Use the BlackBerry Desktop Software - Restore a Backup Job, Perform Selective Backup
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Restoring a Backup Job In the event that something happens to your BlackBerry, you can easily perform a restoration. This function will restore all information contained in the backup file you selected. For example, if you performed a full backup, you can use the file to write all of the backed up information to the BlackBerry and restore the BlackBerry to its previous working order.
The Restore feature works basically like the Backup feature. In the Backup and Restore dialog box, click the Restore button. This action takes you to a dialog box where you can browse for the backup file you want to use for the restoration, as shown in Figure 5-5. Select the file and click open. You see a transfer window, and you may see a message telling you that any current information in various databases will be replaced with the information in the backup file, as shown here. Once the restoration is complete, you are returned to the Backup and Restore dialog box, and your BlackBerry unit should now be restored and functional.
Performing a Selective Backup The Backup button on the Backup and Restore dialog box performs a full backup— everything on the BlackBerry is backed up. However, what if you only want to back up selected items, such as your e-mail or address book? The BlackBerry Desktop Manager gives you the option to back up only selected items using the Advanced button in the Backup and Restore dialog box.
If you click the Advanced button, you see a dual-pane window, shown in Figure 5-6, that lists the contents of the BlackBerry databases and the contents of your backup file on the PC (if one currently exists).
You can perform a few different actions on this window:
- Create a new backup file using the items you select.
- Replace items in a current backup file with updated items from the BlackBerry.
Figure 5-5 Choose the backup file you want to use for the restore operation.
Figure 5-6 Using the Advanced feature, you can choose what you want to back up.
- Delete or edit certain items that currently exist in a backup file.
- Perform a selective restoration.
These actions can be very helpful and important, and I’ll show you how to do each of them in the following four sections.
Create a New Backup File with Selected Items
You can easily use the Advanced window to create a new backup file that contains only the BlackBerry items that you select. This feature enables you to create a selective file, such as one that contains your e-mail and addresses. Once you have created it, you can update the file as often as you like without having to perform a full backup each time you want to back up e-mail or your address book (or any other item you select). To create a new backup file and perform a selective backup, just follow the steps presented in “How to…Back Up Selected Items to a New File.”
Tip: If you want to transfer several items at one time, select the first item, hold down the CTRL key, and then click the items in the left list, which will highlight them. Next, click the Transfer button to transfer all of the items at the same time.
How to: Backup Selected Items to a New File
To back up selected items to a new file, follow these steps:
- Ensure that the BlackBerry is connected to the PC. In the Backup
and Restore dialog box, click the Advanced button.
- In the Advanced window, click File | New to create a new backup file. Note that the left pane now appears blank and a new default backup name appears at the top left of the window.
- In the right pane of the window, select the item that you want to back up and click the arrow button pointing to the left window. The transfer takes place. You can then select another item and click the arrow button to transfer another item. As you can see here, I have already transferred my Address Book and am now transferring folders.
- When you’re done, click the File menu and click Save to accept the default name given to your new backup file. To change the name, click Save As and give the file a new name.
Update Items in a Current Backup File
Let’s say you have a full backup file but you only want to update the backup file with folders and your address book. Because of the nature of your business, you want to back up these two items every day, but you do not want to create a new selective backup file for the two items, and you do not want to create a full backup file every day. What to do?
The Desktop Manager gives you this flexibility by allowing you to replace items in a current backup file with new database files from the BlackBerry. In the same manner, you can create one backup file of selected items and then update that file over and over as necessary. Both of these features prevent you from having to create multiple backup files—you can just update the ones you have. To update items in a current backup file, follow the steps in “How to…Update Items in a Current Backup File.”
How to: Update Items in a Current Backup File
To update items in a current backup file, follow these steps:
- Ensure that the BlackBerry is connected to the PC. In the Backup and Restore dialog box, click the Advanced button.
- Click File | Open. In the browse window, locate the backup file that you want to update. Select the file, and then click Open. The file is opened in the left pane of the Advanced window.
- In the right pane, select the item that you want to update in the backup file and then click the arrow pointing to the left side of the window. This action replaces the older item in the backup file. Repeat the process as desired.
- When you’re done, click File | Save to save your updates.
Delete or Edit Items in a Backup File
As you may have noticed, the Advanced screen gives you both Delete and Edit buttons for the backup file. You can select any item in the backup file and delete it. You might wonder why you’d want to do that, but there’s a good reason. Let’s say that you want to perform a full restoration to your BlackBerry, except for one item, such as the address book. Before performing the full restoration, you can simply delete the address book item out of the backup file. When the restoration is performed, the address book on the BlackBerry will not be altered.
You can also directly edit the address book and AutoText items in the backup file from your desktop. For example, let’s say that you want to make a number of changes to the AutoText database. Rather than doing this on the BlackBerry, you can perform the action on your PC, and then just transfer the database to your BlackBerry. To edit the address book or AutoText item, just select the item and click the Edit button. A familiar window appears in which you can directly make changes to the item and save it into the backup file.
Perform a Selective Restoration
Just as you can selectively back up and update backup items, you can selectively restore items as well. Let’s say that you have a full backup file, but you only want to restore the address book on your BlackBerry. No problem—just use the Advanced window to select the address book in the backup file and then click the arrow pointing to the BlackBerry. A message appears telling you that the BlackBerry’s database for that item will be deleted and replaced with the one from the backup file. Just click Yes to continue.
Backup Options The final button in the Backup and Restore dialog box is the Options button. The Options button opens the Backup and Restore Options dialog box, shown in Figure 5-7, which allows you to schedule backups to occur automatically.
As you can see, you have a few basic options here:
- You can automatically back up the device every x days. Use the menu to select the desired number of days.
- You can choose to back up everything on the handheld, or everything except your e-mail messages and PIM data.
Simply select the options you want to use and click OK.
Figure 5-7 Choose the desired backup options.
 This chapter is from How to Do Everything with Your Blackberry, by Curt Simmons (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2004, ISBN: 0072255870). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now. |
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