I hope this is not too far off topic...
I am currently looking for a reliable program that creates versions of documents etc. whenever they are changed. So far, I have found 'AJC Backup', File Hamster' and 'History Explorer'. Are there any more such programs I should take into account to be able to make a proper choice?

Best regards,
Peter.

You could consider using version control, which software developers use. Writers can make use of it too, and it's free, but it requires more technical sophistication to set up than off-the-shelf software.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1846666,00.asp

http://lifehacker.com/5232049/flashbake-automates-version-control-for-nerdy-writers

http://wiki.github.com/commandline/flashbake/

I use SyncBackSE for versioning.

http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/sbse-features.html

I tend to agree with Mark, in that there are some very good file versioning systems out there which developers use.
One of the most popular, which isn't tied to a development platform, is Subversion. If you're a windows user, you would also want to install Tortoise, which will allow you to use subversion within Windows Explorer.

The nice thing about having actual repositories for your data (documents), is that you have a complete history of every change, or commit, you make. The repositories don't take up as much room as you'd think, because subversion stores the changed information, not a copy of each change (commit)

Why not simply use DropBox. It does superb file versioning and it is totally free (2GB free).

Pierre Paul Landry wrote:

Why not simply use DropBox. It does superb file versioning and it is totally free (2GB
free).

I use Dropbox and I also recommend it for light use. There are limitations however.

1) It only archives a month's worth of files. If you need versioning which goes back to files oder than that, you need to pay (its called "Pack Rat" or something like that).
2) As far as I know, you can't make notes to identify one version from another. For instance, you can't say "I did this, got this far and changed this". So you have to go through version after version until you find the one you want to revert to.

Cheers,
Tom S.

I've just come across i-Memorize (http://www.i-memorize.com/ which you might find useful. It seems to be new - I haven't seen it mentioned before on this forum.

It's a horrible website, and to download the trial you need to provide a name and e-mail address (though you can probably fake those - they don't seem to do anything with them for the download). Once installed you can run a 40 minute tutorial video which outlines the program's features, including what appears to be very extensive file versioning capabilities.

Graham

I use History Explorer, which will keep versions of any type file you wish to track. I like it myself.

For tech savvy users, TortoiseSvn is highly recommended!

Although it's designed for software developers, It's super easy to install and very usable! It's integrated into the Windows Explorer, for example, right click a versioned file and select "Show Log", you can view all previous versions and revert to any previous version. And I like the way how it filters out files that you don't want to version in a folder. And you can do project-based versioning also, but don't be afraid by the word project, a project is simply a folder that contains all documents related to a project ;)

--
Edwin Yip
Writing Outliner for Word- Turn MS Word into an full-featured Outliner!
http://WritingOutliner.com

You can view the i-Memorize video without actually installing the application, here: http://www.i-memorize.com/TrainingVideo.htm (I assume that it's the same 40 minute video!)


Graham Rhind wrote:

I've just come across i-Memorize (http://www.i-memorize.com/ which you might
find useful. It seems to be new - I haven't seen it mentioned before on this forum.


It's a horrible website, and to download the trial you need to provide a name and
e-mail address (though you can probably fake those - they don't seem to do anything
with them for the download). Once installed you can run a 40 minute tutorial video
which outlines the program's features, including what appears to be very extensive
file versioning capabilities.

Graham

Peter, Version Control Software is worthy of serious consideration if it fits your requirements. I have used several over many years including Subversion along with TortoiseSVN for the past 3 years. I've never been all that happy with SVN though and a few months back I switched to Mercurial and TortoiseHG which I feel is much better. Amongst other things SVN plops ..svn directories in every directory you put under version control. Mercurial is also a Distributed VCS which is the trend now, and you don't need a server or central repository which you do with SVN. The TortoiseHG tools are also better IMO.

I am wary of real time backup software as some can create invalid backups of files, when they are in use. Something to keep in mind. One product I can highly recommend is CrashPlan. It has a good range of options for when it backups up, how many old versions to keep etc.It does both online backups and to local drives.There unlimited plan is great value. Oops!Backup also looks promising but has some issues I'm concerned about. My evaluation continues. FYI I've looked at most backup & sync apps recently and have had trouble finding many that work well for my specific needs and have good user interfaces.

Neville, http://www.surfulater.com

Hello Neville,

and thanks for posting your view on this topic, and thanks to all the others who did.
My current backup setting is this: at least 1 image per week of the partitions where programs are installed (O&O DiskImage), synchronization of stored data to USB drive when needed, at least 1 per week (Beyond Compare), save of important data to DVD whenever 4 GB are reached.
This works fine so far; however, since I only synchronize data files, I miss the ability to have versions. There are programs like Genie Timeline, that back up files and create versions at given intervals, but I wanted something that saves a version every time a file is changed. So far, I have File Hamster running on my PC and History Explorer on my Laptop. Both do the job, with File Hamster being 1st in place for options and stability.
I will take a closer look at CrashDump, which is new to me.
(Will searching for good solutions, I also came across those backup tools that use the MBR and promise almost indefinite numbers of restore points, like RollBack Rx or Comodo TimeMachine: be warned. Programs like these will most definitely not only ruin your day...)

Best Regards,
Peter.