How Not to be Confused by the ATI2011 main screen - or -- Getting Your Lumps
If you've used any of the prior versions of ATI2011, and maybe if you haven't, the main screen of ATI2011 can be confusing. Let's take the simplest case where you only make Full backup files.
The Main screen appears to show a list of what it calls "My Backups". But this isn't exactly a list of backup files because some backup files are lumped together in an item and the reported byte size of the files is lumped together into a single number. Ah, it is a list of Backup Tasks? Well, not exactly but that is a better way to think of them. For now, let's just call them "list items" or Items" for short.
Each Item represents a set of backup files created with the same name and same set of instructions. So for example, if you create a backup, which includes setting the conditions for the backup (file versus partition or disk backup, target location, backup file name, etc.), then after it's created it will show up on the main list as an item. If you select Backup Now on that item, another backup file will be made with the same conditions and afterwards it will be lumped with the first backup file on in that same Item, with the bytes size lumped together. In Windows Explorer each file, however will have a number appended to the end, which shows the sequence in which they were created.
But suppose among the conditions you set for a backup you include a schedule. Now if you run that Item manually, as described in the last paragraph above, it will create a backup. And each time you run it manually, the created backup file will be lumped with other(s) created manually with that Item. However, backups made by the Item on schedule instead of manually will show up as a separate Item on the My Backups screen (or will the next time you load up ATI2011) . Each time that Item creates a backup file on schedule, the scheduled backup file will be lumped in the Item with the others created the same way. But those created with the Item manually will show up as a separate Item from those created manually the next time you start ATI2011. That's right, backup files with the same name and in the same place but treated by ATI2011 as separate Items. And in Windows Explorer the number ATI appends at the end will be slightly different for the manually-created and the schedule-created backup files. For example, If the backup file name is "Data Drv", the manually created backups will, in Explorer, have the names "Data Drv1", Data Drv2" and so on and the subsequently schedule-created backup files will, in Explorer, have the names "Data Drv 11", Data Drv 12", etc. But on the ati2011 My Backups screen they will all have the same name (the appended numbers don't show) and they will be lumped together into just two Items.
I hope that makes everything clear. It gets more complicated if you include Incs and Diffs, but there isn't enough space here to go into that.
So if you're clear on basics regarding how Fulls are treated in the My Backups screen, then let's try a little more. If you connect a USB drive that has backup files and run ATI2011. ATI2011 will include those backups as Items on the My Backups screen, even if you later disconnect the USB drive. You can manually remove any Item from the My Backup by right-clicking the Item and selecting "Remove from List. Or, if you remember which USB drive you had plugged in, you can plug it in again and use those Items to make mare backups (to be lumped in the appropriate Items).
Thank you very much, Scott!
I begin to understand.
But not to accept.
This needs to be changed, IMHO!
1) It cannot be, that this - not very easy to use and to get an oversight about - list of items automatically get´s loaded with everything it may find on any of the about 20 USB drives i have.
No!
2) It is not really acceptable to seperate automatic and non-automatic backups in such a way.
I got nearly crazy about the names that appeared on my incremental and differential backups!
3) This Items realy are a bad concept - the list should contain MY list of backups, regardless *were* the files are - i should be able to change the path inside this configuration, if need is be (new path, ...). And them, it should be possible to start backups manually and via events or times (scheduled) without further confusing this item list and the filenames used.
Incremental backups are a very simple thing.
Just give the time of the last backup - then add all changes since that last backup to a new archive file.
Finished.