I set backup frequency to 1 week and all was fine for 2 backups. But then backup stopped making backups for the last two weeks. No error messages or warnings, just no backup at all. Why is it not backing up?
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Is there a way to trigger an immediate backup? I can find no way to do this.
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How does EmClient decide WHEN to backup? Do I need the program open, closed, what? My computer is always on, so that is not the problem.
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I saw some threads about the MS Task Scheduler and I looked at that, but eMClient backup is NOT listed in my Task Scheduler. Should it be?
Hi,
the eM Client backup is currently only working when the application is closed, but if you have the automated backup turned on, you should be prompted that eM Client is open and you need to close eM Client in order to backup.
I understand that it should ask you for the backup in the same time as the last backup was performed and I’m afraid if the application isn’t running during that time, you won’t be prompted at all.
You can run an immediate backup by going to File > Backup.
We’re currently considering some changes for future releases of eM Client with the backup feature.
Hope this helps,
Paul.
Thanks for the info. I don’t have eM Client open all the time, so perhaps I missed the prompt time. I hope this is fixed in future versions, perhaps to prompt for a backup as soon as the program is opened again after missing a scheduled backup?
I did do an immediate backup as a stopgap measure and have a question. The backup.zip seems tiny–only 6 Megabytes. Is this normal? How can I check to ensure it is backing up all my data?
Hi, the backup size seems a little bit too small, but it really depends on what type of account you’re using, how big is your database etc. I have a lot of accounts and lot of data, and the database is about 300MB.
You can do a simple test, close eM Client and go to your local folder > App Data > Roaming, and rename the eM Client folder to for example (eM Client - backup). When you open eM Client a clean database will be created, you can try to restore from the backup you’ve created and if you see all your data as it was, it’s all there, but if not let me know.
When you’re over with this test, go back to the “Roaming” folder and delete the new eM client folder and rename the “- backup” folder back to “eM Client”.
We’re currently considering major improvements to the backup feature, hopefully you’ll like it when it’s released.
Hope this helps, thank you,
Paul.
Thanks Paul for the info. I tested the backup as you described, and everything was there when I restored from the backup. Seems kind of sad that my entire electronic life fits into 6 MB ;-)
But I do have another followup questions as to how eMClient backs up. All my data (email, calendar, contacts) is NOT local, but linked to either my ISP email account or iCloud. Is the backup actually backing up all the DATA from those sources to my hard drive or simply LINKS to them? It seems it must be only backing up the links as I am sure in all my email folders there are attachments and such totaling more than 6 MB… I sure would like to make sure there is a local copy of ALL the data, in case one of my service providers fails.
Hi again, If you’re using IMAP (which by using iCloud), you’re probably are. The backup contains all the downloaded data, but by using IMAP all your data will be synchronized with the server when you restore from the backup. When you’re using IMAP only the headers of emails are downloaded but when you click on an email even the body is downloaded, that might be the reason why your backup is so small at the moment, it will get bigger and I wouldn’t be worried about having small electronic life… It’s actually a good thing 
I wouldn’t worry about losing data saved on the server as large companies such is Apple with it’s iCloud service have backups and the data is probably much safer with them than it is on your computer.
Hope this helps,
Paul.
Hi, thanks for the fast reply and good explanation of how IMAP works with the backup. That makes it all clear. As I am new to eM Client I have not gone through and looked at everything in my folders, hence there must be many attachments not downloaded yet. That also explains why the backups on my desktop and laptops are different sizes, but are linked to the same data–different amounts have been downloaded on each device. I do worry a bit about cloud services as a good friend last year lost EVERYTHING in his iCloud account due to some problem on their part and he had no local backup and had to start over from scratch. So Cloud services are not 100% reliable. I just like to have backups in multiple places.
One last question–once I download an attachment locally into eM client, say a photo, and then file it away in a folder, is the photo actually there in the backup then? Or is the photo erased, then needs to be redownloaded next time I open the email?
I believe attachments are only linked as you’re saving the attachment to an external folder, but to be honest I’m not completely sure here.
Thank you,
Paul.
Now it’s my turn to help you (sort of, because I have another question at the end :-). I just performed a test by downloading 2 large email attachments into eM Client. One was in my Inbox, and the other in an IMAP folder. Then I performed a backup, renamed the folder in Roaming as before, and restored from the backup. Both previously downloaded attachments were there and did not need to be downloaded again. So once downloaded, either in the Inbox or a folder, the attachments stay downloaded and are included in the backup. The new backup was also noticeably bigger in size, as is to be expected.
However, this does mean for me to have all my attachments in the folders included in the local backup, I need to go through them and open them one by one to download the attachments. Is there any way to tell eMClient to simply batch download all attachments of all emails, in either a folder or the inbox, or do I have to do it one by one?
Hi again, if you need to download all attachments, you can do so, but just for all the attachments in the particular email, right click the attachment area and select “Save all attachments”, if you want to save all attachments that come into your inbox, that’s unfortunately not possible.
But I have another recommendation for you, if you want all your emails downloaded automatically without the need to click on them, just go to Tools > Accounts > Select your account and check the option “Download messages for offline use”, this will automatically enable the download of bodies of emails as well, but I believe attachments still have to be downloaded separately.
Thank you,
Paul.
Thanks for the info and your help. Now that I understand how eM client handles attachments, I will be able to accomplish my goal without too much work.
Great, let me know if you come across any other issues, or questions, we’ll be happy to help.
Thank you,
Paul.