[dnanian]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not entirely happy with the way scripts work, but I have to prioritize what gets done, and that particular bit was lower priority than some other things.

Originally, when we had an installer, you couldn't save scripts into Standard Scripts, because it was Read-Only. When we moved to drag-and-drop install, that changed, and not entirely for the better. But, the install is much easier.

The manual is, in general, designed to be used two different ways: as a cover-to-cover read, and by dipping into. That's why I call out the various sections on the first page, hyperlink things, and attempt to make each standalone as much as possible. Most users -- although not all -- don't need to read much more than the Backup chapter, since they use a standard script... but, as always, I improve these things every release.

The changes on the backup are due to the way Finder handles the boot volume vs. non-boot. We copy things exactly as they are: if they're not "really" hidden on the source, we don't "really" hide them on the destination. Doing otherwise would mean it's not really an accurate copy.

Our objective is not to make the "smallest" copy, but rather an accurate one. Copying caches doesn't hurt anything, and means that a full restore will have that information there for you (copying doesn't make the cached information invalid)... of ourse, since size seems to be your focus, you're welcome to handle your various caches as you'd like. Just be careful, and test your backups.

Hope that fills in some blanks -- thanks again for the feedback.