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Extract Directly from Time Machine

Normally you use Time Machine to restore lost data in a file like this: within the Time Machine interface, you go back to the time the file was not yet messed up, and you restore it to replace the file you have now.

You can also elect to keep both, but the restored file takes the name and place of the current one. So, if you have made changes since the backup took place that you would like to keep, they are lost, or you have to mess around a bit to merge changes, rename files, and trash the unwanted one.

As an alternative, you can browse the Time Machine backup volume directly in the Finder like any normal disk, navigate through the chronological backup hierarchy, and find the file which contains the lost content.

Once you've found it, you can open it and the current version of the file side-by-side, and copy information from Time Machine's version of the file into the current one, without losing any content you put in it since the backup was made.


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Eolake Stobblehouse

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Inside TidBITS | 20 Nov 2009 | Listen  | Print Printer-Friendly Version of This Article

New Ebook Explains Syncing and Solves Syncing Problems

by Adam C. Engst Send Email to Author

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Syncing data from your Mac to various different devices is easy in theory, but often troublesome in practice, and truly annoying when something goes wrong. Whether you'd like to figure out how to sync contacts to your non-Apple smartphone, get your head around how your Apple TV syncs, help your father sync his Palm after upgrading to Snow Leopard, sync a particular set of podcast episodes to your iPod, or make it so you can update your calendar on any of six devices and have changes reflected on all of them, the $10 "Take Control of Syncing Data in Snow Leopard" has the answers you need.

Written by Michael E. Cohen, the 162-page "Take Control of Syncing Data in Snow Leopard" explains how to sync managed data from a Mac to another device or service. "Managed data" is data that you can't usually see as separate files in the Finder, including things like iCal events, Address Book contacts, Safari bookmarks, and anything you store in iTunes or iPhoto. This ebook looks at how you sync data on a Mac running Snow Leopard with various devices and services including:

  • Another Mac
  • Microsoft Exchange
  • The cloud (i.e. MobileMe or Google Calendar)
  • An iPhone or iPod
  • A non-Apple mobile phone
  • A PDA like a Palm or Blackberry (specifics are brief)
  • An Apple TV

Michael details how Sync Services and the all-important truth database work under the hood (fascinating stuff!), helps you get set up properly, and offers advice for what to do if you run into syncing conflicts or other problems. You'll especially like this ebook if:

  • You're just getting started with syncing
  • You've always wondered how syncing works behind the scenes
  • You're already syncing, but want to add complexity or solve problems
  • You need to be able to answer a wide variety of syncing questions from clients or curious family members

If you own a previous edition of this ebook, you should have already received an email message with an upgrade discount; if not, open your PDF and - on page 1 - click the Check for Updates button.

 

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