There may be other folders that you want to protect that are outside of the “My Documents” folder. It is very easy to add a folder(s) to your backup set. In fact, you can even specify file types that you don’t want to backup such as temporary files or log files. Let’s take a look at two ways to add folders to your backup set.

Opening your Desktop Agent

The first thing you need to do is to open the desktop agent program. Find the program icon on your status bar and right click to get a local menu. Choose to “Open” the program or double click on the icon to open it up. There’s a quick overview of your backup status and a few buttons along the right side. Click on the “Settings” button to get a window displaying a list of all the folders that are currently protected.

Add a folder using Drag and Drop

The easiest way to add a folder is to simply drag it from Windows File Explorer and drop it into the Soonr desktop agents’ list of protected folders. You’ll see the folder appear in the list and in moments the backup will begin.

Drag and drop folders from File Explorer to the Soonr desktop agent

Choose from the Folder Tree

If you want a more visual way to do this, click on the “Manage Backups” button on the lower right of the “Settings” window and you will see a window showing the folder tree on the left and pie chart on the bottom showing your backup status. Browse your folder tree and then select the folders that you would like to backup. That’s it!

When you see a green checkmark next to the folder, this means the folder has been selected for backup. Note that all sub-folders are also included if you pick a top level folder. If the box is a solid green color, this means that there is a sub-folder selected for backup, but the folder is not selected.

Select folders and exclusions using a familiar folder tree interface

Include or Exclude File Types

At the right is an area where you can choose what types of files you want to include in your backup set. You can choose any combination of the common file types listed. By default ALL files are protected. There is also a button to “Exclude Types” of files. This is normally used for temporary files or files that change so rapidly that it wouldn’t make sense to keep backing up versions continuously. This might include database files that are never closed or log files that constantly grow in size as entries are appended to them. For most users, these file types will not be an issue since they won’t choose system folders where these kinds of files usually reside.

When you are done click “Finish”, “OK” and then close the desktop agent. Within moments the Soonr icon in your task tray will begin to pulse green to show that there is activity. You can see the progress in real-time by looking at the Backup Status. Right click on the Soonr in the status bar and choose “Backup Status” to see the details.

Check the real-time backup activity

Your files are being protected now!

In addition to these “behind the scenes” improvements, there are little things that have a big impact on how quickly you can accomplish a task. For example, you may notice that when you bring up the Manage Backups dialog in the agent there are sometimes green boxes by some of your folder names. What does this mean?

The green box indicates that there is content inside the folder selected for backup

We have made it easier to identify folder which contain folders marked for backup. Instead of clicking through each folder to figure out which of the nested folders are being backed up, you can see a clear visual indication (aka the green box). If you expand folders with a greenbox, you’ll see a check mark next to folders marked for backup. If the folders are deeper in the folder structure, you’ll continue to see the green boxes until you reach the backup selection.

If you just backup everything in your “My Documents” folder, this may have little impact. But if you have explicitly chosen your folders to back up, this small update makes it easy navigte the folder tree and spot exactly where your backed files are located. It’s like having sign posts guiding the way as you navigate your folder tree.

You can also just click on the green box to select that entire folder and its subfolders for backup.

Create a Weblink from any file or folder using the Action Menu.

The solution to this problem is the ubiquitous web link or URL (universal resource locator). Your Soonr account lets you create a public link with password protection (if needed) and it lets you set an expiration period so that your link isn’t out there forever. By sending a link instead of the entire file as an attachment, you will realize several advantages.

• Reduced bandwidth usage – especially important if you are on a mobile data connection. Not only will it be easier for you to share the file, it will also be more convenient for the recipient who can choose when to retrieve the file. When they view the file, Soonr file conversion technology will help the experience become faster and work across almost any device with a browser.
• Mail server blocking – many email system limit the size of files you can attach and will block the attachment.
• File versions – instead of attaching a new file every time you change something, you can tell users to just visit the link again for the most recent version.
• Optimizes disk space – instead of forcing your company or providers’ servers to store multiple versions of large files, you can have a common area that all the users will share. This effect is multiplied when you are forwarding files to a group of people for review in a project.

So why doesn’t everyone do this instead of attaching files to email? Well, it’s not normally a simple thing to do. You have to put the file somewhere that is always available (ftp site or 3^rd party service), generate the link, copy it to your own email and then send it out to your recipients. This is normally coupled with an email to tell people that the link is out there. There are companies that offer just this functionality, but it’s still a multiple step process and you have to jump back and forth between your email program and the service you chose. Of course there’s an easier way!

Soonr Create Link Web Service:

Soonr’s Active Backup technology keeps a recent version of all your files up in your secure account space. You can quickly “Create Link” to any file or folder in that space and then send out a message to the recipients in one step. There’s no uploading, searching for multiple services, or jumping back and forth.

Here’s how to do it from any browser.

1. Log into your account and locate the file to share.
2. In the action menu and choose the “Create Link” option.
3. Choose your optional password and expiration options.
4. See the generated link and send.

You will have the option to copy the link to the clipboard, or to send the link via Soonr. If you choose to send the link via Soonr, it’ll remain in the secure session since you don’t have to pop out to another mail application. This is especially important of you are sitting on a remote computer (friend’s laptop, internet café, public library) that may not be your primary computer.

To send the link, enter the email addresses of the recipients and then include an optional message. Once the link is sent, you will get a confirmation screen.

All the links that you have shared in this way are listed in your systems Settings tab. There will be a Public Links option on the left hand column. You can see the details of each link in the Public Links view. If you forget the password or link you can aways return to this page and see the details. This is also a handy place to re-send the link to other users or edit the link options.

Summary:

Soonr’s Active Backup technology can make sharing of large files much easier and even extend some web services to people you share with. Since Soonr will render the pages of a document, you can send Visio diagrams or videos to anyone and they can view the file or video without the need for special decoders or the program that created the file! It’ll even work on a mobile phone so that people can be connected where ever they happen to be. So start being more efficient and save time and space at the same time. Do more Soonr.