ForumsTips & TricksUse a batch file to automate backups to Windows PC


Use a batch file to automate backups to Windows PC
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jogo

Posted: Aug 24, 2024
Score: 2 Reference
Hi All,

FYI, if you want to regularly backup your Toodledo data to a Windows PC, here's how I do it:

1) Create a .BAT file with the following lines:


@ECHO OFF

REM download XML file of ALL ACCOUNT DATA from the Backup/Restore page
start "" https://www.toodledo.com/tools/backup.php

REM download CSV file of UNCOMPLETED TASKS from the CSV Import/Export page
start "" https://www.toodledo.com/tools/csv.php

REM download CSV file of COMPLETED TASKS from the CSV Import/Export page
start "" https://www.toodledo.com/tools/csv.php?completed=1

REM pause for the downloads to finish, because the move command won't wait for them
timeout 10 /nobreak

move "C:\-download folder-\toodledo*.*" "C:\-backup folder-"


Note: There are 2 double-quotes after the word "start".

2) Replace -downloads folder- and -backup folder- with the appropriate paths for your PC. Something like "C:\Users\me\Downloads\toodledo*.*" and "C:\Users\me\Documents\TDbackups"

3) Create a task in Windows Task Scheduler to run the batch file at the schedule you choose.

There may be more elegant ways to accomplish this, but it works for me. One gripe I have: running it switches the current focus to the right-most Chrome tab and leaves the Downloads list open. Anyone know how to prevent that?

Cheers,
- John


P.S.: This is an update on a post I did many years go, where I didn't include https://. I found that Chrome now won't complete the XML download without it.


This message was edited Aug 24, 2024.
frankie.toodle

Posted: 5 days ago
Score: 0 Reference
Thanks John, that was very helpful. I didn't know, the download URLs could be adressed directly.
kevinarth

Posted: 5 days ago
Score: 0 Reference
This is a great backup script! One thing to note. If your Browser is configured to automatically download to a specific location, it'll work fine, but if you're configured to prompt for location on download, you'll have to specify the downloads folder and click ok three times within that 10 second window, or the script will fail to move the files to your archive location.

I don't know if there's a way around that small issue, but I turned off the prompt in Chrome settings and it works great, so thank you!
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