File selection

The appearance of the file selection depends on the selected backup mode. If "Full Backup" is selected, the file selection shows all mounted drives. On the other hand "Incremental Backup" or "Differential Backup" mode shows the list of all backup jobs. Fortunately the usage of the file selection is independent of the chosen backup mode.
A file selection is like a table. It is divide into rows and columns. The head of every column contains its respective title. The width of a column can be changed in either direction. To change the width of a column simply click on the right separation line of the column title and move the mouse until the desired width is reached.

Not available in the demo version!
The columns can be arranged in any way. To rearrange a column click on the column and simply move it horizontally to the desired position. A click on the column title selects the sort sequence. The initial click on a column title selects that column as the prefered column in the preference criterium. The column title is underlined to show which column is prefered. Following clicks on the prefered sort column alter the sort sequence (ascent/descent).

The appearance of the directory tree is defined with the following line attributes:

Kind | Text color | button | Backup mode
--- | --- | --- | ---
Backup Job | Black | No | Incremental/Differential
Drive | Blue | Yes | Full
Folder | Black | Yes | Full
File | Black | No | Full
Symlink | Black | No | Full

After the startup of SIEGFRIED BACKUP the file selection shows (depending on the backup mode) all mounted drives ("Full Backup") or all existing backups ("Incremental Backup").
The contents of the folders in lower directory levels can viewed (arrow down) by using the arrow buttons on the left side of the file selection area. A second click closes a lower level (arrow right). Lower levels are indented to the right creating the appearance of a tree for the file selection area. On the highest level are the roots (backups, drives) and the deepest levels are the leafs (files, symlinks).
To select a drive, folder or file to backup, simply highlight the line concerned with a click of the left mouse button. To remove a selection only a second click is neccessary. The selection has different effects depending on the kind of a line (backup, drive, directory, file, symlink):

| by backups, drives and directories all lower levels are included
| by symlinks and files only the correspondending line is selected markiert.

A marked line on a lower level as the root (highest level)includes all directories (up to the root) in this path in the selection. Example: the folder 'config' of the 'home' directory of the boot drive is selected. The result of this selection is that all lower levels of the 'config' folder are selected. Also, the lines 'home' and 'boot' (root, highest level) are marked as well. The selection of 'home' and 'boot' doesn't mean that all entries of these directories are selected too, but simply a hint that these directories are saved (but only the directories and not there complete contents).
These additional selections are used for better representation of the selections. If an entry of a lower level is selected and the tree on a higher level is collapsed, it's always possible to see that one or more selections are done. Collapsing and expanding the different levels doesn't alter the selections.
The method of marking the entries is important! For example, only selecting he 'home' folder or selecting all the entries of the home folder manually (one by one) bring quite different results in the backup. Selecting all entries of the 'home' folder one by one only saves the selected entries. If one or more new files are added to the 'home' folder, these files won't be saved! On the other hand, if only the 'home' folder is selected then all entries of folder would be saved when the backup starts. New files are also saved without any actualization of the selection!
The reason for this nice effect is the method of management of a selection. SIEGFRIED BACKUP doesn't create a simple file list of the marked lines, it records how the user selects/deselects the different lines. This is called selection recording!

Example: backup mode "Full Backup"

1. Selection of the 'home' folder

2. Deseletion of the 'config' folder in the 'home' folder

3. Selection of the 'settings' folder in the 'config' folder

4. Deselection of the 'mail' folder in the 'home' folder

5. Deselection of the 'news' folder in the 'home' folder

The following is SIEGFRIED BACKUP recording:

| Save all entries of the 'home' folder
| Don't save the entry 'config' incl. all subdirectories
| Save the entry 'settings' incl. all subdirectories
| Don't save the 'mail' folder incl. all subdirectories
| Don't save the 'news' folder incl. all subdirectories

When the backup job starts, the recorded list of selections is translated into a file list:

1. All entries of the 'home' folder incl. all subdirectories are added to the file list.

2. Remove the 'config' folder incl. all entries and subdirecoties from the file list.

3. Add the 'settings' folder incl. all entries and subdirectories to the file list.

4. Remove the 'mail' folder incl. all entries and subdirecoties from the file list.

5. Remove the 'news' folder incl. all entries and subdirecoties from the file list.

The created file list will be worked through by SIEGFRIED BACKUP, all entries of the list will be saved.
The selection recording of SIEGFRIED BACKUP is a powerful tool to create flexible and inteligent file lists!