Preferences - Retention Panel

Use the Retention panel after you have deleted files from your computer AND you want any backup copies corresponding to those deleted files removed from the Backup Server. You can use the Retention dialog to reclaim space at the Backup Server when it is holding backups of files that you know you do not want. From the Retention panel, you can manually remove deleted files from the Backup Server and you can setup retention rules that will automatically remove deleted files according to your predefined instructions.  

Keep in mind that Retention is a control concept that is available from the Backup Client software only. Each Backup Client can set their own retention policy based on their individual needs. 

To manually remove your Client's deleted files from the Backup Server

  1. Run the Backup Client.
  2. Select Tools>Preferences>Retention.
  3. Press the View Deleted Files button. This creates a list of files that satisfy the following two (2) conditions: files that have been deleted at your local computer and that have been previously backed up. When the list appears, you can select the appropriate files to delete.
  4. Press the Remove Selected Files Now button to remove the designated files from the Backup Server.
  5. Optional: If you would like to automate this task you can press the Create Retention Rule Based on Selections button. When you press this button, a new rule is generated based on the files that you have selected.

Automating the Removal of Deleted Files from the Backup Server

If you or your computer frequently generates files that are included in a backup set, but then deleted, you can define a retention rule that will keep the backup copy at the Backup Server a certain amount of time after the deletion. 

If more than one retention rule covers a file, the rule with the shortest retention time prevails. For example, you may have a long retention rule covering all the files on your computer and have a short retention of very specific files. You may define one rule that retains all deleted files on drive C: for 6 months, and a second rule that retains files in c:\temp for just 1 week. Any file deleted in the c:\temp folder will be purged from the server 1 week after it is deleted from the folder. All other files on the C: drive will be removed 6 months after they are deleted.

To create or edit a retention rule

  1. Run the Backup Client.

  2. Select Tools>Preferences>Retention.

  3. From the Retention panel, press New Rule.

  4. If you would like to create a retention rule based on file location, use the first option, Remove deleted files based on their location. Select the appropriate locations by folder. When you select a folder to be included in a retention rule, all files that are deleted under the selected folders will be removed from the Backup Server after a defined number of days.

  5. If you would like to create a retention rule based on file extension, use the second option, Remove deleted files based on wildcards. For example, if you would like all deleted temp files removed from the Backup Server, input *.tmp.

  6. Specify the retention period by entering the number of days that you would like the deleted files retained on the Backup Server. 

  7. Press OK to save your retention rule.