Can you backup just one folder using SuperDuper?

[MacGirl1985]

I am a freelance designer, and one client has asked me to keep a full copy of my work directory on an external drive at their office. This backup needs to copy the files without any encryption, so the files can be searched and opened without using a utility to extract. (a clone)

I do not see how to backup selecting just one folder.
(It is located in my home folder, within documents.) Would this function be a part of the registered part of the product?

I have a SeaGate Free Agent Go, (was for PC, but I formatted it for mac using the extended drive option)

Note that I use Time machine with a different external drive for my full backups.

Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!

[dnanian]

Drop me email to support and I'll provide you with some steps.

[sdsl]

I found this older thread and it describes something I'm interested in doing -- clone (and subsequently smart update) just one or two large folders to a backup drive. The reason for doing this is that the one or two large folders being cloned are so large that they are kept on separate external drives, not on the startup drive.

My understanding of the way to clone just one or two folders like this is to make a script that first "excludes all files" from the source drive and then is followed by commands in that script to copy the specific desired folders. Thus only the desired folders are "included."

Is that the right approach?

(And thank you also for your earlier answer to my question from a day ago about cloning data [non-startup] drives. One reason SuperDuper is useful in this context is the ability to smart update, which can save ~ hours each time this is done.)

[dnanian]

That's exactly the right way to do it.

[edblanton]

I take it that I exclude all files and then copy the one folder that I want. However, SD seems to be making a bootable disk. How do I avoid this?

[dnanian]

There's no need to. It doesn't do anything if there's nothing to do.

[jayladdin]

Hi there! I'm resurrecting this old thread because it seems pertinent to what I want to do: I've set up a user script that will just copy one folder to an external drive (that is already being used for other purposes). I believe I set this up correctly: created a user script using "Exclude all files.dset" but then set up a script command to just copy one folder.

I was about to execute but got nervous because it says "Smart Update will copy and erase what's needed to make (external drive) identical to your selections from Macintosh HD."

Maybe I'm misunderstanding...I don't want it to erase anything else from this external drive, obviously - I just want it to copy this one folder and leave everything else untouched.

Am I doing anything wrong here? I totally do not want to lose the info on the external HD.

Thank you!

[dnanian]

Yes, you're still copying a volume to a volume. As such, it will erase everything but that folder if you use Smart Update or Erase, then copy.

If you use Copy Newer or Copy Different it won't - but it won't "sync" the folders either: no files will be deleted from it...

Why are you doing this?

[jayladdin]

I always know I'm in trouble when someone asks, "Why are you doing this?"...

I have a couple of external hard drives. My whole computer backs up to one of them, with the exception of my music/media folder -- it's larger than what external HD #1 can handle. So I'm trying to set the music/media folder to copy to external HD #2...where other files also exist.

I think I was confused (maybe?) because Smart Update was the default option chosen? Seems like I should just choose Copy Different to ensure that this folder is copied to external HD #2 and then kept as an exact copy of this folder on a regular basis?

Thanks for the help sorting me out!

[dnanian]

I'd really strongly advise not mixing a "storage" drive ('other files on it') and a "backup" drive. You should partition the drive so your other files are on their own partition - and if they're valuable enough to protect from deletion, you should be backing them up, too...

[jayladdin]

You're right. I know you're right. Thank you for the help.

[ngc4900]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse but the OP's question of copying one folder is exactly what I want to do. I have been using SD since May 2005 but mainly for making a bootable disk. I know this is the function of SD. But I have a very large DevonThink DB in a folder in my document file on my boot drive that I would like to copy to another drive. I have a MBP that has a 2nd drive (pulled out the CDROM). The 2nd drive has a dropbox folder and this is were I want to copy the file. You may ask why not just use dropbox. I don't know the technical details but Devon seems to think that it is easy to corrupt a DevonThink DB using dropbox. I think they have a beta sync app in progress, but I don't want it use it yet until they get it right. This DB is 3 years old and my life is inside it!
Thanks
Joe

[dnanian]

Send an email to support, Joe, and I'll try to help out here.