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Handy Backup FAQ | RTF to XML FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions About Handy Backup

1. I want to backup to my DVD-R/RW device, but this option is grayed out in the Wizard.

If this option is disabled on your system, then perhaps you don't have CopyToDVD installed on your computer.

You can find detailed instruction here.

2. I want to backup to my CDRW device, but this option is grayed out in the Wizard. If this option is disabled on your system, you may need to download ASPI drivers DLL from Adaptec, Inc.

You can find detailed instruction here.

3. Can I perform backup of different files or folders at a time?

Yes. You can backup as many files or folders as you need. For details, see Specify Backup Set section in program Help.

4. Is it possible to backup an open file which is in use by another program?

Yes, it is possible. To be backed up, such files should have read access. So please make sure that the option "Open files exclusively" in Item Properties/Advanced/File-specific settings is unchecked.

Handy Backup does not backup files that not accessible for reading (particularly, system files like pagefile.sys, file opened without sharing permission, loaded modules (EXEs and DLLs), etc.).

5. What maximum amount of data can I backup?

When you perform backup to storage location other than CD-RW, there is only one limitation on data size in case of ZIP compression: the whole ZIP archive size can not exceed 2 Gb. The size of every file in the archive also can not exceed 2 GB. In case of backup to CD-RW, there is no limitation on data size at all.

6. Can I select the root drive and not copy all the files in the root drive, and selectively choose subdirectories?

Yes, you can do this. If you do not want the program to backup certain files / folders, just uncheck them in the list of files / folders to be backed up (for details, see Specify Backup Set section in program Help).

7. Can I backup files on a remote machine which cannot be accessed by LAN?

You can do this in case you have access to FTP server on the remote machine where you backed up your data.

8. Does the program backup to external hard disks connected via USB and to zip drives?

Yes, the program supports backup to USB and zip drives and works with them in the same way as with local drives.

9. I created backup of "My Documents" directory on one machine. How can I restore the directory to another machine using the program?

In this case, you need to create Restore item on the machine where you want to restore your data. Then specify the index file that is kept on the first machine from where you are restoring.

10. Can the program do a full restore to a blank hard drive?

Yes, the program can do this. However, the program is not intended for backing up system files and you can not use it for restoring the whole operation system.

11. If I uninstall version 3.x and install the trial 4.1 version, is it necessary to delete the backup file that 3.x created, and start over to create a totally new backup?

You do not need to do this: when you upgrade your version to the newer one, it will import all your old items.

12. If I create a new backup with 4.1, what becomes of the backup file after the 30 days trial period?

Do those files continue to be accessible via Windows Explorer?

You can access these files via Explorer, provided they are not encrypted. To see encrypted files, you should use Handy Backup 4.1.

13. Does the program run only if the computer is connected to the Internet?

No. You don't need to be connected to the Internet, unless you want to keep your data on a distant FTP-server.

14. Each time I try to start the program, a window appears stating "Unable to locate backup agent, application will close". What should I do in this case?

The problem may result from incorrect installation of Handy Backup. We advise you to reinstall the program. For details on how to do this, see System Requirements and Installation section.

15. Does Handy Backup handle the different time stamp conventions between NTFS and FAT?

You can use Handy Backup in this case - this difference does not influence backup procedure.

16. Does Handy Backup support tape drives?

Currently Handy Backup 4.1 does not support tape drives.

17. Can Handy Backup run as a service?

Handy Backup 4.1 can not be run as a service; the program runs only as an application.

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Frequently Asked Questions about RTF-to-XML:

1. What is RTF TO XML?

RTF TO XML converts files prepared in Rich Text Format (RTF) to well-formed XML conforming with the XSL FO specification 1.0 (http://www.w3.org/TR/xsl/slice6.html). The RTF format is widely used in many applications, e.g. Microsoft Word documents can be saved in RTF format.

2. What is XSL FO?

XSL FO (XSL Formatting Objects) is an XML vocabulary for specifying formatting semantics. XSL FO is commonly used as an intermediate representation of electronic documents for further conversion to other well-known formats such as HTML and PDF using the variety of XSL FO processors
(http://www.w3.org/Style/XSL/).

3. What Operating System and software is required for running RTF TO XML?

RTF TO XML is a pure Java application. It runs under any operating system having JavaT 2 Runtime Environment (JRE 1.2 or higher) or JavaT 2 Platform (JDK 1.2 or higher) installed (http://www.java.sun.com/products/). JDK/JRE 1.3 or higher is recommended. Other products required for RTF TO XML are included into the distribution package.

4. How to Install RTF TO XML?

RTF TO XML version 5.2.1 or later is installed with the help of a setup program - RTF TO XML setup.jar. To start the setup, unzip installation package, run rtf_to_xml.exe (for Windows) or setup.bat (for other operating systems) and follow the setup program prompts.

5. I unzipped the product. Setup.bat does nothing. Now what?

Either Java is not installed properly, or it is not installed at on your computer at all. If Java installed, set JAVA_HOME environment variable in properly value (Java install directory)

6. What should I do before installing a new version of RTF TO XML if an old version is already installed?

To install a new version of RTF TO XML to the same location where a previous version was installed, you must at first remove all files and subdirectories of the previous version. You can also install a new version to another location. In this case, you need no removing at all and you can use both the previous and the new version on your choice.

Uninstalling of the RTF TO XML is quite simple: remove the root directory of RTF TO XML together with all files and subdirectories in it.

7. What XLS FO processor do you recommend for conversion to PDF?

The most popular XSL FO processors to PDF are FOP (http://www.xml.apache.org/fop/), XEP (http://www.renderx.com/), and Antenna House XSL Formatter (http://www.antennahouse.com). The FOP is an open source project. At the moment, it is not a full implementation of the basic conformance level of the XSL FO standard. So, if you convert RTF to XML FO for further use of FOP 0.20.3, you must use the compatibility option
-o fop-0.20.3
in the RTF TO XML call.

8. Conversion limitations

An RTF file cannot be converted to XML conforming to XSL FO specification without loss of some RTF formatting. Here, we outline main limitations of the conversion to XML in line with XSL FO specification. Some problems are unsolvable and some can be solved in future specifications of XSL FO.

9. There is no appropriate equivalent for tabs in XSL FO. Although the RTF TO XML converter tries to render tabs in some way, there is no guarantee that tabs will be converted all right.

So, we recommend avoiding using tabs in an RTF document if possible.

10. It is impossible in the specification of "fo:simple-page-master" to support multicolumn document having different column widths and gaps.

So, avoid using columns of different width in the RTF document.

11. A new section in XSL FO always starts from a new page.

So, the RTF's "continuous section breaks" are ignored because they have no appropriate equivalent in XSL FO.

13. RTF Objects are partially supported.

An equivalent bitmap image of imported object is used.

14. Graphics auto shape objects are supported in part.

Only text-box and picture shapes are processed.

15. RTF "Text Box" is converted incorrectly.

This is because FOP does not support text boxes yet.

16. I'm experiencing problems with pictures: all pictures are recognized as imbedded files are extracted from RTF-file in process of conversion and are stored in external files of an appropriate format.

While processing an XML FO, some errors on some pictures can occur. In most cases, the reason for this is that some rendering tools do not support the WMF format. In this case, the RTF TO XML plug-in interface allows introducing third -party" products to convert images from one format to another "on the fly". You need to install a batch conversion tool (for example, the ImageMagick) and edit a plug-in configuration file (see user's guide for more detail). Without plug-ins, you have to convert WMF pictures to JPEG or PNG manually and then change picture filenames in XML FO to converted ones.

17. Why does not the FOP 0.20.3 render PNG images?

The PNG support library Jimi has been removed from FOP for licensing reasons. If you need PNG support, see FOP 0.20.3 Release Notes.

18. A PDF-renderer uses other fonts than specified in RTF

The problem of using improper fonts is at most the problem of configuring PDF-renderers. If a renderer "misreads" a font name, it replaces it with a default font. So, PDF-renderers are limited to a set of pre-configured fonts. To support more fonts, you should add their description into configuration files of PDF-renderers.

19. A PDF-renderer fails while rendering to PDF

There could be two main reasons for this problem to occur: XML FO document is too large or complicated (rendering program goes out of memory) or the document uses XSL FO attributes not supported by the rendering program. The latter case occurs if you forget to set the appropriate compatibility option while converting the RTF-file to XML FO. The following compatibility options are available now:

• -o fop-0.20.1 - compatibility with FOP version 0.20.1 or earlier,
• -o fop-0.20.3 - compatibility with FOP version 0.20.3,
• -o fop-0.20.4 - compatibility with FOP version 0.20.4,
• -o xep-2.5 - compatibility with XEP version 2.5 or earlier,
• -o xep-2.7 - compatibility with XEP version 2.7 or higher,
• -o ahxf-2.1 - compatibility with Antenna House XSL Formatter V2.1 or higher.

If the compatibility option is not used, the conversion is made in the most optimal way in full conformance with the XSL FO specification.

20. Why are headers and footers jammed?

If the height of a header content exceeds the header's region height, the header is clipped in its region and some bottom lines disappear (the overflow trait controls this). Footers behave in the same manner. We set the overflow trait for headers and footers to be "visible", but some rendering tools ignore this trait and clip these regions. From the other side, if this trait is processed, a body text just below the header or above the footer could be overlapped with the header or footer text and it could disappear also. So, to provide the full visibility of headers, footers, and body text, increase top and/or bottom margins of the RTF document.

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