SolarSys Disk Shadow - release information

Notebook Shadow and Disk Shadow Release Information

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Version 7.21, released January 2003

Notebook Shadow and Disk Shadow have been upgraded to version 7.21.
Releases since version 7.0 include minor improvements and bug fixes.

Version 7.0, released 22nd February 2002

Notebook Shadow and Disk Shadow have been upgraded to version 7.0. This latest version has been posted to our Web site and we recommend that you download a copy and install it on all of your licensed PCs. The new features are listed below.

Remember both Notebook and Disk Shadow come with FREE life time maintenance so there is never a charge for upgrading. Always ensure that your existing version is not running when you install the new version. You need to close Shadow by right clicking on the system tray icon and selecting close.

You should NOT uninstall your existing version but install on top of it to ensure all of your settings and license information are preserved.

Both Notebook Shadow and Disk Shadow now operate on Windows XP.

The new features in version 7.0 are

Extensive improvements to allow wild card in the folder spec required for Windows XP eg: C:\Documents and Settings\*\My Documents\*.*
Added support for XP Themes but only active on non W9x PCs
Added source vs destination file comparison to right button menus if Beyond Compare or WinDiff software installed
Added Day of month feature to /w parameter
Added a tolerance to allow the source and destination dates to be slightly different. They can be a second or so different due to granularity in the time date stamp of different Operating Systems.
Enter the following in the shadow.ini file:
[Shadow]
DateChangeTolerance=2
Added feature to open folder in explorer using the right click popup menus
Add shadow.ini file setting Close=-1 which will prevent Shadow from being closed using the tray menu.
Enter the following in the shadow.ini file:
[Shadow]
Close=1 : Close X enabled
Close=0 : Close X disabled but app can be closed using the tray popup and the task bar button popup
Close=-1 : Close X disabled app can't be closd using the tray popup and the task bar button is hidden
Added language translation feature and a French translation file
Added TimerAlwaysOn shadow.ini file feature to prevent the timer from switching off
Enter the following in the shadow.ini file:
[Shadow]
TimerAlwaysOn=1
Added shadow.ini file setting to remove the tray icon making Shadow invisible.
Enter the following in the shadow.ini file:
[Form]
TrayIcon=0

If you have any comments or suggestions please do let us know by sending a message to David Taylor, Technical Director, SolarSys Limited.

Version 6.9, released 12th February 2001

Notebook Shadow and Disk Shadow have been upgraded to version 6.9. This latest version has been posted to our Web site and we recommend that you download a copy and install it on all of your licensed PCs. The new features are listed below.

You should NOT uninstall your existing version but install on top of it to ensure all of your settings and license information are preserved.

Both Notebook Shadow and Disk Shadow are Year 2000 and Windows 2000 compliant.

The new features in version 6.9 are

Improved file saving functions are now compatible with compressed Windows 2000 folders and UNIX servers.
Now allows the backup of files starting with ~ providing they are specified in the spec line eg: c:\My documents\~*
A bug in the construction of the default shadow folder for \\notation spec lines has been fixed. For example, if the default is C:\Shadow it previously created shadow folders such as C:\ShadowMy Documents instead of C:\Shadow\My Documents

If you have any comments or suggestions please do let us know by sending a message to David Taylor, Technical Director, SolarSys Limited.

Version 6.8, released 11th October 2000

Notebook Shadow and Disk Shadow have been upgraded to version 6.8. This latest version has been posted to our Web site and we recommend that you download a copy and install it on all of your licensed PCs. The new features are listed below.

A particularly useful new feature allows you to compress your backup files to save disk space.

You should NOT uninstall your existing version but install on top of it to ensure all of your settings and license information are preserved.

Both Notebook Shadow and Disk Shadow are Year 2000 and Windows 2000 compliant.

The new features in version 6.8 are

WinZip compatible file compression option added. This means that you can reduce the space used for purely backup purposes, e.g on a network server. It is also useful for synchronizing files on a PC at work with a PC at home using a floppy or zip disc as you can move more data. Compression and decompression of files is handled automatically once the feature is enabled.

Note that this feature is only enabled on licensed installations.
DOS Environment Variables can now be used anywhere in the Spec and Default shadow folder by using %variable% syntax. eg. %TMP%\docs\*.* /s /d=%TMP%\shadow\docs where TMP is derived at run time based on the environment variables set at login. This means that you can standardize the backup specification for all users via their network login scripts.
Backed up files and files pending backup (i.e. files that have been prompted in the Query log) can be opened by using the right mouse button. This means that you can easily view files that may be new to you, e.g. files that have been retrieved from a common folder such as prices lists or weekly reports.
A file counter has been added to the progress status bar to display the number of files being assessed for backup.
Exclusion specifications and phrases can now be conditioned by the destination folder to allow exclusions to be more precise. For example, .exe files could be backed up to one server but excluded from another.
File Read Only, Hiden, Archive etc. attribute changes are now included in the 2 Way Identical synchronization mode.
The Backup Log can now be saved using a right click popup menu.
A problem when using NT4 SP6, which prevented the PC from shutting down, has been fixed.
The feature to prevent backing up over a remote connection (/e) has been improved for NT users.
Items in the default shadow folder dropdown can now be removed from the list using right click menu.

If you have any comments or suggestions please do let us know by sending a message to David Taylor, Technical Director, SolarSys Limited.

Version 6.7, released 11th April 2000

Notebook Shadow and Disk Shadow have been upgraded to version 6.7. This latest version has been posted to our Web site and we recommend that you download a copy and install it on all of your licensed PCs. The new features are listed below.

A particularly useful new feature provides you with full 2-way synchronization of files and folders including intelligent management of file and folder deletions and renaming. This works across two or more PCs including servers, desktop and laptop PCs. This means you can keep defined files and folder structures identical wherever you need them.

You should NOT uninstall your existing version but install on top of it to ensure all of your settings and license information are preserved.

Both Notebook Shadow and Disk Shadow are Year 2000 and Windows 2000 compliant.

The new features in version 6.7 are

You can now use Shadow to manage 1-way and 2-way full synchronization of files and folders, on any number of PCs/backup devices, to make them identical.

Includes intelligent management of file and folder deletions and renaming. Changes made on either the source or destination (on any of the PCs covered by the Shadow Specification) will be replicated automatically.

Deleted files can be stored automatically in a sub-folder for safety.

Put simply, this means that you can be sure your backup has identical files and folder structures to your working environment regardless of whether you have added new files, changed existing ones, deleted, renamed or reorganised your work.
Increase the safety of your backup using the new 'safe copy' option. This option guards against file corruption in the event of a system or network crash while your backup is taking place.

Files are first backed up to a temporary file and then renamed as appropriate if the copy was successful. This ensures that your working files are never lost.
Automatically close a running appplication before the application files are backed up. The application is restarted again automatically once the backup is complete. This is useful for applications that 'lock' their data while they are open such as email and database software.
Help forms now remember their size and position making it easier for you to get help quickly. Just hit F1 to get context sensitive help or click on the magic wand for guidance on configuring your backup.
Backup the same file to more than one destination within the same backup run. If your requirements for synchronizing data covers many PCs, servers and backup devices you will find version 6.7 performs the task more quickly that the version you are using.
You can now sort the Query list on any of the columns in the query grid. This means you can get a clearer view of your new, changed and deleted files and increases your control over your backup process.
The Shadow Log is now presented in a grid to provide you with a better record of the files that have been backed up or deleted and of the warnings that are generated if Shadow can't perform any of the tasks you have specified.
Various minor bugs have also been fixed, most of which you have probably never discovered.

If you have any comments or suggestions please do let us know by sending a message to David Taylor, Technical Director, SolarSys Limited.

Version 6.6, released 24th September 1999

Notebook Shadow and Disk Shadow have been upgraded to version 6.6. This latest version has been posted to our Web site and we recommend that you download a copy and install it on all of your licensed PCs. The new features are listed below. A particularly useful new feature allows you to prevent backups over a remote (slow) connection while automatically resuming backups when you next connect via a faster office network.

You should NOT uninstall your existing version but install on top of it to ensure all of your settings are preserved.

The new features in version 6.6 are

If you connect to your office servers using a LAN connection in your office and a remote dial-up connection when you work away from your office (e.g. over the phone line from home) you can now prevent your backup running over the remote (slower) connection but still run your backup when you connect via the (faster) LAN. This is an option that you can set against individual specification lines and operates automatically to save you remote connection time.
You can now use Shadow to fully synchronize two or more folders to make them identical, including deleting files in the destination folder that no longer exist on the source folder. This is a very useful however please use it with caution. You should not use it on specification lines that represent your actual backups or ones that specify folders that are also used by other people on a server. Experiment with it using test folders and files so that you understand how it works. Also, set the multiple file versions feature to at least 1 and Shadow will keep the most recent version of a deleted file for safety. If you set the /q switch to "Deletes" in the spec builder Shadow will query all file deletions.
There are three additional options. The first selects between Shadow's own file copy method (which displays a progress bar for large files) and Windows own file copy method (which doesn't). The second option prevents the specification validation feature from being set when you make a change to the shadow specification. The third option switches between closing and minimizing the application when you use the normal application close X.
The on-screen backup log and query log list sizes are now saved. Position the horizontal splitter where you like to see it and it will stay there.
The on-screen query list is now displayed in a grid with resizable columns.
You can prevent individual specification lines from being queried if you use the Query All Saves option on the main screen. On the specification line set the /q switch to No in the Spec Builder.
If you use the Shadow Volumes feature you can now select [All Volumes], which will display all your specification lines, and also <blank>, which will display only the lines that are not assigned to a volume. If you don't use the volumes feature and you have many specification lines then please read the help for volumes as they enable you to group specification lines together.
Individual volumes can have Run on Startup and Start Timer options set. Right click on the volume name to set the options.
You can now have multiple Default Backup Folders. This is useful if you use a removable disk drive for your backups e.g. a Zip drive. Set the default backup folder to a folder on the device drive and Shadow will automatically detect which disk you have inserted (using the volume name).
Agressive backups (backing up over a read only or newer file) are now automatically listed in the Query list with an appropriate icon to highlight that your attention is needed to decide what to do. If you use the Agressive Backup mode then your agressive backups will continue to be performed without the warning query.
The sequence used to process the specification lines has been made more logical. More accurately described specification lines will now reliably override a less accurately described line that covers the same file.
Various minor bugs have also been fixed, most of which you have probably never discovered.

If you have any comments or suggestions please do let us know by sending a message to David Taylor, Technical Director, SolarSys Limited.