BaR Front End - General help ù Overview ù Using BaR ú Creating and configuring Profiles ù Deleting Profiles ù Working with archive attributes ù The 'File Exclusion' window ù Working with logs ù Backing up ù Restoring ù Trouble Shooting ù Disclaimer ù Copyright ù Contacting the author OVERVIEW BaR is simply a PM-based front end for OS/2's (c) backup and restore utilities. Its purpose is to simplify the process of backing up your files/data to floppies by allowing you to create Profiles, essentially configurations for various backup sessions which contain, among other things, command-line switches which are passed on to backup and restore. USING BaR - Creating and Configuring Profiles When you first launch BaR, you're presented with two windows - the main window and the 'File Exclusion' window. To create a Profile, either click on the 'New' button, select the 'New' option from the 'Profiles' menu, or press Insert. A dialog box will appear, in which you enter a descriptive name for the profile. Press or click on the 'Accept' button to accept the name and to continue with the setup process. Once a new Profile name has been entered, you are presented with the 'Directory Listing' window in which you select the directory to backup. The status bar at the top of the window indicates the currently selected directory. Once you are satisfied with your selection, click on the 'Continue' button. The 'Backup Options' window appears once the 'Continue' button has been pressed, and this is where you select the various command line switches for this specific profile. Most are self-explanatory, but hint text appears at the bottom of the window should you require it. All of the options are common backup options, except for the 'Exclusion' check box which appears in the 'General' options list box and the 'Append' and 'Overwrite' radio buttons which appear in the 'Log File' group box. All are designed to enhance OS/2's (c) backup. 'Exclusion' allows you to skip files based upon an extension, such as BAK, TMP, etc. files (see 'Using BaR - The "File Exclusion window"' for more information); 'Append' and 'Overwrite' permit you to have backup either append the log information to the log file (if you select 'Log' in the 'Backup Options' window) or to overwrite the previous information. Once you are satisfied that you have selected the relevant options, press the 'Save' button to save the Profile to the BaR.INI file. USING BaR - Deleting Profiles You can delete Profiles by clicking on the Profile you would like to delete and by either selecting the 'Delete' option from the Profiles menu or pressing the Delete key. USING BaR - Working with Archive Attributes A fourth window is accessible only if you select the 'Modified' check box in the 'Backup Options' window. This 'Set and Clear Archive Attribute' window is accessible both from both the 'Directory Listing' and 'Backup Options' window by pressing on the 'Attribute' button, and allows you to set and/or clear the archive attribute for files that appear in the directory specified in the 'Directory Listing' window and its subdirectories if the 'Recursive' check box has been selected in the 'Backup Options' window. There are two list boxes in this window, one for the files which have the attribute set, and the other for those which have the attribute cleared. Setting and clearing the archive attribute is as easy as selecting the files in either list box, and clicking on the appropriate push buttons appearing between both list boxes. Hint text appears at the bottom of the window should you require it. USING BaR - The 'File Exclusion' Window A small window appears alongside the main BaR window. The list box contains the extension of files you would like OS/2's (c) backup to ignore, such as BAK, TMP, and TXT files, for example. To add to this list, click on the 'Add' button in the 'File Exclusion' window. To delete a entry, highlight it by clicking on the entry, and press the 'Delete' button. USING BaR - Working with Logs If you chose to have OS/2's (c) backup log the backup process to file, a file bearing the first eight characters of the Profile with an extension of LOG will be created in the directory from which BaR was launched. You can edit this log file at any time by selecting the 'Edit' option from the 'Logs' menu appearing in BaR's main window. Select the log file from the dialog box, and the filename will be passed on to OS/2's (c) system editor. If you want to delete a log file, select 'Delete' from the 'Logs' menu, and select the file you would like to delete from the subsequent dialog box. USING BaR - Backing Up To backup files to floppies, you must first select a Profile from the list box in BaR's main window (which means, of course, that you must first create a Profile). Select 'Backup' from the 'Action' menu and parameters will be sent to OS/2's (c) backup utility. USING BaR - Restoring To restore files from floppies, first select a Profile from BaR's main list box and select the 'Restore' option from the 'Action' menu. You will be presented with a window in which you can specify the standard restore options. If 'Recursive' has been selected in the 'Backup Options' for the given Profile, then the 'Recursive' check box will be automatically checked in the 'Restore Options' window. Hint text appears at the bottom of the window for the various options, should you require it. If all you want to do is display the files on the backup diskette(s), press the 'Display' push button. If you want to restore the file(s) from the backup diskette(s), press the 'Restore' push button, and the options you have selected will be passed on to OS/2's (c) restore utility. TROUBLE SHOOTING Should you find that Profile names do not correspond to backup options, you can do one of two things. Either delete the BaR.INI file and start over, or edit the INI file manually. BaR.INI conforms to standard OS/2 (c) INI files, but the data is written to the file in ascii format, not binary. The basic structure is: BaR.INI [BaR] BaR_Dir = the directory from which BaR was launched + BaR.INI BUProfiles = abbreviated form of Profile names [BUProfiles] x_N = Profile name ('x' = abbreviated form of Profile names) x_V = Profile options ('x' = abbreviated form of Profile names) Profile options are written and read in the following order: Profile_V = Path = e.g. C:\*.* Drive = e.g. B: Log = e.g. /L:Profile.log Modified = /M Append = /A Recursive = /S Format = e.g. /F:1220 Date = e.g. /D:01-01-94 [where the numbers = mm-dd-yy] Time = e.g. /T:01:00:00 [where the numbers = hh:mm:ss] Exclude = Exclude_Yes [or Exclude_No] Log File = Log_A [or Log_O] Each option *must* be separated by a space, and non-selected options are represented by the string ''. Path, Drive, Exclude, and Log File must have a valid string, i.e. something other than ; otherwise, BaR is likely to fail. DISCLAIMER This program is supplied with no warranty whatsoever either expressed or implied. Neither its author nor Watcom International can be held directly or indirectly responsible for any loss of data or damage caused by the use or misuse of BaR Front End. All software and documentation is supplied AS IS. If you continue to use this program, you understand that you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. COPYRIGHT BaR Front End (c) 1994 Paul H. Caron OS/2 (c) IBM International VX-Rexx (c) Watcom International BaR is released as FREEWARE and not to the PUBLIC DOMAIN. In other words, you are free to use BaR as you see fit and are encouraged to upload it to BBSs and FTP sites. You are not permitted to alter BaR in any way, nor are you permitted to charge a fee for the use of this program. Distributors may collect a small fee to cover shipping, handling, and media costs, as long as that fee does not exceed the amount of US$5.00. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR If you encounter a bug or have suggestions for improvements, feel free to contact me at G9026163@mcmail.cis.McMaster.CA. This account should be active for the next year or so.