Excluding Files and Folders from Backups

There are several methods one can use to exclude files from a File and Folder backup set. You may want to exclude files to cut down on data usage or avoid issues the Intronis software may have in handling certain types of files. This guide will provide you with the steps to do this through the management portal.

Directions

Manually Excluding a File or Folder

This method involves excluding a file or folder in the same way you would select them to be backed up.

1. Log into the management portal and go to the Manage tab.
2. Navigate to the computer account you want to change.
3. Click on the Backup tab and hit the  button next to the backup set you want to change.
4. Go to the Select tab and uncheck any selected files or folders to exclude them – excluded items will be listed in red in the right-hand panel.
5. Hit the Update Backup Set button at the bottom to save your changes.
   

Using Wildcard Exclusions

This method involves excluding files and folders by filtering them out of the backup set with wildcard flags.

1. Log into the management portal and go to the Manage tab.
2. Navigate to the computer account you want to edit and go to the System tab.
3. Find the Wildcard Exclusions section. Here is where you will add the exclusion flags.
4. Click within the field containing the wildcard flags, type the wildcard flag, and press the Enter key to add the wildcard.
5. Clicking on the X next to a wildcard flag will delete it.
6. Press Save once you have added all wildcard exclusion flags you want.
   
   

Wildcard Exclusions Explained

Wildcard exclusions work by searching a file's path (e.g. "C:\Users\Intronis\topsecret.jpg") for matches. If part of the file path matches the wildcard exclusion, it will be excluded. Here are some examples to help you better understand how wildcard exclusions behave:

• Wildcard exclusion flags use combinations of asterisks and character strings. The character string specifies what is targeted while asterisks tell the software what to ignore. The wildcard flag *.jpg targets all files with the (.jpg) extension regardless of what the file is named or where it is located.
• If one uses the wildcard flag *\Intronis\* it will target any folder with the exact name "Intronis" regardless of where it is. Excluding a folder will exclude all of the contents of that folder. If one wanted to exclude folders that just had "Intronis" in their name, a better wildcard flag would be *\*Intronis*\*.
• One can be more selective in targeting folders by using the wildcard flag *:\Users\*. This will only exclude folders located at the root directory of a drive or partition with the exact name "Users". Also, wildcard flags with the form *\Users\Intronis\* will exclude folders with the exact name "Intronis" but only if they are in a parent folder called "Users". The wildcards *\Intronis*\* and *\*Intronis\* will only exclude folders with "Intronis" at either the beginning or the end of their name, respectively.
• To be more selective in the exclusion of files, one can add parts of the file name instead of just the file extension. The wildcard flag *secret.jpg will target all files whose name ends in "secret" and have the (.jpg) extension. Also, the wildcard flag *\topsecret.jpg will exclude all files with the exact name "topsecret" and the (.jpg) extension, regardless of where they are.
• It may be possible to exclude files based on part of the file name (using *top*.jpg or *\top*.jpg), however, if there is a folder with "top" in its name, it will also get caught up in this exclusion rule.