WPSsafe(1)                     LOCAL                        WPSsafe(1)


NAME
     WPSsafe - A WorkPlace Shell backup/restore program

SYNOPSIS
     wpssafe {backup_name} [!]

DESCRIPTION
     WPSsafe is the easiest way to backup your current WorkPlace Shell
     desktop, user, and system INI files.

PREREQUISITES AND LIMITATIONS
     WPSsafe requires GTAK, currently the best GNU TAR port to OS/2. It
     is used to store the current desktop directory as-is.  At the
     moment GTAK seems to be the only free program to do it properly.
     To my experience Info-ZIP is a no-go solution.

     For GTAK you need only the tar.exe, no settings are required for
     WPSsafe.

     WPSsafe requires the backup target directory (SafeDir) to be on a
     HPFS volume.

     Before restoring the desktop you do NOT have to erase the current
     desktop.  Instead you have to reboot and do it before launching
     WordPlace Shell.  One tedious way is to boot from floppies.  A lot
     easier way is to use an excellent IBM EWS ShiftRun (or similar) to
     launch CMD.EXE just before WPS (first example below).  Another
     workable solution is the second example below.

        1: CALL=...\ShiftRun.exe 5 \OS2\Cmd.exe
        2: CALL=\OS2\CMD.EXE

     You should customize WPSsafe to suit your own environment.
     See later under LOCALIZATION.

     This program has only been tested with OS/2 2.1 GA at the moment.

OPTIONS
     backup_name    This should preferably be current date in the form
                    YYMMDD so that you can easily track older desktops
                    if needed.  Naming conventions are up to the user,
                    not author.

     !              Initiates the restoration of desktop and inis.
                    See PREREQUISITES AND LIMITATIONS!

                    Please reboot immediately after restoration.

FILES
     Desktop.#.tar  Desktop directory tree tar with all directories,
                    files, and extended attributes.
     OS2.INI.#      Current user ini file from boot volume's \OS2
                    directory.
     OS2SYS.INI.#   Current systen ini file from boot volume's \OS2
                    directory.

     '#'  Stands for the program option 'backup_name'.

LOCALIZATION
     You'll have to localize WPSsafe.cmd to suit your own environment.
     This consists of redefining the environment variables DESKTOP,
     BOOTVOL, and SAFEDIR.  Be careful with all the slashes and
     backslashes.

     For OS/2 v2.0 DESKTOP you propably have to use quotes around the
     directory name because of the spaces in it.

     SAFEDIR has to be on a HPSF volume.

IMPROVEMENT IDEAS
     Change this to a REXX program and pass the backup name
     automatically to the tar and copy statements. Personally I don't
     think this is much of an improvement to the current version.

     REXX version: I recommend naming the backups with statement
     "Backup_name = Date('Sorted')".

BUGS
     Shouldn't be any... but you never know.

HISTORY OF RELEASES
     0   (4-Aug-93)  First release for personal usage only.
     1  (17-Sep-93)  First public release.

CREDITS
     Andreas Kaiser for his excellent GNU TAR port to OS/2.

AUTHOR
     Kari Mattsson  (karmat@utu.fi)

     If you have questions and/or problems, please Email to me.  Other
     than that you are on your own here.  I'm not responsible to any
     loss of data.