Do open files get backed up?

[cavenewt]

This may be a dumb question. But I have looked in the FAQ and the manual with no result.

I have used Retrospect a lot in the past, and when document files were left open, they didn't get backed up (Retro would include an error in the log, though.)

What about SuperDuper? Should I always make sure all programs are quit, or will it back up stuff that's in use? I could look on my backup to see, but I'd like to get the official word.

Thanks

--Colleen

[dnanian]

In general, we suggest you quit as many programs as you can. But, for the most part, applications don't leave their files "open" under OSX.

There are exceptions: for example, Microsoft Entourage leaves its large database open, so I always suggest quitting that. But, otherwise, there's little trouble backing up "open" things, because they're often not "really" open, or -- rather -- being written.

(If there is a problem, though, we'll issue an error.)

Hope that helps!

[gryphonent]

I was using Synchronize Pro before and remember that it always copied open files... it is one of the app’s most touted features and because the copied files are shown while the process is happening I saw many times a 700MB+ Entourage database being copied when the program was actually running. How is this possible?

[dnanian]

It's quite possible: you open it, and copy it. The question is, in the end, whether the data in the database is legitimate...