Copyright: Frank Mikalsen


Contents
Silent Partner Backup

Screensaver  2.0

Quick start guide

About The Silent Partner Backup Screensaver

Defaults property page

What to mirror property page

Uninstallation


About Silent Partner Backup Screensaver
About The Silent Partner Backup Screensaver

The Silent Partner Backup Screensaver is a utility for mirroring files on your workstation. The utility let you select directories to mirror. For each directory you can specify a set of files to include in the mirroring. You can specify any legal DOS filename including wildcards like * or ?,  for example autoexec.bat, *.doc, file??.txt and so on.

The mirrored files are placed in the configurable default directory. This directory can be overridden for each directory to mirror. The directory structure of the mirrored files will be replicated under the destination directory and the drive name of the source directory will be included as a subdirectory. Ex. if you specify files named *.INI in the C:\WINDOWS directory to be mirrored, and the destination directory is H:\BACKUP, the *.INI files will be placed in H:\BACKUP\C\WINDOWS. Both the including of the drivename and the source path is optional.

For each directory you can specify whether to include subdirectories or not in the mirroring. If subdirectories are included, Silent Partner Backup will mirror the specified files in the chosen directory and in any subdirectory to that directory.

A file is mirrored only if it is not previously mirrored or its timestamp is newer than the duplicate. The timestamp and the file attributes are preserved. The destination directory must be writeable.


Quickstart Guide

This guide will get you started in short time.

After installing Silent Partner Backup Screensaver version 2.0 on your workstation, you are ready to add the directories you want to mirror.

Open Windows Control Panel, and select the Desktop config. The Silent Partner Backup should be the selected screensaver. If it is not, select it from the list.

Push the Install button to open the Setup Property Pages.

Select the Defaults property page by clicking on the Defaults tab which is located at the top of the Property Dialog.

Enter the full path (including drive name) of  the default destination directory. You can browse for a directory by pushing the Browse... button to the right of the edit field.

Ex: A destination directory could be C:\BACKUP

Select the What to mirror property page by clicking on the tab.

Push the Add dir... button to add a directory that you want to mirror. This will bring up the directory browser that let you select a directory. You have to double-click on the directory to select it. Push the OK button in the browser dialog to add it to the list. You will see the chosen directory in the treelist in the property page.

Ex: Choose the Windows directory (often C:\WINDOWS or what you have named it)

For any file to be mirrored you must add a file or filter (filename with wildcards). Select the directory in the list. Enter the filename or filter you want mirror in the edit field below the treelist. Push the Add filter button to the right of the edit field. The file or filter will show up underneath the directory name in the treelist. If you do not add any filenames or filters, all files in the directory (and subdirectories if selected) will be included in the mirroring. This is the same as adding the filter *.*.

Ex: Add the filter *.INI.

If you want to change the options for the directory, double-click on the Options entry below the directory name in the directory list. This will expand the list of options. You can change any of the options by double-clicking on it

When you have added all the directories you want to include in the mirroring, push the OK button to save the settings. You will return to the Control Panel Desktop dialog.

To test-run the screensaver, push the Test button and keep the mouse and keyboard still. Silent Partner Backup Screensaver will clear the screen and display a What is going on window while mirroring. After the mirroring is finished, the screen is left black until the mouse is moved or any key is pushed.

Select a proper delay for Windows to wait before starting the screensaver. A value between 10 and 60 minutes is probably a good place to start. Push the OK button in the Desktop dialog to save the settings and return to the Control Panel main window. Close the Control Panel. If you do not touch the keyboard or the mouse for the specified delay, Windows will start the Silent Partner Backup Screensaver.


Defaults

Default destination directory

This is the default target directory for the mirrored files. This can be any directory local or on a network. If the directory does not exist, it will be created. You can either type a directory directly in the edit field, or you can push the Browse button to open a directory browser and select a directory.

Browse...

Displays a directory browser that let you select a directory into the Default backup directory field.

Screensaver to use

When Silent Partner Backup Screensaver is finished mirroring files, it simply blanks the screen to prevent it from being damaged. If you want to use another screensaver, just select it from the list. To set up the selected saver, push the Install... button. To test it, push the Test button.

Delay before backup starts

If you want the screensaving to start earlier than the mirroring, you can delay the file mirroring by increasing the number of minutes to wait before the mirroring starts. When Windows kicks of the screensaver, the Silent Partner Backup Screensaver will just blank the screen when. After that, it will wait for the specified number of minutes and start mirroring the files.

Dont do any mirroring

If this box is checked, Silent Partner Backup Screensaver will run through the mirroring process without actually copying the files. Actually, nothing will be written to the disk.

Show hints

If this box is checked, Silent Partner Backup Screensaver will display small hint windows, whenever the mouse is positioned over any of the controls in the setup property dialog.

OK

Push the OK button to save the settings and end the setup session.

Cancel

Push the Cancel button to abort the setup process without saving any changes.


What to mirror

Directories to mirror

This is a list of the directories that will be included in the mirroring. Each entry at the leftmost level of the tree represents a directory that will be mirrored. To include a directory in the list, push the Add dir... button. Then select a directory in the browser and click OK.

For each directory there is a set of options that can be altered. Double-click on the directory to expand it. To see the current options for a directory, double-click on the Options entry under the chosen directory. This will expand the list of options. The options available are:

Include subdirs

Include subdirectories in the mirroring process.

Include full path

The directory path of the source will be included as a subdirectory under the destination path.

Include drivename

The one letter name of the source drive will be included as a subdirectory in the destination path.

Override default dir

If this option is *YES*, the destination path will be the path specified by the DestDir option.

DestDir

If the Override default dir is *YES*, this option specifies the destination directory.

To change the options, double-click on the option you want to change. This will toggle the value. If the selected option is the DestDir, the directory browser will launch, and you will be able to select a new destination directory.

To specify which files to mirror in the selected directory, you have to add some filenames. The filenames can be any legal DOS filename, including wildcards like * and ?. To add a filename to the selected directory, enter the name in the Files and filters to add edit box at the bottom of the property page, and push the Add filter button. The new filename will appear in the directory list under the selected directory.

You can use the arrowkeys to choose an element in the treelist. Pushing the spacebar will be equal to a dobbel-click on the selected item.

Files and filters to add

If you do not want to mirror all the files in the selected directory, you can specify a list of files and filters to include in the mirroring. A filename can be any legal DOS filename, including names with wildcards like * and ?. If a filename includes wildcards, it is referred to as a filter. Write the filename or filter in the edit field and push the Add filter button to add the filter to the selected directory. The file or filter will show up under the selected directory in the treelist.

Pushing the Enter/Return key on the keyboard is equal to pushing the Add filter button.

If no filename or filter is specified for a directory, all files in the directory will be mirrored. This is equal to adding the filter *.*.

The input focus will remain on the edit field after the filename or filter is added to the directory, making it easier to add new filenames or filters.

Add dir...

This opens a directory browser that let you select a directory to include in the mirroring process (see the sections above for details).

Remove

To remove a directory from the list of directories to mirror, select the directory and push the Remove button. Before the directory is removed, you will be asked to confirm the operation.

To remove a filter from a directory entry, select the filter and push the Remove button. Before the filter is removed, you will be asked to confirm the operation.

Pushing the Delete key on the keyboard is equal to pushing the Remove button.


Uninstall the Screensaver
Uninstallation

To uninstall Silent Partner Backup Screensaver from your system, simply remove the files SPBACKUP.SCR, SPBACKUP.INI and SPBACKUP.HLP from the system. Unless the installation is done on a Windows NT operating system, all the files are located in the Windows directory. If the operating system is Windows NT, the SPBACKUP.SCR is located in the \System32 directory under the Windows directory.

Remember to select another screensaver in the Windows Control Panel.