TM-Utilities Glossary

abort OR restore operation

A restore operation is initiated by the Restore Snapshot window to copy the selected source file(s) to the selected destination asynchronously in the background. Cancelling the restore operation before it completes is an abort operation.

See Restore Operation for a more detailed description.

default user name

For a local destination, it is the the user running TM-Utilities. For a network destination, TM-Utilities tries to find a valid user of the backup source. Priority is given to the user name of the network share, followed by the user running TM-Utilities. If neither one is valid, TM-Utilities reads the "/Users" folder in the snapshot volume for a valid user. A list of valid users is presented if there is more than one. Otherwise, "root" is set as the default user name.

destination information

This is a collection of Time Machine properties (such as kind, backup volume name, mount point, and URL) that identify the backup destination. The kind is either Local or Network. The backup volume name is usually the same as the mount point (without the /Volumes prefix). The mount point is necessary for a Local destination, and the URL is necessary for a Network destination. The URL requires the "AFP://" (Apple Filing Protocol) or "SMB://" (Simple Message Block) scheme.

first responder

Every window and/or view may have a first responder. The first responder is usually an active text field waiting for user action and/or keyboard input. First responders are selected by the TM-Utilities Window Manager if implied by context.

foreign sparse bundle

This is a backup image created by another user or computer.

modal panel

This is a pop-up window requiring attention before continuing TM-Utilities. No other TM-Utilities window may be accessed until the modal panel is closed. Modal panels are used for important messages (green background), warnings (yellow background), critical events (red background), and browsing (light green background).

mount point

This is the path to a disk volume or image that is usually mounted or attached in the "/Volumes" folder of the root directory (e.g. "/Volumes/Backups").

As of macOS Sierra (v10.12), the "/Volumes" folder is no longer writable by users. Also, the "/private/tmp" folder cannot be accessed by App Store apps. Mount points created by the user must be located in a user-writable directory. TM-Utilities creates mount points in the NSTemporaryDirectory() folder.

As of macOS Mojave (v10.14), network backup shares are mounted at "/Volumes/com.apple.TimeMachine.Backups-HHHHHHHH-HHHH-HHHH-HHHHHHHHHHHH", where H is a hexadecimal digit. This mount point tends to persist longer in Mojave than previous macOS versions. "Reset Network" in the Application Menu will attempt to remove this mount point. Persistence of this mount point will not prevent TM-Utilities from running. TM-Utilities always uses its own mount point.

The "Time Machine Backups" disk image is always attached by the operating system in the "/Volumes" folder. See sparse bundle.

phase OR phase window

The three TM-Utilities phases are listed below. Each phase has its own window.

Snapshots
Explore Snapshot
Restore Snapshot

property list OR plist

A collection of application properties using eXtensible Markup Language (XML), stored in either text or binary format.

realms

The Time Machine structure is described by "realms", which parallel the directory hierarchy of the backup files.

source analysis

Pressing the "Restore" button in the Explore Snapshot window starts analysis of the source files to determine total size in bytes and total number of files.

See Source Analysis for a more detailed description.

sparse bundle OR sparsebundle

This is the backup image of a network destination. It contains the backup store, machine directory, snapshots, and snapshot volumes, which are accessed by attaching the image as a disk volume named "Time Machine Backups" in the /Volumes folder. "/Volumes/Time Machine Backups" is the mount point.