I've been trying QR for a few weeks and am happy with the results, but am still stumbling about a bit...

My first archive was created with a trial key, and before I was able to perform any subsequent captures I went on vacation for 2+ weeks. When I returned I believe the trial key had expired and I was asked to enter a new trial key. The new capture seemed to go smoothly but I now have 2 identical named top level "placeholders" (?) in the lower section of the main archive window (browser). This is a bit confusing and I suspect it is a result of using 2 separate trial keys, correct?

I performed a subsequent capture and now have 3 levels listed in the upper section of the archive window. What will happen once I purchase a personal key?

I think I need to get rid of one of the duplicate top level placeholders...

Thanks!

Charles,

Welcome to QRecall, and welcome back from your vacation.

Each identity key defines an owner in an archive. All of the items you capture belong to the identity key you had installed at that time. QRecall uses identity keys to keep items from different computer systems from being comingled in a single archive.

A trial key is an owner that expires after two weeks. If you want to continue using QRecall, you can get a new trial key, but QRecall will treat all of your items as if they came from different computer system and capture them all over again. The ?penelty" of a trial identity key is that you have to start over every two weeks.

When you get and enter your permanent key, capture your items again. Open the archive and find all of the owners (the new one and the ones from your trial identity keys), select them all, and choose the Archive > Combine Items? command. QRecall understands that someday you'll need to change identity keys, or upgrade your hard drive, but that the items in that owner or volume are the same items you captured last week. The Combine Items? command transfers ownership of the earlier items to the new owner or volume, as if they?d been captured by that owner or from that volume all along. When it?s done, you'll have a single owner/volume with a single timeline for each of your items.

(You can?t combine the owners of two trial keys, but you can combine a permanent key with an earlier trial key.)

I hope that explains owners and trial keys. Post again if you have any other questions or problems.

Thanks!

I purchased a personal key, captured once more, and used the combine archive command as you posted.

Worked perfectly.

I was glad I had come close to understanding what was happening with my trial keys, your explanation was very helpful. Thanks for the quick response and excellent software.

So, to change from a trial key to a personal key, the entire archive has to be recaptured?

My archive includes three volumes. So when I enter a permanent key in QRecall Preferences : Identity Key, I have to create a new archive and then combine the two archives? As in putting another 680GB archive on the same external hard drive and then combining them?

Sorry to be so dense...

Jon Lindemann wrote:So when I enter a permanent key in QRecall Preferences : Identity Key, I have to create a new archive and then combine the two archives? As in putting another 680GB archive on the same external hard drive and then combining them?

Jon,

You don't need to create a new archive. In fact, don't create a new archive. Enter you permanent identity key and simply go back to capturing your three volumes.

QRecall will preform a "full" recapture of all three volumes. But since that data has already been captured once, it won't add any appreciable amount of data to the archive—this is the magic of data de-duplication at work.

After recapturing your three volumes, you'll have an archive with two owners, each of which will have three volumes. You now have the choice of joining these owners, essentially migrating the captures performed with the trail key to your new permanent key, or you can simply delete the volumes belonging to the trial key. It's your choice.

Documentation for both deleting items and joining volumes and owners is described in the help (in the QRecall application, Help > QRecall Help > Guide > Advanced > Delete items / Combine Items).

Thanks James. It worked fine.