Changes ======= This file lists changes, in reverse chronological order, as they have appeared in official releases of MRBackup. I have attempted to be thorough, but may have missed a few key items. *** Change History (new features and bug fixes) *** 02/20/91 V1.02a (5.02a shareware) Bug fix: The new keyword, suppress_empty_dirs, was not recognized when MRBackup loaded the preferences file (MRBackup.init). Sigh...I introduced underscore separators (suppress_empty_dirs) and they weren't accepted by the parser. 02/16/91 V1.02 (5.02 shareware) Enhancement: Many users have asked for the ability to suppress empty directories from the backup set. This version adds a new option button to the main window: Keep Empty Dirs / Suppress Empty Dirs. Selecting the Suppress Empty Dirs option will prevent empty directory nodes (or directory nodes in which no files are selected) from appearing in the backup set. WARNING: If you aren't sure if this is a desirable option, DON'T USE IT! If you do a backup/format/restore sequence, the suppressed directories will be lost. A new ARexx command, "KeepEmptyDirs" has been added to provide a means to set this option. 02/15/91 V1.02 (5.02 shareware) Bug fix: There was a long-standing bug related to decompression that I wasn't even aware of (major blush, here!). The purpose of the Decompression setting is to inhibit the decompression of files which were compressed with codes greater than the selected limit. This apparently never worked but has been fixed. Change: The Utilities window has undergone some radical changes. The cause of this was the need to place a new gadget in the window which would allow the user to independently control the compression code size from the Utilities window. There just wasn't room! As a result, the file information display box has been drastically reduced to display only the file name. As soon as the grumbling dies down, I'll continue. Ahem... Whenever you click on a filename in the display box, the full file information will be displayed in the Info gadget. Note that there is now only one set of file attribute bit gadgets. These are now shared between the Set Bits and Clear Bits gadgets. Some of these changes may not be popular (at first), but they will pave the way for future additional functionality in the Utilities segment. 02/12/91 V1.01b (5.01b shareware) Bug fix: "Bytes Out" counter was not properly updated. Bug fix: When restoring a backup with Decompress set to "None", MRBackup would attempt to decompress anyway. This could cause unpleasant visits from you-know-who. 02/09/91 V1.01b (5.01b shareware) Bug fix: Log file would not open unless forced open by hitting return key while Log Path gadget was selected. Backup and Restore now check condition of log file and attempt to open it if it is closed. 02/04/91 V1.01 (5.01 shareware) Bug fix: RebuildCatalog was prematurely releasing the disk/tape unit in Fast Disk mode. This prevented the backup media from being scanned! Bug fix: RebuildCatalog didn't pay heed to the STOP/PAUSE gadgets. 02/02/91 V1.01 (5.01 shareware) Bug fix: RebuildCatalog was not releasing the tape/disk unit(s). 01/21/91 V1.01 (5.01 shareware) Bug fix: Bytes In / Bytes Out discrepancy. Bug fix: Set Backup Volume gadget on Fast Disk / SCSI Tape restore. 01/10/91 Bug fix: AmigaDOS backups, error recovery. When the user selected Restart Diskette from the MRBackup error recovery requester, MRBackup would resume the backup with the previous disk sequence number, rather than the number of the volume that failed. 01/03/91 When the user elects to save the catalog to floppy, and if he/she requests that the floppy be formatted, the floppy is now formatted in NORMAL mode, regardless of the setting of the Formatting parameter. The Bytes In / Bytes Out gadgets could be confusing, since they only indicated raw data input/output. A new gadget, Overhead, has been added. This gadget displays the total number of bytes, in K, that were allocated to directory and file headers. It is quite accurate for Fast Disk and SCSI Tape backup modes and provides a reasonable approximation for AmigaDOS backups. Several error messages have been changed to make them more generic (to accommodate SCSI Tape backup mode). The word "disk" has been replaced with either "volume" or "media", as appropriate. Investigation of the "inescapable floppy disk write error" bug (which may occur during AmigaDOS backup mode) reveals that this is still a problem. When you click Cancel in the error requester that reports the disk error, AmigaDOS simply ignores your request. If you still think MRBackup is at fault, you can prove this to yourself by using the AmigaDOS COPY command, as in "COPY df0: ALL". You will note that you cannot escape from the COPY command and that no errors are reported during the copy. *** "To Z or not to Z, is THAT the question?" *** Prior to this release, files that were compressed during backup had a ".Z" suffix added to their names. Wrinkles developed when I introduced the new catalog scheme, since compressed files had a "dual identity". I have tackled the problem in a somewhat non-standard way and there will most likely be an outcry from some of you. The filename is no longer changed. Instead, I have introduced a new (non-standard) file protection bit which gets set when a file is compressed. During restore, this bit is detected and the file is automatically decompressed (assuming it passes the decompression code size and decompression filter tests). The utilities display will reveal compressed files to you by displaying this protection bit as an upper-case "C". *** KNOWN BUGS *** There are several error conditions (bad media, etc.) which MRBackup does not handle well. I'm working on these. *** READ THIS!!! *** What follows is not an MRBackup bug, but I put it here to get your attention. There IS a bug in the old file system (which MRBackup uses in AmigaDOS mode) which can be mighty annoying. In certain instances, a SYSTEM requester will pop up (on the WorkBench screen), indicating that the current floppy drive has a read/write error. You might wear out your left mouse button (or your left-Amiga and "B" keys) before the requester ever goes away. Though this may seem like an MRBackup bug, the sad truth is that MRBackup never even gets a chance to play in the error recovery game. You are dealing strictly with the filesystem handler. MRBackup disables all requesters which might result from a bad drive or logical name specification, etc., but this situation is not within MRBackup's control. I haven't checked this out under AmigaDOS 1.4, but I suspect that it's been fixed in that release. What can you do? Sometimes, persistent clicking of the Retry or Cancel gadgets in the system requester, intermixed (if you're quick enough) with clicks of MRBackup's STOP gadget, might get you out of this "deadly embrace". However, chances are you're going to have to reboot. My only possible advice: use reliable media! You shouldn't trust your backups to junk diskettes. *** PACKAGING CHANGES *** The shareware version of MRBackup is now named 'MRBackup-sw'. Also, the ARP library, 'arp.library', is no longer included with the electronic MRBackup distribution. It has been omitted in compliance with the ARP distribution policies which state that it's O.K. to redistribute the full ARP package but not portions of it. Sorry 'bout that. If you can't find the latest ARP distribution through normal channels, send me a blank disk + postage and I'll mail it to you. *** ADVERTISEMENT *** A new non-shareware version of MRBackup, MRBackup Professional, will be hitting the market soon. MRBackup Professional will have all of the capabilities of MRBackup shareware but will also include a fast-backup option and a powerful ARexx facility. Registered MRBackup shareware contributors will receive a discount when upgrading to MRBackup professional (details have not been worked out yet - stay tuned). MRBackup Professional is marketed by TTR Development, Inc., 1120 Gammon Ln. Madison, WI 53719 (608) 277-8071