Introduction / Tips and Tricks
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.