Why necessary to select files/folders when creating incremental or differential backup?
This is a basic operational problem. I am still using ver. 9, but I have a feeling that nothing's changed.
For example, if I want to create an incremental backup, based on an existing Full Backup, why should I need to select any files/folders at the start. The "wizard" should commence with the options, "full, incremental, differential" (I choose incremental), followed by selecting the desired full backup, and then the task is essentially complete. Considering the way the program currently works, what happens if I have a targeted "full backup" in mind, but do not select all the files/folders that I did in that original full backup? What winds up getting backed up? Similarly, what happens if I select additional files/folders to those included in the original full backup?
Bottom line: for an incremental backup, one generally wants to retain exactly the same file/folder selections from the base full backup.
Pat, thx for responding so quickly. Yes, I am aware this functionality, and I am not suggesting to remove it. It's very powerful and convenient, in some cases, for some people. I'm merely saying that there should be a shortcut around having to select the same folders to create an incremental/differential version of a full backup, which one may have tediously constructed. When one is forced to go thru the folder-selection process, again, there's a risk of missing something. Generally, I create tasks that I run, manually, every day or two. On some PCs, I back up entire images (see attached JPG); on other PCs, I select individual files/folders. The JPG happens to depict a pair of tasks for image backup. With image backups, the problem I describe isn't so bad since I need only select the entire drive. In either case, however, one should be able to, say, right-click on a full backup task and find 2 commands that say, "Create Incremental Backup from this Full Backup" and similar for Differential. Or like I originally suggested, just have the wizard go in a different order or provide a way to opt out of always having to select files.
Does that make sense? Maybe there's already a shortcut available of which I am unaware?
OK, I see.
This concept of "adding" to an existing backup doesn't exist any longer in ATI 2011. You select the type of backup (full, differential or incremental) from the get go. So the risk of not selecting the same thing when you add disappears.
Well I'll be! You're saying that Ver. 11 works just like I proposed in my original msg. I can't imagine why the pgm wouldn't have been designed this way from the beginning; it's intuitive, and, I think, the way most people want to use a backup pgm. Pgms that I used 15 yrs ago worked this way.
I suppose the bad news is that I have to shell out another $30 for an upgrade (per PC!). I'll trial it first, of course.
Again, thanks for chiming in.
Gerry