Exclude Files and Folders from Backup and Protection

You may want to exclude certain types of files from Endpoint Cloud backup and protection. For example, you could exclude image files, videos, and music. You can also exclude certain folders.

There are two ways to exclude files and folders:

• You can exclude for a specific Location
• You can exclude  for all Locations.

In this article, we explain how to use the Global Exclusions feature to exclude files and folders for all Locations. The Global Exclusions feature is useful when you know that there are certain file types that you never want to be protected for any Location. It allows you to create a group of file types that you can exclude for all Locations in a single action.

To learn how to exclude files for one specific Location, see Choose which Files and Folders are Protected.

Exclude Files from Protection for All Locations

To prevent certain file types from being backed up and protected for all Locations:

1. Display the Policy Editor for the Policy that you want to change (click Policies and then click on the Policy).
2. On the Protected Data tab, expand the Global Exclude settings.

   

3. In the Excluded Files section, click the plus icon (+) to display the Add File Type dialog.

   

4. Use the Select a File Type option to set the name for your new Global Files group. You can either choose from the list of available file types or you can select Add New File Type.
5. If you selected Add New File Type in step 4, enter the name for the new Global Files group in the Edit File Type Name field. If you chose an existing file type, you can edit the name or leave it as is.
6. Use the Add or Remove Extensions box to add or delete file extensions from the new Global Files group. The file extensions that you add to the box will be excluded - Endpoint Cloud will not protect these file types for devices that use this Policy.
7. Click Save Changes.

Edit the Global File Exclusion Rules

To change which files are included in the Global Excludes:

1. Display the Policy Editor for the Policy that you want to change (click Policies and then click on the Policy).
   Note

   The Policy Editor is displayed automatically when you create a new Policy.

2. Make sure the Protected Data tab is shown.
3. In the list of Global Excludes, find the group that you want to change and click on the Edit icon (pencil).
4. Use the Edit File Type Name field to change the name of the group, if required.
5. Use the Add or Remove Extensions box to add or delete file extensions.

   To add a file extension, click in an empty part of the box and enter the characters of the file extension. Press Enter and a blue block appears for your new extension type. Click Save Changes to confirm.

   To remove a file extension type, click the X on the appropriate blue block. Click Save Changes to confirm.

Exclude Folders from Protection for All Locations

You can exclude folders from Endpoint Cloud protection. For example, your users may have personal data folders where they store non-business data, and you do not want this information to be backed up.

To exclude folders for all Locations:

1. Display the Policy Editor for the Policy that you want to change (click Policies and then click on the Policy).
   Note

   The Policy Editor is displayed automatically when you create a new Policy.

2. Make sure the Protected Data tab is shown.
3. In the Global Excludes section, click the plus icon (+).
4. You can choose System Folders or Temporary Folders, or click Add New Folder to choose a specific folder. If you add a new folder, the Add Folder dialog appears and you can set the Folder Name and Path(s).
5. Click Save Changes.

Edit the Excluded Folders

If you have set Excluded Folders in the Global Excludes for a Policy, you can edit them to:

• Change the folder name
• Change the path
• Add extra paths.

To edit Global Exclude Folders:

1. Display the Policy Editor for the Policy that you want to change (click Policies and then click on the Policy).
   Note

   The Policy Editor is displayed automatically when you create a new Policy.

2. Make sure the Protected Data tab is shown.
3. In the Global Excludes section, click the Edit icon (pencil) for the global exclude group that you want to change.
4. Use the Folder Name field to change the name of the group.
5. Use the Path field(s) to change the locations of the folders.
6. Click Save Changes.

Remove Files or Folders from Global Excludes

To remove files or folders from the Global Excludes of a Policy:

1. Display the Policy Editor for the Policy that you want to change (click Policies and then click on the Policy).
   Note

   The Policy Editor is displayed automatically when you create a new Policy.

2. Make sure the Protected Data tab is shown.
3. In the Global Excludes section, click the Bin icon for the global exclude group or folder that you want to remove.

When you remove a group of files or folder from the Global Excludes on a Policy, they are no longer excluded from protection by Endpoint Cloud. (Unless they are also excluded in the Location settings).