Keeping track of backups with the Backup log in Burn by Zaweba

Months after a backup, the questions are always the same. When did I last back up the photos? How many discs did it take? Did the check pass? The Backup log in Burn by Zaweba answers them without you having to remember anything.

It is a plain record, kept automatically, of every backup Burn has made.

What the log records

Each backup gets an entry with the date, the backup set, the discs used, the number of files, whether the check passed and the result. That is enough to tell the story of a backup at a glance: which set ran, how big it was, and whether you can trust it.

Because Burn adds to the log by itself, you don't have to note anything down while the discs are burning. Run the backup and the record is there.

Finding it

The Backup log is on the home screen, and also on the Tools menu as Backup log. Like Burn's settings and saved backup sets, it is kept in %APPDATA%\Zaweba\Burn, a folder the Settings page can open for you.

Exporting as CSV

The log can be exported as a CSV file. That opens in any spreadsheet program, including Grid by Zaweba, so you can sort by date, filter by set or keep the file with your other household or office records.

An export is also a sensible extra copy. The log lives on your PC, so if that PC fails, a CSV kept somewhere else still tells you what your backup discs hold and when they were made.

Using the log well

Look at it before you start a backup. The date of the last run tells you whether a set is due, and the number of files gives you a feel for how much has changed since.

Check the check column. A run where the check did not pass is a run to act on. Find the disc that failed and burn it again, or run the set again if needed. A log full of passes is the quiet reassurance a backup routine should give you.

Use the disc counts when you buy blanks. If a set has taken three discs each time, you know what to have ready.

Match the log to your labels. When discs are labelled with their set and number, the log's dates and disc counts tie each physical disc to a backup run. That makes it easier to keep sets in order on the shelf, especially once you are backing up only changed files and each set grows over several runs.

Where the log fits

The Backup log sits alongside the other backup tools rather than doing anything to your discs. The Backup Assistant writes to it, saved backup sets give its entries their names, and the check after burning supplies the pass or fail. When you need files back, Restore from backup discs reads the discs themselves, so the log isn't needed to restore. It is there so that you always know where you stand. For a routine that runs for years, that record is worth having, and Burn by Zaweba keeps it for you without being asked.