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Settings Reference

The Settings dialog controls defaults for newly created backup sets and maintenance options for the application.

General​

Controls language and application appearance. The application can follow the system theme or use a light, dark, or high-contrast mode.

Backup Strategy​

Sets the default strategy for new backups:

  • Full backup only.
  • Full backup followed by incremental backups.
  • Differential backups.

Existing backup sets keep their own settings unless you explicitly change them.

Execution Policy​

Controls when a new full backup is created after a number of change backups. This is useful for limiting long dependency chains.

Retention Policy​

Defines the maximum number of backup runs to keep. If disabled, backups are limited by available destination space. Retention is restricted for strategies where deleting a file would break the backup chain.

Backup Technology​

Controls image creation technology:

  • Used sectors.
  • Forensic.
  • Direct forensic.

Used sectors is recommended for normal backups.

Compression Method​

Controls whether compression is enabled and which compression method is used. Standard Lempel-Ziv is the recommended default. Maximum and BZIP methods can save more space but take more time.

Backup Format​

Controls the image file format:

  • O&O DiskImage format.
  • VHD.
  • VHDX.

Use O&O DiskImage format for normal backup and restore workflows.

Validation​

Controls whether backup files are checked after creation and whether validation is skipped for recovery partitions.

Report​

Controls whether reports are generated for backup, restore, and clone operations.

Backup Destinations​

Backup destinations are managed in the destination dialog. Supported types include local folders, USB drives, NAS or network shares, WebDAV, and S3-compatible storage.

File Names​

Controls default storage paths and file name templates. Placeholders can insert date, time, user name, computer name, weekday, calendar week, default path, and extension.

Exclusion​

Controls excluded files and folders. Use this for temporary files, caches, and data that should not be included in file backups.

Logging​

Enables application logging. Use this when diagnosing problems.

Advanced​

Contains support and maintenance options such as engine logging, re-reading backup information on the next start, and resetting user settings. Some advanced changes require restarting the application.