.: autoselect - file selection tips and tricks

When you select the files you want to back up, you may get better results if you understand a few tricks of the file selection subsystem.

three basic modes

The system optimizes your selections in different ways depending on the contents of your selection:

  1. Folder/File Selection without Auto-Select
  2. Auto-Select INCLUDES and EXCLUDES
  3. Folder/File Selection with only Auto-Select EXCLUDES
Folder/File selection method involves simply Green-Checking files and folders, and excluding files and folders within that selection. This is a little time consuming, but it's the most accurate and exacting method. It allows you to select not only specific files without additional application file in the mix, but also allows you to place those specific files within a particular backup set. This method is good for backing up specific files and folders quickly.

Auto-Select INCLUDES and EXCLUDES is the most thorough method but takes the longest, and can potentially generate huge backups. This is fine if that's what you want, but it's also easy to pick up a lot of relatively unnecessary files. An option for this method is the ability to determine which file types you want to backup. Look at this extensions file to aid in determining what file types you'd like to backup.

Folder/File selection is a combination of methods 1 and 2. Methods 1 and 2 are pre-optimized before being fed into the scanning process, scanning root and sublevel folders separately to improve the speed of the process.

CHECKING THE RESULTS
It's easier to check your results interactively using the Estimator when you first set up the backup set. The Estimator displays the file that it is accessing and can often clue you, particularly, to files that you don't wish to be in the selection quickly. When you see these files, cancel the estimate, adjust the selection and rerun it. A few times through this process and most of the selection tricks will become evident.

For deep analysis of file selections, you may change the Log Level setting temporarily to VERBOSE, which will list all file selections and exclusions for files scanned. We don't recommend leaving this setting at this level as the log files generated can be huge.

INTERACTIVE SELECTIONS
While selecting files, you can use the right-click menus to easily modify your selections based on the files you see, for example, you can right-click on ABC.ZIP and select the Auto-Select exclusion of all ZIP files. You will immediately see any other ZIP files receive a Red X.

USER-TYPES Trump FILE-TYPES
Auto-select offers two method of defining filters. The File-Types are taken from the list of file types maintained by windows, and can vary based on applications installed and user modification, so cannot always be depended on from one computer to another.

User-Types are your user-defined collection of file types, by extension. User-Types take precedence over File-Types, and both can contain a list of file extensions. Normally, a Red-X TRUMPS a Green Check except with User-Types, where a Green-Checked user-type can reverse a Red-X in a File-Type for the same extension.

 

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