Re: [Evolution] Backing up Evolution/martha

[Brewster Gillett <bg fdi us>]

On Wed, 2010-09-01 at 17:29 -0700, Martha McLaren wrote:
> Thanks for the suggestions.  I'm getting closer to being able to do my
> re-install, but here's another Evolution question.  I now have the
> Evolution-backup.tar.gz icon on my thumb drive, but I'm not really
> sure what it contains.  

bg:

Well, aren't you the one who issued the command that created the
tar file in the first place? Then presumably you have some memory
of what the source files and their path were. If you did that from the
command line, then all you have to do is open a terminal (to get to a
command line - click APPLICATIONS..ACCESSORIES..TERMINAL) and smack the
up-arrow  enough times to scroll back through the command history until
you get to the tar one - that will show you from where you copied the
files for the backup.tar.gz archive.

martha:

> I've tried to take a look, but get into some long
> processes which seem like they may or may not end up showing what,
> exactly, I've saved.

bg:

Here is a sure-fire way to get as close and detailed a look as you want
at any tar.zip archive. If you don't already have it, download and
install Midnight Commander. Go to SYSTEM..ADMIN..SYNAPTIC PACKAGE
MANAGER any time you are thinking of installing an additional program.
In this case you would look for the Midnight Commander under "mc" -
there's only the one file, and it isn't large. It's a useful piece of
knowledge to have anyway, the process of selecting a new program 
through the Synaptic Package Manager.

Once it's installed, you invoke it by opening a terminal and entering
"mc" and hitting the Enter key, from the command line. MC is a really
amazing little package that will jump through hoops for you tirelessly
all day long and not even ask for a coffee break. Using MC, you can
examine the entire contents of a tar archive just as you would a regular
file system. Of course it offers a lot of other handy file manipulation
tools and shortcuts as well.

martha:

> Question 1: Would this backup (theoretically at least) contain my
> myriad Evolution files and their contents? (Judging by the length of
> time to back up, it might.)

bg:

Presuming that you told it to copy those when you created the tar.gz
archive, yes. Of course.

martha:

> Question 2: Once I've done my Ubuntu 10.04.1 install, assuming that
> I've indeed saved the contents of Evolution, where would I look for
> guidance in moving my files into the new version?

bg:

Always try the Evo help screens in the program first. Then go on line
and read the Evo FAQ files. Failing that, post a query here.

Brewster
-- 
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Embrace a sharing community of sustainable justice low-carbon diversity
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W. Brewster Gillett             bg fdi us            Portland, OR  USA
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Simply because you don't like to hear it, that doesn't make it untrue.
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