Zero-touch Backup

Download a PDF version of this manual and FAQ.

ZtB is a backup tool aimed at home and SOHO users. It creates a backup copy of one or more given folders and it automatically updates it whenever the backup drive is connected. When the backup drive is continuously connected, it updates the backup at regular, configurable intervals. The backups are not compressed or encrypted or packaged, so you can browse the backup folder just as you would browse the original folder.

Installation

Installation is simple and straightforward with the only choice being the destination folder. The installer will also put ZtB in the startup registry entries for the current user so that it is automatically started whenever you user logs in.

Main screen

As soon as you run the application, it searches all the available drives (minus floppy, CD and network drives) for any backup projects created from this machine and runs them. It also reschedules those projects according to configuration settings.

From the main screen, you can create/edit/force-run a backup project. You can also do a one-off backup job by using ‘Backup a folder (one-time)’ button.

Projects

The project editor looks like this:

You can add as many folders as you want. The first folder you add decides the backup drive. All the subsequent target folders MUST be on the same drive. The project configuration file itself will be created on the target drive.

The project configuration file also saves a machine ID that prevents the projects created by one machine/user to be opened or used by another machine/user.

Also, since the project file is saved on the target drive, it doesn’t matter if the drive letter of the USB drive changes the next time you connect that drive. The application reorients the destination paths using the new drive letter.

Options

Set your preferences here. I believe, the sensible option is that the main window opens up (from minimized-to-system-tray state) when a backup is run, but doesn’t close the window once the backup is over (so that you can view the results of the backup session). This is the default value. The default value for scheduler is ‘run every 12 hours’.