For backup tasks, there are several ways to replace the missing items. The most obvious is to simply copy them in the Finder: unlike some backup programs, Personal Backup stores files in their Mac OS X-native file format. However, this plan only works if you know which files are missing or out of date, and where they are. Often if one file is missing, several are, and it's very easy to miss important files when you copy them one by one from various locations in the Finder.
A faster and more-thorough method is to use Personal Backup's Restore function, which you access by first clicking the Restore tab at the top of the main window and then select the task that created the files you wish to restore. Then by either choosing File > Restore from Destination... or clicking the Restore button at the bottom-right corner of Personal Backup's main window.
You'll see a window that shows a list of past tasks in the left column, and the files affected in the main section. The most-recent run is at the top, and is selected by default. However, you can choose any of the task's past runs by clicking it from the top of the main window: the contents of the main window will change to reflect files affected during that run.
At first you'll only see the task's top level, in this case the folder labeled Documents: click the disclosure triangle at its left to reveal all the sources that are part of this task; click again to display its contents.
To restore items from a previous backup, simply click the desired item and either click the Restore button in the window's lower-right corner, or hold Control while clicking the folder and select Restore…. (The other option in the contextual menu, Reveal in Finder, will display that item on the task's destination volume-that is, the volume from which you'll retrieve the backup copy.) In the example below, we're restoring the contents of the entire backup.
After indicating where you want Personal Backup to put the restored files, you'll see a progress bar that shows how long the process will take.
If you choose the top-level folder (i.e., the name of the task), your files will be placed at the location you chose in a folder labeled with the task name.
Note: if you have deleted a task, you can still restore items from its backup folder. To do this, choose File > Restore from Destination or click the Restore Other... button in the left column, then select the top-level folder containing the backup you wish to restore. Since Personal Backup writes an invisible file containing backup information at this location, you will then see a restoration interface, such as that shown earlier. You can proceed with the restoration as explained above.
To leave Restore mode, click any other task option from the top of Personal Backup's main window.
The Restore function isn't available for synchronization tasks; if you need to recover files that were deleted on your source but exist still on your destination, you should do so manually, by copying them from the destination back to the source.
Bootable backup tasks don't offer the Restore function, as their purpose is to create a precise copy ("clone") of a computer volume. To restore a bootable backup, run a new bootable backup in the other direction: choose your destination as the source, and the source as destination.
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