This section is devoted to tips and tricks to help you use Buddha Backup more effectively.  Buddha Backup is both a data backup program and file/folder sync program.  It uses file/folder sync logic for both backups and file/folder sync jobs.

When you start the program for the first time you will be prompted to use Simple Mode or Advanced Mode.  You can always switch between Simple Mode and Advanced Mode as needed; you are not stuck with one or the other based on your initial choice upon running the program.  Simple Mode is intended to be used for backing up data while Advanced Mode is intended to be used for running specific file/folder sync jobs with more control over the rules by which the jobs are run.  To switch between the two modes check or uncheck Enable Advanced Mode in the Options menu.

When you set up a Simple Backup using the Simple Backup Wizard, it will be given the name Simple Job when you are in Advanced Mode.  You can always review and change the Simple Job settings by clicking the Simple Job in Advanced Mode and clicking Edit Job.   You can also rerun the Simple Wizard to change Simple Job settings by clicking Rerun Simple Backup Wizard in the Job menu.

To run jobs in Advanced Mode, click on a job to select or control-click deselect it.  To select/deselect more jobs control-click them as well.

For a simple user interface you can always set up jobs in Advanced Mode for added control then switch to Simple Mode.  When you click Run Backup in Simple Mode it will run all backup jobs you have created including the job created by the Simple Wizard and any jobs created in Advanced Mode.

The Archive Backup feature can be used to store a copy of all files ever modified or created in a specified directory.  You can then simply browse the Archive Backup directory to access any files ever backed up.  The files are given a timestamp on the end of the file name to distinguish between different versions of the same file. You can also view archived files in snapshots taken each time a job runs by clicking Browse Snapshots in the Job menu. Then double-click a folder or file and choose a directory to copy to to restore files from the snapshot.

If you run out of space on your backup media with the Archive Backup and Auto Purge features on (on by default when using the Simple Backup Wizard), Buddha Backup will automatically delete the oldest files in the archive directory to free up space. If you have Auto Purge off, you can free up space with either a full or partial reset. The full reset will erase all data in the Archive Backup directory and start over from scratch by creating a copy of all files currently in the source to the archive backup directory.  A partial reset will erase all Archive Backup data before a specified time.  Access these features in the Job menu.

The Control Job feature allows you to exercise absolute control over a backup job.  You can decide what to do with all files/folders that differ on each side of the job.  If you only want a job to only be able to run Control Jobs to avoid an automatic one-way or two-way sync from running, simply enable the Control Backups Only feature in the job edit dialog box.

You can change where Buddha Backup stores its data file containing all job data by clicking Save/Load Job List To/From New Location in the Options menu.  This way you can put the file in a location where it gets backed up for recovery at a later time if you computer crashes.

The Reverse Job feature in the Job menu can be used to restore data from a one-way backup job from destination to source.

The Recovery Mode feature in the job menu can be used to restore data from a Simple Backup job from destination to source in case of a computer crash, new Windows install, or new computer setup.

You can create backup job shortcuts to run the jobs specified in Advanced Mode. The shortcuts can be run by simply double-clicking the shortcut.  Select the job(s) to create the shortcut for then click Create Job Shortcut in the Job menu.

If you want to view which files have been backed up for any job, click View File Log in the Job menu.

If you want to verify program behavior and backup logic, view the verboselog.txt file in the program directory.  It will contain entries for all files copied in any backup job.

Simple Backup Wizard

Specify a folder or drive to backup all data to including the specified folders for the specified users and any additional folders specified (these specifications are configured in steps 2, 3, and 4).

Select the users you want to backup data for by checking the relevant boxes.  Users other than the current user will require administrative rights to back up; the program will automatically prompt for such rights if necessary – make sure to accept the rights prompt when starting the program manually.

Select the folders you want to back up for the selected users.  The program will let you know if a folder does not exist for a user.  The program will also ask if you want to include any other folders in the simple backup in the next step.

Add any additional directories you would like to include in the simple backup.

Add any files or directories you would like to exclude from the backup to this list.  This comes in handy when you have large files that change often like email data files and you don’t want them to backup.

Archive Backup: Can be used to store a copy of all files ever modified or created in a specified directory.  You can then simply browse the Archive Backup directory to access any files ever backed up.  The files are given a timestamp on the end of the file name to distinguish between different versions of the same file. You can also view archived files in snapshots taken each time a backup runs by clicking Browse Snapshots in the Job menu. Then double-click a folder or file and choose a directory to copy to to restore files from the snapshot.

Archive Exclude Files Larger Than: Will exclude files larger than the specified size in megabytes from being backed up to the archive target directory.  This option comes in handy when dealing with large files that are modified frequently like email program data files that would quickly fill up the hard drive if used in an archive backup.

Email Status on Completion: Emails the backup error status and time of completion to the specified email address when the backup completes.

Set Schedule: Set a schedule for the simple backup if desired.  Specify a starting date and time and an interval to run the job at.

Run Missed Scheduled Jobs: Also specify whether or not to run missed jobs; this will run the backup if you start the program and it would have been run while the program was off.

Run After System Idle for: Also set an idle timer for the simple backup if desired.  The backup will run after the computer has been idle for the specified number of minutes.

Options Menu

Enable Advanced Mode: Turns advanced mode on or off.  Advanced mode shows all jobs on the computer with options to run/create/edit/delete the jobs.  Simple mode only has options to run/cancel all jobs without options to create/edit/delete them.

Minimize to Tray: Closes the main program window and sends it to the system tray/notification area when the user clicks the minimize button.

Close to Tray: Closes the main program window and sends it to the system tray/notification area when the user clicks the close button.

Start Minimized: Minimizes the program whenever it is started.

Start with Windows: Starts the program when Windows starts using the Windows Task Scheduler feature.

System Tray Notifications: Turns system tray/notification area notifications on or off.  These are used to communicate backup job status when the main window is not active.

Sounds: Turns program sounds on or off.  These are used to alert you to backup job status changes.

Save/Load Job List To/From New Location: Allows you to specify where the program stores its backup jobs list data.  This can be useful to put it in a backed up folder to ease migration to a new computer or a reinstall of Windows.

Scaling Mode: Scale the program graphical interface to the same scaling factor set in Windows.

Job Options Menu

Browse Snapshots: Allows user to browse archived files contained in snapshots taken at the time of each backup. User can restore files to a specified folder by double clicking folders or files.

Reverse Backup Job: Runs a one-way job in reverse; this is useful when you migrate to a new computer, reinstall Windows, or restore your computer’s state from an image backup and want to copy the data from the previous backup to your computer’s new state.

Full Reset Archive State for Job: Resets the archive directory by deleting all data in the archive directory.  Then copies all the current data from the target or right directory to the Archive Target directory to make sure you have copies of all current files in the archive directory.  This can be used to free up space when the archive directory becomes large or to clean up the directory if it becomes too cluttered with old files.

Partial Reset Archive State for Job: Asks for a date and time then deletes all files older than that date and time from the job archive directory.  Then copies all the current data from the target or right directory to the Archive Target directory to make sure you have copies of all current files in the archive directory.  This can be used to free up space when the archive directory becomes large or to clean up the directory if it becomes too cluttered with old files.

Rerun Simple Backup Wizard: Reruns the simple backup wizard which is helpful to set up a single backup job to backup all data on a computer from the various user directories (documents, desktop, pictures, etc.) from the various users on the computer and also any additional specified directories.

Enter Recovery Mode: Starts recovery mode. Recovery Mode will allow you to recover data from a previous simple backup and restore it to the current Windows install.  Use this when setting up a new computer or a new Windows install to transfer data to the new setup.

Create Job Shortcut:  Allows you to create a shortcut in a specified folder that can be run by double-clicking and will automatically start the specified backup jobs without having to start them manually from the program interface.

View Log: Displays the program log in a separate window.  You can then see the backup history, program activity, as well as any errors that have occurred during any backups.  It is identical to the status log box but keeps a record of previous sessions’ activities as well.

View File Log: Displays files backed up by any jobs run in the program organized according to date and time of backup.

View Job Log: Displays job completion information including job name, backup date/time, the number of new files backed up, the size of new files backed up, total files backed up, the total backup size, and whether or not errors occurred.

Control Screen

Color/Font Meaning: Green means copy the file/folder to the other side, red means delete, and cyan means ignore.  In color blind mode bold means copy, italics means delete, and normal font means ignore.

Start Backup: Starts the backup and performs the requested operations.

Show Dates: Shows/hides the display of dates.

Show Sizes: Shows/hides the display of sizes.

Color Blind Mode: See Color/Font Meaning above.

Get Help: Provides a description of how to use the Control Job feature.

Job Create/Edit Screen

Job Name: A name for your backup job.

Source or Left: The source of a one-way file syncing/backup job or the left side of a two-way syncing job.

Target or Right: The target of a one-way file syncing/backup job or the right side of a two-way syncing job.

Archive Target: The location to store archive backup data (details below under section Archive Backup).

Mirror Deletions: Deletes files and folders from the Target directory that are not present in the source directory in a one-way file replicating/backup job.

Use Recycle Bin: Sends deleted files to the recycle bin instead of deleting.

Two-Way: Creates a two-way file syncing job instead of a one-way file syncing/backup job.  New files and directories and newer dated files will be copied from their side to the other.

Control Backups Only: Restricts the job to only be run using the Control Job feature. Useful if you always want absolute control over what’s synced. If you run backups using the Backup All Jobs or Backup Selected Jobs buttons the job will be excluded and not run.  It will also be excluded from job shortcuts and reverse jobs.

Archive Backup: Can be used to store a copy of all files ever modified or created in a specified directory. You can then simply browse the Archive Backup directory to access any files ever backed up. The files are given a timestamp on the end of the file name to distinguish between different versions of the same file. You can also view archived files in snapshots taken each time a backup runs by clicking Browse Snapshots in the Job menu. Then double-click a folder or file and choose a directory to copy to to restore files from the snapshot.

Auto Purge: Automatically removes old archived files from the archive directory to make room for new ones when you run out of space on the target drive.

Archive Exclude Files Larger Than: Excludes files larger than the specified size in megabytes from being backed up to the archive target directory. Comes in handy when dealing with large files that are modified frequently like email program data files that would quickly fill up the hard drive if used in an archive backup.

Exclude Files Larger Than: Specifies a size for files to be excluded; files larger than the specified size in megabytes will be ignored from the backup.

Use Volume Shadow Copy Service: Uses the Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service feature for the backup job. This allows us to backup files that are locked or in an inconsistent state at the time of backup.

Set Schedule: Enables a schedule for the backup job. Specify a starting date and time and an interval to run the job at. The interval tells the program how much time to wait to run the backup job after the starting date and time.

Run Missed Schedules Jobs: Runs the job when the program is started if a scheduled backup is missed because the program was off during a scheduled backup.

Run After System Idle for: Enables an idle timer for the backup job. The job will run after the computer has been idle for the specified number of minutes.

Email Status on Completion: Emails the job error status and time of completion to the specified email address when the job completes.

Keep This Many Full Backups: Does a full backup every time the job runs and puts the backup in a subfolder of the target folder with the date/time as the name of the subfolder. Useful for big backups like email program files for which archive backup would not work well and you want to have multiple copies of the data.

Extensions to Exclude or Include: Specifies file extensions to exclude or include. Type the extension in the box labeled .ext and click Add Extension to add an extension. Select an extension and click Remove Extension to remove an extension. The exclude and include options are mutually exclusive; you can only either exclude extensions or include extensions. The include option will only include files with the specified extensions for the backup job; files with unspecified extensions will be ignored. The exclude option will exclude files with the specified extensions from the job.

Files and Dirs to Exclude: Specifies files and directories to exclude from the backup job. Click Add File to open a dialog to specify a file to exclude. Click Add Dir to open a dialog to specify a directory to exclude. Select a file and click Remove File/Dir to remove it from the list.

Advanced Mode

All backup jobs are listed in the upper left white box. Click on a job to select it. Ctrl-Click to select and deselect additional jobs. Buttons to add/edit/remove jobs are above the list. Several text labels with the selected job’s information are to the right of the job list. Buttons to run the jobs are located below the job list and above the status log. The status log is located below the job run buttons. It will display any events like job start/finish times and error information. The progress meters show the progress of the current backup for the current file, folder, job, and all jobs currently being backed up. Below the progress meters are labels for time elapsed, time remaining, current speed, and average speed.

Backup All Jobs: Runs all jobs.

Backup Selected Jobs: Runs only those jobs that are currently highlighted in the job list box.

Cancel Backups: Will cancel the currently running jobs.

Control Job: Allows the user to manually control what happens in a backup. Scans both the source and target directories in a one-way backup and the left and right directories in a two-way backup, and then presents a window showing files/folders from one side only and files on both sides with different modified dates. The user can then select what to do with those files/directories: copy to the other side, delete, or ignore.

Simple Mode

The status log is in the upper left.  It will display any events like backup start/finish times and error information. Buttons to run and cancel backups are below the status log. The progress meters show the progress of the current backup for the current file, folder, job, and all jobs currently being backed up. Below the progress meters are labels for time elapsed, time remaining, current speed, and average speed.

Run Backup: Will backup all jobs including both simple backup jobs created from the simple wizard and any jobs created in advanced mode.

Cancel Backup: Will cancel the backup of all jobs currently running.