Compression Assistant Tool

Now available is a FREE tool to assist in working with FileBack PC's compressed .FBCB files, the FileBack PC Compression Assistant.  With it you can:

• Compress existing backup files
• Decompress compressed backup files
• Decompress compressed backup files to an alternate location (restore)
• Recompress to a different compression level
• Verify validity of compressed backup files
• Compress an existing folder to save space using the FBCB format

Note: The FileBack PC Compression Assistant Tool only supports compressed files created by FileBack PC 4.x.  It does not support encrypted backup files.

Where to get it

The FileBack PC Compression Assistant is available for free download from our download page.

Description of Controls

Directory to Process - Select the directory containing the existing files you wish to compress, recompress, or decompress.  Do not select the directory containing your live data and the "Original" option for "Destination Directory" unless you want to replace your existing files.

File Listing - A listing of files in the directory selected under "Directory to Process" including current compression mode and statistics.

Files Matching - Wildcard specification of the files to process.  Separate multiple specifications with spaces, and enclose any specification requiring a space in "double quotations."  As with FileBack PC, extended wildcards are supported.

Compression Level - Specify the desired compression level for the files.  "Verify only" does not change the state of the files, but rather just validates that existing compressed files are not corrupted.

Recompression Mode - Specify the way to handle existing compressed files.  "Always" recompresses all files using the mode specified.  "Compressed" only processes files which are already compressed.  "Use smallest" will attempt to recompress the file using the selected mode, and keep the smaller of the two files.  "Never" skips files which are already compressed, compressing only those files which are not currently compressed.

System Priority - Specify the system-wide priority.  In "Normal" mode the Compression Assistant is given the same priority as other applications.   "High" means the utility is given higher priority than other applications.   "Idle" means that the utility is only given time on the CPU when no other applications are occupying its resources.

Process - "Selected Files" will only process the files highlighted in the File Listing.  "All Subdirectories" will process all files in the selected directory and all directories below it.

Destination Directory - "Original" keeps the files in their original location, replacing as necessary with the new compression level mode.  "Alternate" copies the files to a new location, storing the files using the new compression level.  If "Alternate" is selected you won't be asked for the destination folder until you click "Start" to begin the operation.

Verify Mode - "Delete Bad Files" will delete files which fail the verification check.  "Log Only" builds a list of files and their verification status, and stores these results in a file.

Depth-First Dir Scan - By default the Compression Assistant will scan all first-level directories, then second-level directories, and so on, improving the accuracy of the progress bar.  Enabling the "Depth-First Dir Scan" option scans directories in a order which may seem to make more logical sense, at the expense of accuracy of the progress bar.

Start - Click to begin the compression / recompression / decompression operation.  Status will be shown under "Operation Status"