, press the Enter key while the flagged file is highlighted. File-Safe will then ask you to confirm the request before deleting the file. 16 In addition to using F2 to select or unselect any individual file, you can use F3 to select or unselect all files. When you press Enter and files have been selected, File-Safe sorts the list according the the name of the disk where backup copies will be stored and then proceeds with the backup process. Backing Up Files File-Safe first pauses to tell you which disk it expects and in which drive (normally A:). Put the appropriate disk in the correct drive and press Enter. If the label doesn't match what you have earlier said it should be, File-Safe will pause again and ask if you want to proceed or change disks. It also gives you the opportunity to relabel the disk if you wish. Remember, File-Safe allows you to uses wild card characters in the label specification, so if you had specified, for example, "BK-*" as a label, File-Safe will accept any label beginning with "BK-". If necessary, File-Safe will create directories in your target backup disk that match the directory path to the file being backed up. If there isn't enough room on the disk to hold all the files you have selected, it will tell you how many additional disks you may need. It does this in terms of "equivalent" disks according to the size specified in the configuration data - 320KB, 360KB, 720KB, 1.2MB, 1.44MB, or 10MB. Refer to Chapter 6, Changing Configuration Parameters. When the system displays a message about additional disks, it also displays, for informational purposes, the sum of the sizes of all the selected files. When calculating the estimated number of additional disks needed, the program takes into account the amount of space on the first disk which can be reused because one or more of the selected files already exists on the backup disk. If some of the selected files already exist on subsequent disks (which the program doesn't yet know about), you will need less than the number of disks stated in the message. (In the interest of minimizing time, the program does not attempt to search the backup catalog for information on all the files on all the backup disks.) If you already have multiple disks in use for a given directory, begin the backup process with the first disk in the series. That way File-Safe can replace old copies of a file on the backup disk rather than creating new copies. When the combined space requirement of all selected files exceeds the available space on the backup disk, File-Safe scans the contents of the backup disk to see if there are any matches with the selected files. It backs up these files first and then attempts to back up additional files on that same disk. When there is no longer enough room on the disk to hold the next file to be backed up, 17 File-Safe pauses and asks you to insert another disk. It then goes through the same label checking procedures as when you began the backup process. When calculating the remaining space on the disk receiving backed up files, it uses the actual capacity of the disk, not the "equivalent" size specified in the configuration data. If you have a large number of files of widely varying size in a given directory, it is possible that, over a period of time and depending on which files are selected for backup at any given time, you may end up with different backup copies of the same file on different backup disks. This is not a problem because you will see multiple entries for that file in the backup catalog. If you observe this condition when you review the catalog, you can simply delete the older unneeded backup copy and regain that space on the backup disk involved. Note: Do not attempt to back up a file which is larger than the entire backup disk (such as a 400K file when you are using 360K disks). File-Safe will not split files across multiple disks, so if you tried this, it would continually prompt you to insert a new disk. When all of the selected files in the directory have been backed up, File-Safe proceeds to analyze the files in the next selected directory and the whole process is repeated. When the last selected directory is processed, you are automatically returned to the Master Menu or to DOS. If, for any reason, File-Safe is interrupted while you are in the process of backing up files, the catalog of backed up files will not accurately report on those files which were successfully backed up during the session which was interrupted. This could happen, for example, due to a power failure. While the system is backing up files, it records its activity in an intermediate file called FITRX.MRE. Then, when it is all done, it uses those transaction records to update the catalog. If you should experience an interruption, you should simply re-run program FI.EXE (or program FIM.EXE and select the backup option), and your catalog will automatically be updated. The backup program always checks for the presence of the transaction file and, if present, it automatically updates the catalog. 18 Chapter 4 Reviewing/Restoring Files This screen displays all the files that are in the backup catalog. You can merely review the list, delete entries from the catalog along with the actual files on the backup disks, or restore files to their original source (or any other location). When files are restored, they are left on the backup disks and in the backup catalog. The restoration process works very much like the backup process but in reverse. You use F2 to select a file to restore and F10 to delete a file from a backup disk. You can also use F3 to select or unselect all files in the list. When you request that a file be restored, File-Safe first checks that the directory path from which the file was originally backed up still exists; if not, it recreates the directory path. If the file being restored already exists in the path being restored to, you are asked for permission to replace it. The system will not replace a file marked "read only". The files are initially presented on the screen in alphabetical order by file and the original directory path of that file. By pressing F9, you can ask that the files be re-sorted into file within directory sequence or in backup disk/label sequence. If you sort the file, you can re-sort it back into file/path sequence using the same F9 key. In order to remove (delete) a file from the backup disk (and the catalog), you first flag it by pressing F10 just like you use F2 to select a file to be restored. When you press Enter, the system will process all the selected/flagged files. When a file is encountered that was flagged for deletion, you will be asked to confirm the request by pressing Enter or cancel the request by pressing Esc. (If you leave the selection menu by pressing Esc while a file is just flagged for deletion, it will not be deleted.) When you have selected files to be restored or deleted, press Enter, and the system will pause to tell you the drive and disk label where it will expect to find the file. (If the list is not already in sequence by drive/label of the backup disks, the program first sorts the list.) At this point you have an opportunity to make an additional request. You can ask that the backup file be restored to another drive and/or path by pressing F10. When you do this, the target (restore) path will be highlighted, and you can enter any valid drive/path. Press Enter to accept the new target location or press Esc to set the path 19 back to its original value. You can then proceed with the restoration by pressing Enter. Caution: File-Safe will edit this path for conforming to the rules of a directory path, but not the actual contents. If you are intending to recall the file to an existing directory path, but misspell part of it, File-Safe will create a new path according to what you have entered. This new path will continue in existence for all selected backup files which were originally in the same path as the file just changed. If or when a selected file is to be restored which was originally in a different path, the program pauses to allow you to set a new path if you wish. If you don't want to change this path, just press Enter and the program will continue with the restoration of files. If for some reason, File-Safe can't find a file on the backup disk, you are offered the opportunity to try another disk. If you don't want to search other disks, reply N or press Esc. If you do this, you are given the opportunity to delete the entry from the catalog. Press Y or Enter to delete it, or press N or Esc to leave it alone. (If the file doesn't exist where the catalog entry says it is, there is little point in keeping the catalog entry.) Once all the files have been processed, you are returned to the Review/Restore Menu for further review. If you should have a catastrophic failure of your disk and lose ALL your data, including the File-Safe programs and data, here are some suggestions for getting your files rebuilt: As mentioned in Chapter 3, Analyzing/Backing Up Files, when File- Safe makes backup copies of files, it creates sub-directories on your backup disk that match the path to those files on the disk being backed up. Unless you have changed the default configuration, these directories are "preceded" by a special backup directory. For example, if you have File-Safe installed in a directory called FILESAFE and back up the catalog to drive A: with a backup directory called BACKUP, then you will find the backup copy of the catalog in A:\BACKUP\FILESAFE. To begin the restore process, first restore File-Safe. Re- establish a File-Safe directory and copy the programs from the original distribution disk or go through the original installation procedure. Then make that directory the current one (e.g. CD \FILESAFE) and copy the master and catalog files to that directory from the backup disk (e.g. COPY A:\BACKUP\FILESAFE\*.MRE). You should now be ready to restore all your files with File-Safe. 20 Chapter 5 Printing A Catalog Report You can get a printed report of the catalog by selecting this option from the Master Menu. As in the Restore Menu, you can ask that the report be sequenced in three different ways - File sequence, Path/File sequence, and Backup Disk/Label sequence - ie., grouped according the name of the disk where the files are currently located. You can select any combination of reports you want by pressing F2 to select the highlighted line or pressing the first letter of the line desired. You can also direct the system to send the report to a file rather than the printer by pressing F9. You could then print the file at a later time or use a utility program to view the report on the screen. The information in the report is basically the same as that displayed when you select the Restore/Review menu. If you choose to have the report sent to a file, it will be put in a file called FILESAFE.PRN in the current directory. At any time during the creation of the report, you can interrupt the program by pressing the space bar, or you can cancel the printing by pressing Esc. If you interrupt the printing, the system pauses and asks you to either press Enter to resume printing or press Esc to cancel the printing and return you to the Print Selection Menu. 21 Chapter 6 Changing Configuration Parameters When you select this option from the Master Menu, you are first presented a Selection Menu to change either the color combinations or various default parameters. Either use the arrow keys to point to one of the options and press Enter, or press the first letter of the option you want. Pressing Esc will return you to the Master Menu. If you have made any changes to the configuration parameters, you are first asked if you want to save them by pressing Enter (yes) or Esc (no). If you press Esc, you will be returned to the Selection Menu. Selecting Colors File-Safe uses "normal" foreground and background colors for routine text and "highlighted" colors for pointing to current selections and for showing pending changes to data. It uses "emphasized" color when additional information is displayed. With the highlight bar on a given line, use F3 and F4 to select foreground and background colors respectively. (You cannot assign a separate background color on the "emphasized" line.) F2 is used to switch between color and monochrome. In monochrome mode, the color keys select different combinations of white, bright white, and black. F9 selects border colors. Function key F10 displays a window with its respective colors. Use the same keys as above to select the various window colors. Press either Enter, F10, or Esc to close the window. If you have made changes to the window colors, pressing Escape will also cancel those changes. If you press Esc while the window is closed (not being displayed), then all the colors will be reset to what they were when you first selected this menu. If you press Escape again, you will be returned to the Selection Menu. To accept the changes you have made, press the Enter key. You will then be asked to confirm the changes before being returned to the Selection Menu. Setting Default Parameters This screen lets you tell File-Safe various things you want it to use as default values. Any time you enter data, the field is highlighted until you accept the new information by pressing the 22 Enter key. If you change your mind, just press Esc and the field will be reset to its original value. On the first line you tell File-Safe how often you want it to look at its directory entries for possible backup activity. Enter the number of days or months and use F2 to cycle between days and months. Note that you could enter "0 Days" which would force the program to scan directories every time it is run. However, if you set this to "1 Day", then it would only look at the directories once each day (presumably when you first turn on your computer). Thus if you have your AUTOEXEC.BAT file set up to run File-Safe as we recommend, then any subsequent system resets or rebooting would not generate repetitive scans of the directory entries. The date shows when the directories were last looked at and, if you wish, you can change it to something else. However, you cannot enter a future date. The third line allows you to preset all the default values when you add a directory entry to the master file. When you press the space bar, you are shown a menu which is just like the Add/Modify Menu. Whatever you set up here will be presented on the initial screen when you later go to the Add Menu for adding a directory entry. All the same rules apply here as in the Add/Modify Menu and are explained in the Add/Modify portion of Chapter 2. This set of default values, in effect, sets up a sort of "dummy" record which the system uses whenever it needs default information. The Write Verify Option is selected using the space bar; it is either yes or no. DOS has a command called VERIFY ON/OFF. When DOS is initially started (when you turn on your computer), this option is always off. If VERIFY is turned on, then every time DOS writes data on a disk, it reads back the same data to verify that it was correctly written. Naturally this slows down all disk writing operations. Normally your computer equipment is reliable enough that this is unnecessary. However if you have experienced problems in this area, or have extremely critical data, you may choose to have this option turned on. This option in File-Safe allows you to set this verification option on or off just for backing up or restoring files. If you leave the option set to its default value (No), then File-Safe will not change the setting in DOS regardless of whether the DOS option is on or off. If you turn it on (Yes), then File-Safe will turn the verification option on when it backs up or restores files. In this situation, if the DOS option was off when you started File- Safe, then File-Safe will turn the option on when it backs up or restores any files, and will then turn it back off when it ends. If this option is set on and the DOS option is already on, then this option has no effect. 23 The fifth line allows you to indicate whether you want hidden, system, and read-only files to be displayed when File-Safe selects files that should be backed up. Normally this option should be off (No) - meaning that the system will never select a file with these attributes. These kinds of files should never be moved or changed except by the application which created them. However, if you want back up these files, you can turn the option on (set it to Yes) by pressing the space bar. When you turn this option on, then IF the other selection criteria are met, a file with any of these attributes will be displayed along with other files. If you try to restore a file with any of these attributes and the file already exists, File-Safe will always ask permission to restore it regardless of the two files' respective date/time stamps. When you back up files, File-Safe checks the amount of space remaining on the backup disk. If you are going to need more disks, File-Safe tells you how many additional disks you will need. The disk size parameter on this screen lets you tell File- Safe what disk size you want it to use for this calculation so the information will be more meaningful to you. Use the space bar to select the various sizes and press the Enter key to accept your choice. The choices are 320KB, 360KB, 720KB, 1.2MB, 1.44MB, and 10 MB. (The latter choice is in case you use another hard disk for holding backup files.) The last configuration option on this screen allows you to reassign function keys. Since the 101-key AT-style keyboards have function keys in a different physical arrangement than the original PC-style keyboard, you may prefer to have different keys perform the various functions defined in File-Safe. The first line simply shows a reference to the original ten keys F1-F10. The next line shows how they are currently defined, and the third line is where you can specify new values. Use the direction keys or Tab key to move to different key areas on the line and enter a number 1-9 and 0 to represent keys 1-10. When you have the definitions re-assigned the way you want, press Enter, and the new definitions will take effect. Naturally, File-Safe will not allow you to specify redundant key definitions. While you are on this line, the function keys themselves (e.g. F2, F10) are disabled. At any time prior to returning to the Master Menu, you can return to this menu and cancel any changes you have made by pressing F10. If you haven't made any changes and still press this key, the computer will beep as a way of telling you there aren't any changes to reset. 24 Chapter 7 Helpful Hints/Suggestions The following comments are intended for people who are not very familiar with using directories and batch files as a way to simplify the management of large amounts of data on a hard disk. Prudent use of directories and sub-directories can be a great help in managing data on a hard disk. If you don't understand directories very well, think of them as being file folders in a file drawer where the file drawer is your hard disk. (Or the file drawer might represent a first level directory where the hard disk is like an entire file cabinet.) In this way, you can organize data files according to subject matter or in any way you wish. Another thing to remember is that two different files could have the same name when they are in different directories even though they contain different data. For example, you could have sales data files representing different sales regions that are all named the same if they are in sales region sub- directories all under a higher level directory called SALES. Whether this is a good idea for you depends on how you use your data. Another possibility is to set up directories according to the kind of software you use. Many software products allow you to store data in different sub-directories. For example, you might have a spreadsheet program in a directory called SPREAD, and all your spreadsheet files in a sub-directory under SPREAD called FILES, or in more than one sub-directory like WORK and HOME. The value in directories lies in the ability to keep similar types of files in their own "compartment" and avoid having hundreds or even thousands of files in one place. On the other hand, it's just as easy to have so many combinations of directories that the directories themselves become a nuisance. For more information on directories, refer to your DOS manual on a general explanation of directories, and on commands such as MD (make a directory), RD (remove a directory), and CD (change the current directory). When you use directories to contain different applications such as a word processor, a spreadsheet program, and an accounting program, "batch files" and the DOS PATH command can greatly simplify getting to those applications. Batch files are nothing other than simple files that contain a series of DOS commands. Imagine that you have a file called GO.BAT; when you type in GO and press Enter, DOS looks for a program called GO (GO.EXE or 25 GO.COM). If it doesn't find such a "file" in the current directory, it looks for a file called GO.BAT. When it finds such a file, it reads the file expecting to find a string of DOS commands in it, which it will then execute automatically. If it doesn't find a batch file, it starts searching in other directories specified in it's PATH parameter. The PATH command simply gives DOS alternate places to look for a program or a batch file when it doesn't exist in the current directory. As a simple example, you could enter PATH=C:\;C:\BATCH. This tells DOS: when someone enters GO, and you can't find it in the current directory, go look in the root directory of drive C:. If it's not there, then go look in the directory on drive C: called BATCH. If you still can't find it, then "give up" and display the familiar message "Bad command or file name". Now, suppose you create a directory called BATCH, and in that directory, you create a file called SS.BAT (for Spreadsheet). In that file, you enter a series of DOS commands (with each command being on a different line - ie. a different record in the file). These commands might be as follows: ECHO OFF don't display the following commands on the screen C: set the current drive to C: CD \SSDIR make SSDIR the current directory SPREAD start the spreadsheet program CLS when done, clear the screen CD \ make the root directory current and return to the DOS coommand line (When this batch file "ends", the ECHO OFF is automatically turned back on.) With this setup, no matter where you are on the disk, in terms of which directory is "current", any time you enter SS, DOS will find the batch file SS.BAT in the directory called BATCH (as long as it doesn't find a program called SS first), and will execute your spreadsheet program called SPREAD.COM or SPREAD.EXE. When you are finished, it will clear the screen (in case the spreadsheet program doesn't already do it automatically), return you to the root directory of drive C:, and re-display the DOS command line prompt. (This preceding process is generally what menuing programs do, but of course, that's just a one step higher level of automation.) Your DOS reference manual contains information on how to create and edit batch files. You should also be familiar with the special batch file, AUTOEXEC.BAT who's name has a special meaning to DOS. Every time you turn on your computer or reset (boot) it by pressing Alt-Ctl- Del, DOS looks to see if this file exists. If it doesn't, DOS 26 will prompt you for the date and time and then display the DOS command prompt. If the file DOES exist, then DOS will automatically execute it as described above for batch files. This is a convenient way to automatically set certain parameters which are unique to your own operation - like establishing a search path with the PATH command or establising your own customized prompt with the PROMPT command. It is also a convenient way of automatically running any programs you want to - like File-Safe. If you have a battery operated clock in your computer, you can bypass having the computer prompt you for date and time every time you start your computer - simply don't put the DATE and TIME commands in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. To learn more about the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, refer to your DOS manual. If you make use of these kinds of tools, it becomes a very easy task to separate your programs from your data files. Frequently you aren't interested in backing up programs, so this is just another way of keeping them out of the picture. Of course File- Safe also lets you exclude programs from being backed up, so you can set things up in whatever way you like best. Problems/Suggestions If you encounter problems in using File-Safe or have suggestions for improvements that you would like to see incorporated into the system, please write Marcor Enterprises, 8857 Commerce Park Place, Suite D, Indianapolis, IN, 46268 or call (317)-876-9376. 27 APPENDIX A Summary of Keyboard Functions Escape When a text field is being changed, it is highlighted until the Enter key is pressed. During this time, Esc will generally "undo" the changes and restore the field to it's previous value. At other times Esc will generally return you to the previous menu. When a message is displayed asking for a yes/no response, Esc is equivalent to "no". Enter Generally accepts current changes that are pending or proceeds to the next menu. When a message is displayed asking for a yes/no response, Enter is equivalent to "yes". Function keys: F2 Generally selects/unselects various options. On the Master Menu this key sets a switch so that when the Analyze/Backup Files option is selected, all directories in the master configuration file are displayed. This has the same effect as starting the program with the additional parameter ALL. Cycles between months/days and include/exclude on selective options in the Add/Modify Menu and the Configuration Menu. Cycles between color and B/W in the Color Selection Menu. F3 Alternately selects and unselects all files in the Backup and Restore Menus. F3/F4 Selects forground and background colors in the Color Selection Menu according to the line that is highlghted. F9 Sorts the entries in the Backup Selection Menu, the Review/Restore Menu, and the Directory Entry List. Erases a field entry in the Add/Modify Menu. Directs output in the Print Catalog Menu to the printer or to an ASCII file. Selects border colors in the Color Selection Menu. 28 F10 Opens/closes a window containing backup selection criteria in the Add/Modiy Menu. Allows you to specify your own drive/path when preparing to restore a file from the backup catalog. Flags an entry for deletion in the Directory List, the Backup Selection List, and the Review/Restore Catalog List. Opens/closes a window for window color selection in the Configuration Menu. Resets any pending changes in the Configuration Menu. Cursor Keys (Up, Down, Left, Right): Moves between lines or options in various menus or left and right when editing text. Home/End: Moves to top or bottom of screen in multiple page displays. Home/End: (cont'd) Moves to beginning or end of text fields during editing. Ctl-Home/End: Moves to beginning or end of list in multiple page displays. PageUp/PageDn: Pages to previous or next page in multiple page displays. Insert: Turns insert flag on/off when editing fields. Backspace, Delete: Aids in editing fields.