Filter

Key:

Field Description
Name The name of the filter.
For each of the matched files/folders under top directory Defines whether you want to include or exclude matched files into/from the backup set.
Exclude all unmatched files/folders Whether to exclude all files/folders that does not match the pattern.
Match file/folder names by It defines the filtering rules of the filter. A filtering rule can be by simple comparison or by regular expression (UNIX-style).
Existing patterns to match The pattern of the filter.
Apply this filter to all files/folders in You can select the filter to apply on all the files/folders in all the hard disk drives or on a particular folder in your computer or a network drive which has not been setup on Windows.
This share requires access credentials Whether the network drive requires access credentials to be able to connect to it. Will only be enabled once a network address is detected.
User name User name of the network drive where files and/or folders are located. Will only be enabled once 'This share requires access credentials' is checked.
Password User password of the network drive where files and/or folders are located. Will only be enabled once 'This share requires access credentials' is checked
Apply to Select if the filter will be applied to files and/or folders.

Backup Filter is a set of user defined criteria to include or exclude directories and files as backup source of a backup set.

There are some basic rules regarding backup filters:

  1. Filters are applied in creation order.
  2. Inclusion or exclusion made by filter takes precedence over backup source selections.

To set up a backup filter:

  1. Slide the switch to right hand side to turn on the filter.
  2. Click on the [+] to add a new filter, or click on a filter to modify the filter setting.

To configure a filter:

  1. Enter name of the filter.
  2. Select either to Include or Exclude files and/or folders from the filter.
  3. Option: Check 'Exclude all unmatched files/folders' check box if you want them to be excluded from the filter.
  4. Select if file/folder names will be matched by simple comparison or by regular expression.
  5. If by simple comparison, select the comparison mode [starts with], [contains] or [ends with] from the drop down box.
  6. Enter the pattern to be used for the filter. If multiple patterns will be used, keep on clicking [Add] until all the patterns are added.
  7. Select where the filter will be applied to. By default, all hard disk drives will be chosen.
  8. If 'This folder only' is chosen, click [Change] to select the local path or enter the network address. e.g. \\192.10.10.1\sharedfolder or \\central_server\sharedfolder
  9. Option: Check 'This share requires access credentials' check box if access credentials is required.
  10. If access credentials is required, enter the user name and password.
  11. Select where the filter will be applied to, e.g. 'File', 'Folder' or both 'File' and 'Folder'.
  12. Click [OK] if you want to save the setting.

To modify a filter:

  1. Select the filter.
  2. Modify the settings according to your requirement.
  3. Click [OK] to save the changes.

To delete a filter:

  1. Select the filter.
  2. On the bottom left, click the 'Delete this backup filter'.
  3. Click [Yes] to confirm deletion.

Background information

Pattern Matching

It defines the filtering rules of a filter. A filtering rule can be one of the following types:

[Starts With]
Include/Exclude all files/directories with name starting with a certain pattern.

Example:
You can use B* to match all file with name starting with a B character.

[Contains]
Include/Exclude all files/directories with name containing a certain pattern.

Example:
You can use *B* to match all files with name containing with a B character.

[Ends With]
Include / Exclude all files / directories with name ending with a certain pattern.

Example:
You can use *.doc to match all files with name ending with .doc (all Word Documents)

Regular Expression

Include/Exclude all files/directories with name matching a regular expression.

To add a new pattern, press the [Add] button in the [Pattern Matching] area.

Note: Backup filter is case sensitive.

Filter Mode - Defines whether you want to include or exclude matched files into/from the backup set. Also, for those unmatched files, you can choose to exclude (if include filter type) or include (if exclude filter type) them into/from the backup set.

*The availability of features listed above may be service provider dependent. If a feature is not available, please check with your service provider for further details and availability.

Here is a list of examples with different filter settings.

Example 1:
To backup only Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents in the document directory (e.g. C:\My Documents), setup the backup filter as follows:

Top Directory = C:\My Documents
Apply To = File (true)
Matching Type = End With
Matching Patterns = *.doc, *.xls, *.ppt
Filter Mode = Include
Exclude all others = True

Example 2:
To backup all files, excluding all *.exe, *.dll and *.tmp, in C:\Application, setup the backup filter as follows.

Top Directory = C:\Applicaitons
Apply To = File (true)
Matching Type = End With
Matching Patterns = *.exe, *.dll, *.tmp
Filter Mode = Exclude
Include all others = True

Example 3:
If C:\ was selected as backup source, to exclude all images (e.g. *.jpg and *.gif) from the backup source selection, setup the backup filter as follows.

Top Directory = C:\
Apply to = File (true)
Matching Type = End With
Matching Patterns = *.jpg, *.gif
Filter Mode = Exclude
Include all others = false
Note that the [Include all others] setting is not enabled because it is not necessary to include all other file types under C:\ into the backup set.

Example 4:
To include everything, except the log directory, under C:\Applications, setup the backup filter as follows.

Top Directory = C:\Applications
Apply To = Directory (true)
Matching Type = Regular Expression
Matching Patterns = ^log$
Filter Mode = Exclude
Include all others = True

Example 5:
To include all directories named log from the backup set files with file name starting with B and ending with *.doc under C:\My Documents, the filter backup can be setup as follows.

Top Directory = C:\My Documents
Apply To = File (true)
Matching Type = Regular Expression
Matching Patterns = ^B.*\.doc$
Filter Mode = Include
Exclude all others = True