Download files from the Code42 app for CrashPlan for Small Business
Overview
We recommend using the Code42 app to restore files whenever you have access to one of your devices. The Code42 console is convenient for restoring files when you are not near one of your devices. However, the Code42 app offers you the most flexibility. This article describes how to restore files from the Code42 app.
Video
Video starts at 00:35.
Considerations
- If you need to restore all of your files because you recently replaced a device or the hard drive containing your operating system, see Replace your device using CrashPlan for Small Business.
- If you notice the Code42 app is restoring more files than you expect, see our considerations for restoring metadata.
Restore files from the Code42 app
Restore a single file
- Sign in to the Code42 app.
- Click Restore Files.
- (Applies only if you have multiple devices) From the menu, select the device that originally backed up the files you want to restore.
- If you back up to multiple destinations, select the destination from Restore files from.
- (Optional) If you want to restore an earlier version of your files, click As of Today to select a previous date from a calendar.
- Navigate to the file you wish to restore.
Learn more about finding files (including hidden or deleted files) below. - Mouse over the file, and click the download icon
.
Your download is added to the downloads manager with the default files options. The downloads manager displays the status of your download.
Restore multiple files
- Sign in to the Code42 app.
- Click Restore Files.
- (Applies only if you have multiple devices) From the menu, select the device that originally backed up the files you want to restore.
- If you back up to multiple destinations, select the destination from Restore files from.
- (Optional) If you want to restore an earlier version of your files, click As of Today to select a previous date from a calendar.
- Select the checkboxes for the folders and files you want to restore.
Learn more about finding files (including hidden or deleted files) below. - Select Restore Files
The Restore Files Options window appears.
- Update the options to specify the restore location, naming guidelines, and permissions for your restored files.
- Click Go.
Your download is added to the downloads manager. The downloads manager displays the status of your download.
Find files to restore
Search
To restore a specific file, first search for it by providing all or part of the file name or extension. Click the search icon and enter your search term.
Search Rule | Example | Results |
Search for any part of a file name | win |
winter.txt, winters.txt, winner.txt |
Searches are not case-sensitive | Winter.txt |
winter.txt |
Spaces are treated the same as any other character |
|
Winter Campaign-Ad 1.mp4 (0 results found) |
Question mark ( ? ) is a placeholder for one character |
|
winters.txt |
Asterisk ( * ) is a placeholder for any number of characters, including no character | win*.txt |
winter.txt, winters.txt, winner.txt |
You can click a folder within your search results to resume browsing. To return to your search results, click the search icon. Your search term is retained until you clear the term, close the search bar, or exit the Restore files or Get files view. Files selected for restoration remain selected when toggling between search and browse.
Deleted files
Previous file version
To browse all of the file versions backed up for a particular file, mouse over the file in the Restore files and click the versions icon . All versions of the file backed up prior to the selected As Of date display.
To restore a previous version, you can either:
- Mouse over the version and click the download icon
to add the file to the downloads manager.
- Select the radio button for the version. Then, either browse back to the folder containing the file to select additional files, or click Restore Files to view options for restoring the file.
Hidden files
Some temporary and system files are hidden in the Restore Files view because you do not typically need to interact with these files. Hidden files and locations do not appear in the file selection list by default. To view hidden files:
- Choose the options menu
.
- Select Show hidden files to view hidden files.
Files options
The Code42 app suggests default settings for restoring your files. You can change these settings before restoring your files.
If you modify the default settings, the Code42 app will use the modified settings until you either exit the Restore files view or close the Code42 app. However, when you use the download icon

Save selected files to
By default, the Code42 app restores files to your device's Downloads folder. To change the restore location, select Downloads.
Choose one of the following locations:
- Desktop
- Original location
Original location is disabled if you are restoring files to a different operating system than the original device. - Other (opens a file browser for selecting a folder on your device)
Original Location No Longer Exists
If you restore files to their original location, but that location no longer exists, the Code42 app recreates the folders used by the original location.
For example, suppose you back up the folder C:\Users\Jim\Documents. Later, you replace your device and use a different username. Your new Documents folder is located at C:\Users\James\Documents. If you restore your Documents folder to the original location, the Code42 app creates a folder labeled Jim under the C:\Users directory and restore the Documents folder there. In this scenario, you probably don't want to restore files to their original location.
If file already exists
If a file is restored to a location that already contains a file with the same name, the Code42 app defaults to renaming the original file with the prefix original1. Choose how the Code42 app handles matching file names by clicking Rename:
- Overwrite: If a duplicate name is detected, the Code42 app replaces the existing file with the restored file.
- Rename: If a duplicate name is detected, the Code42 app renames the existing file with the prefix original1.
If you aren't sure whether you want to rename or replace, choose the rename option. You can always delete duplicate files later.
Permissions
Restore files with Current permissions instead of Original permissions to avoid file access issues. For example:
- If you did not originally have permissions to a directory where files were backed up, restore the files using Current permissions to give yourself access to the restored files in that directory.
- If files were originally backed up on a different device, restore the files using Current permissions to give yourself access to the restored files on your current device.
Restore files to a different operating system
Restore an external hard drive
If you try to restore files that were originally stored on an external hard drive, and that hard drive is not currently connected to the source device, the Code42 app treats the files as missing. To restore:
- If you are replacing the original drive (due to failure or another loss), see our guide to Download files after replacing a drive using CrashPlan for Small Business.
- If you are not replacing the drive, but it is not currently available (or you don't want to connect it because you are only restoring a few files), you can select Show deleted files to restore the files.
Restore order
When restoring files, the Code42 app gives priority to newer files. Files backed up less than 7 days ago are restored first (smallest to largest), followed by files backed up more than 7 days ago (smallest to largest).
External resources
- Microsoft: Windows file permissions
- Peach Pit: Understanding Mac file permissions
Related topics
- Replace your device using CrashPlan for Small Business
- Restore files with CrashPlan for Small Business
- Where are my files? (CrashPlan for Small Business)
- Change the file selection (CrashPlan for Small Business)
- Download files from the web using CrashPlan for Small Business
- Unable to restore using CrashPlan for Small Business