Hi folks,
I wanted to share a method for offsite backups I use every day that can be used to back up any file or folder on your computer. I use it to backup my entire Ashita (or Windower) folder, ashitacast XML (gearswap) files, code, spreadsheets, etc. etc.
1.) I use Dropbox and pay $120/year for 2TB of storage. (I also use this for photos/videos from my phone, etc.
2.) Dropbox will synchronize files/folders to/from your machine or whatever device has Dropbox installed and signed into your account. (You can enable selective sync to choose what folders get synchronized to/from your machine.
Pre-requisite Info
Dropbox syncs any files/folders underneath it. However, your important files can be installed anywhere on your computer. The way to get around this is to create a junction. A junction is a hard-linked folder that all point to the same location on your hard disk.
Example folders you may want to backup:
C:\Windower
C:\Ashita
C:\Program Files (x86)\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\USER (This is all of your characters' macros, markers and settings)
Let's assume Dropbox is installed and you're logged in to your Dropbox account. Let's say your Dropbox folder is: C:\Users\Felgar\Dropbox. To start the syncing process, you'll need to open a command prompt:
Start
1.) Open up your command prompt, by Start->Run, type cmd and right-click "Run as Administrator"
2.) Run the following commands, but change to match your folders:
```
cd C:\Users\Felgar\Dropbox
mkdir Junctions
mklink /j C:\Users\Felgar\Dropbox\Junctions\Windower C:\Windower
mklink /j C:\Users\Felgar\Dropbox\Junctions\Ashita C:\Ashita
mklink /j C:\Users\Felgar\Dropbox\Junctions\USER "C:\Program Files (x86)\PlayOnline\SquareEnix\FINAL FANTASY XI\USER"
```
And that's it! Dropbox will treat the Junctions folders and as part of their directory tree and sync everything underneath. You can log into Dropbox and choose Selective-Sync to deselect folders you don't want to backup to the cloud.
TLDR: The mklink command can be used with Dropbox to backup any folder/file in near real-time.
I'd like to hear thoughts, feedback, questions and perhaps your own backup strategies.
Edit: Fixed typo, thanks Sabertiger.