Deja Dup - How to restore files & folders in Thunar

[bobw]

I've been trying Deja Dup for user file backups.  It's very good, but the restore facility is limited in LL.  You can restore a whole snapshot of your files, but you can't restore previous versions of individual files or folders (and their contents).  It appears to be designed to be used in association with Nautilus file manager, rather than LL's usual Thunar.  In Nautilus, you can right-click on a file to get an option to restore the version from any previous Deja Dup backup.

After some research, I've found that the solution is to set up a custom action in Thunar:
1. Select Edit and Configure custom actions ...
2. Click on the + button to create a new custom action.
3. Complete the text boxes:
    Name:  Restore previous version
    Description:  Restores earlier file versions via Deja Dup
    Command:  deja-dup --restore %F
4. Select an icon if you want one.
5. Click on Appearance Conditions tab and check all 6 boxes.
6. Click on OK.

You will need to log out and log in again for the change to take effect.

You will now be able to right-click on a file or folder in Thunar to restore earlier versions.  If you don't want to be able to restore whole folders (use with care!), don't check the directories box in the Appearance Conditions tab.

[Wirezfree]

I've been trying Deja Dup for user file backups.  It's very good, but the restore facility is limited in LL.  You can restore a whole snapshot of your files, but you can't restore previous versions of individual files or folders (and their contents).  It appears to be designed to be used in association with Nautilus file manager, rather than LL's usual Thunar.  In Nautilus, you can right-click on a file to get an option to restore the version from any previous Deja Dup backup.

After some research, I've found that the solution is to set up a custom action in Thunar:
1. Select Edit and Configure custom actions ...
2. Click on the + button to create a new custom action.
3. Complete the text boxes:
    Name:  Restore previous version
    Description:  Restores earlier file versions via Deja Dup
    Command:  deja-dup --restore %F
4. Select an icon if you want one.
5. Click on Appearance Conditions tab and check all 6 boxes.
6. Click on OK.

You will need to log out and log in again for the change to take effect.

You will now be able to right-click on a file or folder in Thunar to restore earlier versions.  If you don't want to be able to restore whole folders (use with care!), don't check the directories box in the Appearance Conditions tab.

Hi bobw,

Good find/work
"Thanks" clicked

Dave

[Valtam]

Thanks bobw, will look into this.

[gold_finger]

bobw,

Nice post.  Sure it will come in very handy.  Thanks.

[Curtis34]

I never use this backup software. It looks good software but from last 3 months I am Using CloudBacko Lite. It is a fully automated backup solution aimed at professionals with many built-in features that save time and money, such as deduplication, and multiple disaster recovery options. I also recommend you to check this software.

EDITED BY GOLD_FINGER:

I've seen several posts like this on both LL forum and Linux Mint forums.  All similarly worded and all posted by newly registered people with one and only one post -- this nonsense.

SPAM!!!!!

[Scott(0)]

@Gold_Finger -

Nice catch on the spam message!

[jack action]

I searched a long time for a solution like this and found it on my own.  I wanted to share it with the community, but it is already done!

Still I have a twist for my solution, so here it goes:

Restore File(s)

So this one is as explained in the OP, except I did not checked the Directories option (you rarely want to restore the entire content of a folder):

   

Restore Missing Files

In addition, I configured another custom action for directories.  With this one, when you select a directory, you can restore all files from your backup that were deleted within that directory:

   

For your information, in both cases, there is a GUI appearing, asking questions.  So it is not done automatically if you click it by accident.