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Overview
You can create a global exclusion list for file types, file names, and folders that you want to exclude from inSyncbackups.
The inSync Client excludes the file types that you specify in the global exclude list irrespective of the filters set at the folder level by the administrator or the user. For example, if you do not want to back up .exe files from user devices, you must add .exe to the global exclude list.
inSync Client also excludes particular files that you specify in the global exclude list irrespective of the filters set at the folder level by the administrator or the user. For example, if you do not want to back up a file, like Ntuser.dat, from a user device you must add Ntuser.dat to the global exclude list.
❗ Important
Global exclusions are applicable only to file extensions and not applicable to file MIME types.
📝 Note
When you specify a particular file in the global exclude list, that file is excluded from backup irrespective of its location or the number of copies on the device.
For macOS, file extensions are case-sensitive. Ensure you select files with the correct casing.
To exclude folders from the backup operations on user devices, you must specify the folder name or a relative path to the folder. For example, Personal\Finance. In Windows, you use a backward slash (\) as the separator and in UNIX and Mac, you use a forward slash (/) as the separator. However, irrespective of the operating system, the inSync Client considers both formats and excludes the folders that you specify from the backup operations.
Scenarios for excluding folders from the backup operation on user devices
You have included the Druva folder within the E drive for backup (E:\Druva). The Druva folder includes the following subfolders:
E:\Druva\Personal\Finance
E:\Druva\Documents\Templates
E:\Druva\Resources
E:\Druva\Templates
Scenario | Impact on the backup operation |
In the Paths and Folders box, you specify Templates;Personal. | During the backup operation, the inSync Client excludes:
|
In the Paths and Folders box, you specify Documents\Templates. | During the backup operation, the inSync Client excludes the Templates subfolder from the Druva\Documents folder.
However, the inSync Client backs up the Templates subfolder from the Druva folder. |
In the Paths and Folders box, you specify E:\Druva\Templates;E:\Druva\Personal. | During the backup operation, the inSync Client includes the Templates and Personal subfolders as the paths are not relative to the configured folder. |
📝 Note
You can configure the global exclude list only through profiles. You cannot do this on an individual user level.
Create a global exclusion list for files and folders of user devices
To create a global exclusion list for files and folders
On the Endpoints console, click Profiles.
Select the profile for which you want to create the global exclude list.
Select the Edit button from the top right.
Select Endpoints from the dropdown, the Edit Profile window appears.
Under the Global Exclusion tab, provide the appropriate information for each field.
In the File Types box, enter the file types and/or file names that you want to exclude during backup. The file extensions are automatically added to the adjacent box. If you do not see your file type, type the file extensions of those file types manually in the adjacent box. Ensure that you separate consecutive entries using a semicolon (;) and there is no white space between two entries.
For example, if you want to exclude all executables and video files, enter the file types for these executables and video files in the Exclude Files box. The file extensions are automatically added to the adjacent box.In the Paths and Folders box, type the relative path for the folders that you want to exclude from backup. Ensure that you separate consecutive entries using a semicolon (;) and there is no white space between two entries.
Click Save.
💡 Tip
You can also exclude system files starting with ~$ such as~$testing.docx, ~$testing.txt.
Create a global exclusion list for files for SaaS Apps
On the Microsoft 365/ Google Workspace dashboard, click Profiles.
Click the desired profile for which you want to create the global exclude list.
Click the Edit button at the top right and select SaaS Apps to update the required profile.
Click Global Exclusions.
In the Exclude File Types box, type the file types that you want to exclude from backup. The file extensions are automatically added to the adjacent field. If you do not see your file type, type the file extensions of those file types manually in the adjacent box.
📝 Note
Ensure that you separate consecutive entries using a semicolon (;) and there is no white space between two entries. For example, if you want to exclude all executables and video files, enter the file types for these executables and video files in the Exclude Files box. The file extensions are automatically added to the adjacent box. If you want to remove a file type, click the file type. The exclusion of file types is supported for OneDrive and Google Drive only.
6. Click Save.
Create a global exclusion list for folders for SaaS Apps
❗ Important
The Global Exclusion for the Exclude Paths option is supported for Exchange Online, Gmail, OneDrive, and Google Drive.
For Gmail and Exchange Online, only folder name or relative paths are supported for Exclude Paths. For example, Birthdays;United States holidays;Calendar
For Google Drive and OneDrive, folder or file name or relative paths are supported for Exclude Paths. For example, /Druva/Templates/Paths.txt;Templates
To create a global exclusion list for folders,
On the Microsoft 365/ Google Workspace dashboard, click Profiles.
Click the profile for which you want to create the global exclude list.
Click the Edit button at the top right, and select SaaS Apps to update the required profile.
Click Global Exclusions.
In the Exclude Paths box, type the file or folder name or relative path to the files and folders that you want to exclude from backups. Ensure that you separate consecutive entries using a semicolon (;) and there is no white space between two entries.
Example: Let's assume you have the following in your Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace accounts:OneDrive and Google Drive:/Druva/Templates/Paths
Exchange Online and Gmail:/Templates
You specify Paths for OneDrive and Google Drive and Templates for Exchange Online and Gmail in the Exclude Paths field. Now, during the backup operation, inSync excludes all folders with Paths and Templates from getting backed up.
Click Save.
Excluding files and folders using regular expressions
Regular expressions are a sequence of characters that define a search pattern. In inSync, you can use regular expressions to define complex search patterns that match the criteria of the files or folders that you want to exclude. You can define different regular expressions for each operating system.
❗ Important
Exclusion of files and folders using regular expressions is available for inSync Client v6.0 and later.
Exclusion of files and folders using regular expressions is not available for mobile devices.
The Regular Expression feature is not available for SaaS Apps.
Use only forward slash "/" as a path separator in regular expressions. inSync displays an error for regular expressions that contain a backslash "\".
For specifying a case-insensitive regular expression, use (?i) at the start of the expression. For example, (? i) % userprofile%/test. This excludes files and folders with names like test, TEST, or teST.
Scenarios for excluding files and folders from the backup operation using regular expressions.
Scenario | Regular Expression |
Exclude a particular folder in the user's home directory. For example, you want to exclude the folder | C:/Users/Ernie/Pictures |
Exclude a specific subfolder inside a folder configured for backup using global variables. For example, you want to exclude the Administrator subfolder present in the User Profile folder. | %userprofile%/Administrator 📝 Note
|
Include a specific folder and exclude all other files and folders inside the parent folder. For example, you want to back up only the folder named | /Reports/(?!sales data$)[^/]*$ |
Exclude folders only from a specific drive. For example, you can exclude the folder named Sales from C drive (C:\), but inSync will continue to backup any folder named Sales from the other drives. | C:/Sales |
Exclude folders that contain a specific set of characters in their folder name. For example, you can exclude any folder that contains the string | Donotbackup |
Exclude specific files for each operating system from backing up. For example, you can exclude:
|
|
Create a Regular Expression list for devices
On the Endpoints console, click Profiles.
Select the profile for which you want to add the regular expressions.
Select the Edit button from the top right.
Select Endpoints from the dropdown, the Edit Profile window appears.
Under the Global Exclusions tab, go to the Regular Expressions box and add the expression that you want to exclude.
Select the platform for which you want to add the exclusion and click the Add button.
Click Save.
📝 Note
You can add regular expressions that are supported in Perl regex format.