Exporting and importing a job

Every job can be saved as one JSON file. Export job JSON… writes it anywhere you like; Import job… reads it back, on this PC or another. The file opens in any text editor, so you can see exactly what a job does.

Export#

1. On the Jobs page, open the job's ⋯ menu.
2. Choose Export job JSON… and pick where to save the file.

To export several jobs, tick their rows and click Export JSON in the bar that appears. A job's own page has ⋯ ▸ Export job JSON… too.

The file holds the job's name, description, sources, destination, type, compression, whether it is encrypted, retention, filters, schedule and notification choices.

What is never in the file#

• The encryption password.
• Network credentials and S3 keys. Those stay encrypted on the PC that saved them.

So a job file can go by email, into a shared folder or into a Git repository without carrying a secret.

Import#

1. On the Jobs page, click Import job…. (Home's Import job… takes you there.)
2. Pick the file.

The job is saved at once, with the schedule and the On switch it had, and a message says Imported “Documents & Desktop”. If a job of that name already exists, the new one is called Documents & Desktop (imported). An edition that lacks a setting the job uses (on Free, encryption or a network share, for example) refuses the import and names the setting.

Check it straight away#

The job runs at its next scheduled time, so check it now.

1. Click Edit on the imported job.
2. On the Where step, check the destination. A drive letter or share from the other PC may not exist here. Click Test destination.
3. On the What step, check the sources exist on this PC.
4. For an encrypted job, type its password on the Settings step. Until you do, its runs stop with E-ENC-003.
5. For a cloud job, pick the S3 profile on the Where step. Until you do, its runs stop with E-DEST-006.
6. Click Save changes.

A network job uses the credential saved on this PC for that share. With none, it signs in as you; add one under Settings ▸ Network & credentials if the share asks for a NAS account.

The first run of an imported job#

An imported job has no runs of its own, so its first run is a full, even when its destination already holds sets under its name. Those older sets are listed under the job in Restore. Retention treats sets with the job's name in its folder as the job's own, so they are kept or removed by its rule like any other.

Uses#

• A new PC. Export every job before you move and import them after. See Moving to a new PC.
• The same job on several PCs. One file, imported on each, with the destination adjusted.
• A safety copy of your setup. Keep the files with your other important documents.

Related articles#

• Templates and copying a job
• Restoring backups made on another PC
• Coming from Genie Backup Manager 9