iPodBackup:

2009.02.23

Additional Information

If you'd like to modify iPodBackup, you are free to do so. The easiest way is to edit the file iPodBackup.app/Contents/Resources/script (control-click the app and choose "Show package contents" to get at the file) in your favorite text editor, such as TextEdit. As iPodBackup is distributed under the GPL, I believe that means any changes you make must also be under the GPL if you decide to distribute your custom version.

iPodBackup has several dependencies. You will need to download or create them if you want to build iPodBackup from scratch.

• Under OS X 10.3 and earlier, all versions use the modified rsync packaged with RsyncX. Under OS X 10.4, iPodBackup 1.5 and higher use the built-in rsync.
• Version 1.1+ uses CocoaDialog for dialog boxes.
• Version 1.1.5+ uses sndplay, built from the fink package, to play the chime.
• iPodBackup expects text files named exceptions.txt, preferences.txt, and Localizable.strings to exist in iPodBackup.app/Contents/Resources.
• It also expects localized string files Localizable.strings to be in their corresponding .lproj folders, such as iPodBackup/Contents/Resources/ja.lproj for Japanese. If the file does not exist, the app defaults to English.
• The strings file must be of the following format:
  • Strings are defined by single lines that begin with string#[a..z]=, where #[a..z] is a number followed by a letter, for instance "2c".
  • The string itself need not be enclosed with delimiters like quotation marks, etc.

Build iPodBackup with Platypus. The only non-default settings I currently use are "Output: Progress Bar" and "Is droppable." Don't forget to put all of the dependencies in the "Files to be bundled" field in the Advanced Options area.

iPodBackup currently responds to the following options in the iPodBackup Preferences.txt file:

• compact=true—if true, the disk image is compacted after backup.
• chime=path or none—if not none, the file at the specified path will be played with sndplay.
• prompt=true—if true, the preflight prompt be displayed.
• no_ipod_warning=false—if false, no warning will be displayed even if no iPod is found.
• danger_level=x—overrides the default filesize (10 MB) of iPodBackup.log at which iPodBackup will stop rsync if running under OS X 10.3 or earlier. x is the desired filesize in bytes.
• ignore_errors=true—if true, rsync is run with the --ignore-errors flag.
• total_data_size=x—this is the total amount of data in bytes that you have ever backed up with iPodBackukp.
• total_runs=x—this is the total number of times you have successfully backed up with iPodBackup.
• do_not_nag=true—if true, iPodBackup will not nag you about donating money.
• preferred_ipod=x—x is the path to the iPod you prefer to use in the event that two iPods are mounted when you run iPodBackup.
• manual_os_version=x—x is the version of OS X you want iPodBackup to think you are running. The behavior for different versions of OS X are as follows:
  • x=6 is OS X 10.2. Disk images are disabled in initial setup. The version of rsync used is the one from RsyncX.
  • x=7 is OS X 10.3. The version of rsync used is the one from RsyncX.
  • x=8 is OS X 10.4. The version of rsync used is the one built into the system.
• check_for_updates=false—if false, iPodBackup will not check for updated versions of itself. It will not attempt to access the network at all.

These items must each be on their own lines, but they can be in any order.