Word Hacks [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Hack 81 Use Word as a Windows Backup Utility

This hack introduces a freeware, hackable Word
template for building system backups.

Backups usually end up on
tomorrow's
to-do list, but now you can create quick and easy backups with a
freeware template, a great example of how you can hack Word into a
serious system administration tool.

You can download the template used
in this hack from http://www.mousetrax.com/Downloadsl#backup.
The download includes two files:

WordBackup.dot

ConfigWordBackup.cfg

To test-drive the template, create a folder on your system called
C:\Backup. Put both files in the new folder.

By default, the template creates a backup of each of the following
system folders:

Currently logged-on user's My
Documents folder

Currently logged-on user's
Templates folder

Currently logged-on user's Internet
Explorer Favorites folder

Windows Fonts folder

Currently logged-on user's
Desktop folder

The backups are created in the folder in which the
WordBackup.dot template is located; here,
it's C:\Backup.

9.3.1 Running the Hack

To begin the backup, just double-click
the
WordBackup.dot file icon. A new, blank Word
document opens, and the backup begins.

The status bar notes the backup's progress. When the
backup finishes, it launches Notepad and opens the
LogWordBackup.log file created by the template,
as shown in Figure 9-2.

Figure 9-2. The log file created by the WordBackup.dot template

Depending on the size of your hard drive and the speed of your
processor, the backup may take several minutes or more. Once it
finishes, the C:\Backup folder will contain
backup copies of all those important system folders.

The next time you need a backup, just double-click the template icon
again. Subsequent backups are much faster, since the template backs
up only files that have changed since the last backup (known as an
incremental backup).

9.3.2 Hacking the Hack

If you've got important files in folders besides the
standard system ones, or files on a network drive that should also be
backed up, you can change how the WordBackup.dot template works by
adjusting the settings in the
ConfigWordBackup.cfg file, which is just a
plain-text configuration file [Hack #67] .

To edit the ConfigWordBackup.cfg file, open it
in a standard text editor, such as Notepad. The file contains two
sections: Parameters and
Folders.

9.3.2.1 The Parameters section

Here you can use
the debug key to specify how verbose of a log file
you're looking for. A value of 0
records only the start and stop time, and a value of
4 gives you full reporting. The
ConfigWordBackup.cfg file includes details on
each level.

If you want the backup in a different folder, use the
altpath key. For example, to put the backup files
in a folder named C:\Foo\Backup, change the
altpath line to read as follows:

altpath=C:\Foo\Backup

9.3.2.2 The Folders section

In this section, you can have
the template ignore one or more of the system folders that it backs
up by default. The settings are already in the file but are commented
out. To activate any of them, remove the semicolon at the start of
the line. For example, if you want the template to ignore the
Fonts folder, remove the semicolon from the
;NoFonts line, so it reads as follows:

NoFonts

Again, the ConfigWordBackup.cfg file includes
further details.

If you want to back up folders besides the system folders, include
each folder on its own line in the Folders section, as follows:

C:\Evil\Master Plans\World Domination

The template can also back up files on a network drive using standard
Universal Naming Convention (UNC) notation, as in the following:

\\hal9000\flightplans\archive

Make sure the folders you specify in the ConfigWordBackup.cfg file actually exist on your system, or you'll encounter errors during the backup.

Greg Chapman