QRecall
Backup and Document Archiving for the Macintosh
The next generation of backup software.
Overview
- QRecall is a disk-to-disk document archiving system that efficiently captures multiple generations of documents for safe keeping and later retrieval.
- Items are captured in an archive, where they can be browsed or recalled. Repeatedly capturing documents creates layers in the archive. By navigating through layers, you can browse and recall any version of an item.
- QRecall's unique data analysis examines the changes to each item in detail and stores only the information that's new, making it possible to store multiple versions of millions of items using the minimum amount of disk space.
Capture Technology
- Flexible Capture · Capture a single file or an entire volume. You control how much, what, and how often items are captured.
- Unique Data Analysis · QRecall never stores duplicate data … ever. Every file's data is analyzed and compared to the data already captured in the archive. If any two blocks of data are identical, only one copy is stored. Feel free to capture a second operating system or a copy of that iTunes library. The archive will contain only a single copy of the data.
- Integrity · QRecall archives are designed for reliability and robustness. Checksums and interlocking validity tests are verified every time the archive is read to ensure that the items in an archive are undamaged and unaltered. The structure and data integrity of an archive can be verified at any time. The built-in repair command will recover all usable items from a damaged archive. Journaled database technology allows an archive to auto-repair itself after most common crashes or interruptions. Automatic re-reads of invalid data can recover items from devices exhibiting transient data transfer problems.
- Multiple Volumes, Multiple Computers · A single archive can store items from multiple volumes and volumes from multiple systems. QRecall keeps everything organized. Take full advantage of QRecall's space saving data analysis by storing multiple systems in a single archive.
- Compression · QRecall can conserve backup disk space even more by compressing archive data. By combining compression with duplicate data elimination, QRecall can utilize backup storage much more efficiently than traditional backup programs. Archive more in the same space, or just use less space.
Browsing and Recalling
- Effortless Browsing · No complicated or time consuming restore procedures. Just open an archive and start looking through your captured items.
- Layers · Each capture creates a layer; It's like an archaeological record of your files. Browse through layers to rewind time and reveal items from the past. Open, recall, or restore past items.
- Recall or Restore · Any item (file, folder, or entire volume) can be recalled with a single command. Replace your existing item with a version from the archive, or recall it to a different location. The choice is yours.
- Search · Find items quickly using the built-in search tool or via Spotlight.
- Instant Recall · Double-click to open any item in an archive. Opening up yesterday's version of your document is just a double-click away.
- Desktop Recall · Control+click on any item in the Finder to recall an earlier version, or immediately capture the item for safe keeping.
- Timelines · Timelines graphically show the history of every item in an archive. Use the timeline controls to rewind an archive to visit earlier or later versions of an item.
- Highlights · Hover the cursor over an item to highlight the layers that contain it. Hover the cursor over a layer to highlight the items it contains.
- Colorize · Tint layers to colorize the items it contains.
- Info Panel · Information drawer shows detailed information about items, layers, or an archive.
Incremental Backups
- Incremental Capture · Recapturing an item captures only the differences between the old and the new item.
- Rolling Incremental Backups · QRecall's unique layer merging facility gives you the ultimate control over how long items are kept in an archive. Keep hourly backups of recent changes alongside daily, weekly, and monthly backups of older items — all in a single archive.
- Fast Change Detection · When recapturing items, QRecall quickly scans only those folder that contain changes (Leopard only).
- Mixed Captures · You can arbitrary capture, and recapture, anything to a single archive. Capture an entire volume then recapture just a single folder. There are no restrictions on how many capture layers can be added to a single archive, or how much each layer contains.
- Captures Data, not Files · QRecall uses powerful data analysis to capture only the changes made to each file. Unlike file-based backup software, QRecall compares the data in every file to the data already in the archive and only stores the new data. When a log file, database, audio/video file, or graphics project is changed, often only a tiny fraction of the file contains new data. Traditional backup techniques duplicate the entire file, wasting gigabytes of disk space.
Automation
- Actions · Create pre-defined actions to capture items, merge layers, and perform other maintenance operations. The Actions window shows a summary what each action does, the archive it uses, its schedule, and its next execution time.
- Schedule Actions · Schedule actions to run daily, weekly, or at regular intervals.
- Disk Mount · Schedule a capture to start when a volume is mounted. Start a backup whenever you connect your backup volume. Automatically capture a copy of your USB thumb drive whenever you plug it in.
- User Log In/Out · Schedule actions to start when you log out or schedule actions to run only when you are logged in.
- Activity Monitor · Floating activity panel monitors the progress of running actions. Keep a discrete tab on QRecall actions without opening the QRecall application. Be instantly notified of any problems.
Technical Features
- Live Capture & Restore · Capture the volume you are booted from. Restore the volume you are booted from; Restore your operating system without booting from another drive.
- Hard Links · Recognizes and restore hard links.
- Metadata · Captures and restores all POSIX and HFS+ metadata.
- Extended Metadata · Captures and restores extended metadata and extended attributes.
- Access Control Lists · Captures and restores ACLs.
- Capacity · Store up to 2 terabytes of data in a single archive.
- Localized Names · Archive preserves the localized name and icon of every item.
- Universal Binary · Fully optimized for Intel™ processors.
Other Features
- Help · Complete online documentation. Built-in problem reporting.
- Integrated Log Viewer · Structured summary of QRecall activity. Control the amount of detail displayed to show a quick summary or examine the details of every event.
- Non-Admin User Friendly · All QRecall features are available to non-administrative users. QRecall does not require administrative access to install or use. Use QRecall in a lab or on shared system to backup your important documents.
- Automatic Update · QRecall will periodically check for updates. One click will download and update the program.
- Data Integrity Tools · Data integrity verify and repair tools built in.