Chapter 3: First steps; The Preview-mode


3.1 Operating The Program

Now start the program (use the 'Manual Operation'-icon). For a detailled description of all controls see
Chapter 8 'Reference'.

There are some basic rules for operating The Backup Demon/2:
(1)  Entry fields of white background color are fields where you must / may enter something. Fields of cyan background color are merely display fields.
(2)  Many objects have a context-menu, which can be invoked by (1) clicking left mouse button on the requested item and (2) clicking right mouse button.
(3)  The small listbox at the lower edge is called the 'Status Log window'. Here you can see from time to time some messages being displayed, which are mainly informational messages, but sometimes may indicate errors.

In case the message is longer than the width of the window then you can doubleclick on that message in order to make the complete message visible.
You have started the program. Have a look at the button bar amidst the program window. The arrangement of the buttons from left to right corresponds to their sequence of usage in time. In other words: First you define (or alter) your profile, then you start GO. Then you may show the actual queue-file. At the end of the backup session you push the stop button (which will be visible only after the Go-button is pushed), after that you can start a Query. (ok, first of all you must select and connect a backup server from the list).

3.2 The Preview-Mode

Before starting the actual backup-process it may be a good advice to first take a preview of the amount of data which will be backup'd.

Simply mark the 'Preview'-checkbox and then push the 'Go'-button (a server need not neccessarily be connected for preview-mode).

Depending on the size of your local data and the directories you have specified in your profile the preview will take some time to finish. Please watch the Status-Log window, indicating the preview-process going on. When the preview has finished the list of files to be backup'd will be displayed in the main file-list. The total size of that files (in kB) is shown in the field 'Total Bkp.Size'.

Now you can start the actual backup processing by un-marking the preview-checkbox and push the 'Go'-button again.

3.3 Backup Files In Preview-Mode

It is regarded as 'normal' operation to now de-select the "Preview"-checkbox and then click on GO to let the files be backup'd in the background. However it is possible to do kind of a "quick backup" immediately from the Preview-List (Queuefile-List).

To do this you must select a range of files from the list (of course this range may comprise all files). To select a range you must click on the first line, then -click on the last line of your range. Now invoke the context-menu, click on "Backup selected files".

The selected files are now being send to the backup-server. In this case this does not happen in the Upload-Thread but directly in the foreground processing. This means that it is normal for the LEDs of the Upload-thread to be "off" and "idle".


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