[rdiff-backup-users] --include-symbolic-links

[Eric Beversluis]

I just discovered that I wasn't backing up the material outside my home
directory to which I have symbolic links in the home directory (eg,
my /srv/www directory). Apparently what I took for backups of this
material was the backup disk using the link back to the originals on my
HDD.

I thought using the option "--include-symbolic-links" would solve this
problem, but it seems to result in the same behavior: When I open the
backup on a different computer, it tells me the links are broken.

(This is the command I used:
rdiff-backup --include-symbolic-links
--exclude /home/eric/.evolution/cache/tmp /home/eric /media/disk/Home-backup)

What exactly does the "--include-symbolic-links" do? The man page is
profoundly uninformative: "Include all symbolic links." Rdiff-backup
already includes the symbolic links in the backup, without using this
option--and links to the originals when clicked in the backup. If the
option doesn't do something different--viz., follow the symbolic link
and back up the linked material as well, why have it?

I believe I can't create a hard link to /srv/www because my home
directory is in a different partition.

Thanks.