Author Topic: FileHamster - auto incremental file monitor/backup as you work - and free! (Read 50,109 times)

nudone · « **on:** February 16, 2007, 08:56 AM »

saw this over on 'shell extension city' this morning: FileHamster - just the right tool to let you save different versions of files you are working on. so i know it would be great for 'digital artists' but i assume it will also be very useful for coders.

Quote

FileHamster provides real-time backup and archiving of your files while you work. It enables you to monitor specific files on your hard drive and automatically create incremental backups whenever those files are modified. It also enables you to store notes about the changes that have been made, allowing you to quickly locate a specific revision or provide a detailed account of the work you've done on a project.

http://www.mogware.com/FileHamster/

from

nudone · « **Reply #1 on:** February 16, 2007, 09:11 AM »

oh dear. i'm either not working in a conventional manner or FileHamster just doesn't do what it claims.

i can't get it to successfully make incremental backups of a simple jpeg file - the program prefers to delete the previous backup instead. quite useless.

maybe there is some conflict on my machine?

CORRECTION:
it appears that making edits using ACDSee seems to confuse FileHamster - if i make the same edits with Photoshop then the program works as expected.

so, i'd advise that you do a few test runs with the files and programs you'll be using before trusting FileHamster completely. other than that i thinks it's great.

tomos · « **Reply #2 on:** February 16, 2007, 09:48 AM »

looks interesting nudone

even though the link is looks correct
it loads as: http:///
instead of
http://www.mogware.com/filehamster/

(in FF & IE - or is it my funny machine again?)

nudone · « **Reply #3 on:** February 16, 2007, 10:08 AM »

Quote from: tomos on February 16, 2007, 09:48 AM

looks interesting nudone

even though the link is looks correct
it loads as: http:///
instead of
http://www.mogware.com/filehamster/

(in FF & IE - or is it my funny machine again?)

the link should work now.

urlwolf · « **Reply #4 on:** February 16, 2007, 03:26 PM »

Does this work with office docs?
Has anyone tried? It looks a bit obstructive with the popups...
Is there a similar freeware tool for say word docs?

nudone · « **Reply #5 on:** February 16, 2007, 04:08 PM »

it monitors any file type - i've tried txt files but not doc.

and you can turn the popups off. or most of them depending how you've told it monitor things.

iphigenie · « **Reply #6 on:** February 16, 2007, 06:57 PM »

i like the extension to connect it to diff tool to compare two versions

nudone · « **Reply #7 on:** February 16, 2007, 07:00 PM »

Quote from: iphigenie on February 16, 2007, 06:57 PM

i like the extension to connect it to diff tool to compare two versions

i didn't know that.

Mogware Support · « **Reply #8 on:** February 16, 2007, 07:01 PM »

Quote from: nudone on February 16, 2007, 09:11 AM

it appears that making edits using ACDSee seems to confuse FileHamster - if i make the same edits with Photoshop then the program works as expected.

We just tested this and found that ACDSee listed the 'All Users\My Documents\My Pictures' rather than the correct 'My User\My Documents\My Pictures'. FileHamster was able to properly detect the image change once we added an additional watch on the 'All Users\My Documents' folder.

We are making a bit of an assumption that you experienced the same thing we did. If this wasn't the problem, please let us know the version of ACDSee you are using so we can investigate this on our end.

Thanks,
JohnRen

Mogware Support · « **Reply #9 on:** February 16, 2007, 07:10 PM »

Quote from: urlwolf on February 16, 2007, 03:26 PM

Does this work with office docs?
Has anyone tried? It looks a bit obstructive with the popups...
Is there a similar freeware tool for say word docs?

We did spend a lot of time making sure it works with a vast variety of products. In fact, some of them were pretty tricky because they would potentially create several temp files during the saving process. Please let us know if you find an application that doesn't work.

We have some nice inheritable options that can be set on an entire library, watch or individual document that alters FileHamster’s detection behaviors. If we don't automatically support the saving schema, you should be able to tweak these settings enough to get it to work properly.

Thanks,
JohnRen

nudone · « **Reply #10 on:** February 16, 2007, 07:18 PM »

thank you very much for the replies here, Mogware Support (JohnRen).

i apologise for not bringing the ACDSee issue to you attention but it was something i didn't mind working around so kind of forgot about it.

if i encounter anything else i'll be sure to get in touch.

thanks for a great free util tool.

nontroppo · « **Reply #11 on:** February 18, 2007, 09:06 PM »

FileHamster is absolutely excellent

I don't want to go to the trouble of setting up a CVS, but do want automatic versioning without changing file names manually. FileHamster fits the bill.

The configuration options are great, allowing timed versioning (so you can accumulate 10 minutes worth of multiple saves in one so not having too many tiny version changes), and the settings cascade for excellent control.

Thank you mogware!!!

urlwolf · « **Reply #12 on:** February 18, 2007, 09:33 PM »

Quote from: nontroppo on February 18, 2007, 09:06 PM

The configuration options are great, allowing timed versioning (so you can accumulate 10 minutes worth of multiple saves in one so not having too many tiny version changes), and the settings cascade for excellent control.

Thank you mogware!!!

How do you get the timed versioning set up? It's not under options...
Thanks

Nighted · « **Reply #13 on:** February 19, 2007, 02:28 AM »

Thanks nudone, this look handy.

Mogware Support · « **Reply #14 on:** February 19, 2007, 06:06 AM »

Quote from: urlwolf on February 18, 2007, 09:33 PM

How do you get the timed versioning set up? It's not under options...
Thanks

The 'TimeDelayBetweenRevisions' option allows you to specify how much time you want between each revision. If you frequently save, FileHamster will not pull the next revision until the specified time has elapsed from the last revision.

NOTE: You can also manually trigger all pending revisions with the 'Trigger Delayed Revisions' option in the content menu of FileHamster in the task bar. This is helpful when you have a longer delay yet want to capture the current version of the file.

justice · « **Reply #15 on:** February 19, 2007, 03:37 PM »

It even asked me for commentary when a coworker changed a few files.

I really like this software and I think it should be running on everyone's desktop, for example it can track My Documents and have revisions for when you accidentily overwrite or forget to save your budget. DMS on the desktop. People that lose information or documents is our number 1 most frequent question. Would even allow you to recover if your USB stick breaks.

iphigenie · « **Reply #16 on:** February 19, 2007, 03:56 PM »

12 ghosts has a wonderful auto backup which saved changes to files and kept
* 1 a minute for the last hour
* 1 an hour for the last day
* 1 a day for the last month
* 1 a month for the year

It didnt quite work smoothly for me (the resident program took a bit too many resources) but i think that is a great way to do it - as a complement for any manual "key stage" versioning you might want to do.

I always look at "auto backup" tools hoping one will have a scheme like that.

urlwolf · « **Reply #17 on:** February 19, 2007, 11:23 PM »

I like this program! time-based versioning is nice.
Although, i have a small problem. Even when minimized to tray, it shows up in my "alt-tab" icon list. Why is that? no other minimized to tray app does this. (Well, now that I think of it tictactitle by Skrommel does too!)....

Mogware Support · « **Reply #18 on:** February 20, 2007, 03:31 AM »

Quote from: iphigenie on February 19, 2007, 03:56 PM

12 ghosts has a wonderful auto backup which saved changes to files and kept
* 1 a minute for the last hour
* 1 an hour for the last day
* 1 a day for the last month
* 1 a month for the year

I always look at "auto backup" tools hoping one will have a scheme like that.

Interesting idea...This could easily be done via a plug-in. I will add it to our potential plug-in list for future consideration.

Dr-Leech · « **Reply #19 on:** February 23, 2007, 07:44 PM »

Great! Nice tool!

I was looking for something like this long time.
I also want to know if it has network support, I mean, to save the versions in other computers in the network.

And is possible to setup that instead of versioning each time I save the file, I can push the program to capture it? I mean, like a CVS or something but locally and faster. If not, exists some other program that does that?

Mogware Support · « **Reply #20 on:** February 23, 2007, 08:16 PM »

Quote from: Dr-Leech on February 23, 2007, 07:44 PM

I also want to know if it has network support, I mean, to save the versions in other computers in the network.

Each Backup Library has its own storage location which can be anywhere including a mapped networked drive. You can add additional Backup Libraries from the File menu.

Quote from: Dr-Leech on February 23, 2007, 07:44 PM

And is possible to setup that instead of versioning each time I save the file, I can push the program to capture it? I mean, like a CVS or something but locally and faster. If not, exists some other program that does that?

Well, we never actually thought of using it like that. Although, I actually think this could be a pretty easy plug-in to write. All the functionality is there, it would just need to be bundled differently. We are getting ready to release a plug-in SDK where you could create your own FileHamster plug-ins so check back at our website to see when it becomes available.

Dr-Leech · « **Reply #21 on:** February 23, 2007, 08:26 PM »

Nice, thank you!

Nighted · « **Reply #22 on:** February 23, 2007, 10:04 PM »

Hey Mogware Support, thanks for this program. It didn't take long to find something to use it for.

nontroppo · « **Reply #23 on:** March 16, 2007, 08:22 PM »

Just a heads up; FH has had an update that fixed the few annoying issues it had and added a cool scripting plugin.

This is one of the most *useful* and elegant utilities I've come across in ages. Personal versioning is so important to so many people if they understood the benefits...

tomos · « **Reply #24 on:** October 14, 2007, 09:48 PM »

Quote from: http://www.mogware.com/filehamster/upgrade/index.html

Upgrade to FileHamster +plus only $19.95!
New Features Include:

* WatchTree filters
* WatchTree enhancements
* Enhanced network and removable drive support
* Offline libraries
* Customized OpenWith menu
* Full UNC support
* Adjust SubFolder properties within a watch
* And ALL future features and enhancements...

Unfortunately there's no more details at the mo

Actually,
I'm a bit pissed off - I'm just after buying the "Report Window Plugin" which I thought would create an exportable report, unfortunately it doesnt [seem to].
I mean, I think this is an absolutely wonderful programme -
I'd recommend it to anyone, paid or free

but,
I have this niggling..
"okay 10$ for plugin, 20$ for plus version, if I request x or y capability is it going to be another 10$ plugin & another &... "

sorry for being so negative but there you go...