Index: src/main/java/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupConfig.java
===================================================================
--- src/main/java/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupConfig.java	(revision 32387)
+++ src/main/java/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupConfig.java	(working copy)
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 package org.jvnet.hudson.plugins.backup;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
@@ -68,6 +69,16 @@
 	public void addExclusion(String exclusion) {
 		this.customExclusions.add(exclusion);
 	}
+	
+	public String getCustomExclusionsString() {
+		return StringUtils.join(customExclusions, ',');
+	}
+	
+	public void setCustomExclusionsString(String customExclusionsString) {
+		String[] exclusionsArray = StringUtils.split(customExclusionsString, ", ");
+		List<String> exclusionsList = Arrays.asList(exclusionsArray);
+		setCustomExclusions(exclusionsList);
+	}
 
 	public boolean isVerbose() {
 		return verbose;
Index: src/main/resources/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupLink/backupsettings.jelly
===================================================================
--- src/main/resources/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupLink/backupsettings.jelly	(revision 32387)
+++ src/main/resources/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupLink/backupsettings.jelly	(working copy)
@@ -53,6 +53,10 @@
                              help="/plugin/backup/help/help-fileNameTemplate.html">
                         <f:textbox value="${it.configuration.fileNameTemplate}" name="fileNameTemplate"/>
                     </f:entry>
+                    <f:entry title="${%backup.customExclusions.title}"
+                             help="/plugin/backup/help/help-customExcludes.html">
+                        <f:textbox value="${it.configuration.customExclusionsString}" name="customExclusionsString"/>
+                    </f:entry>
                     <f:optionalBlock title="${%backup.verbose.title}"
                         checked="${it.configuration.verbose}"
                         name="verbose"
Index: src/main/webapp/help/help-customExcludes.html
===================================================================
--- src/main/webapp/help/help-customExcludes.html	(revision 0)
+++ src/main/webapp/help/help-customExcludes.html	(revision 0)
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+<!--
+  - The MIT License
+  -
+  - Copyright (c) 2010, Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques Michelin, Romain Seguy
+  -
+  - Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+  - of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+  - in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+  - to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+  - copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+  - furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+  -
+  - The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+  - all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+  -
+  - THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+  - IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+  - FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+  - AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+  - LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+  - OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+  - THE SOFTWARE.
+  -->
+
+<div>
+    Comma- or space-separated list of file/directory names to exclude from backup.  These
+    apply across the entire backup.<br/>
+    For example, setting this field to <code>war,plugins</code> will
+    allow you to avoid backing up "binaries" that you don't want to back up.  But, this will
+    also exclude any file/directory named "war" or "plugins" anywhere in Hudson's home directory.
+    <br/>
+    If no value is specified, the whole content of the Hudson home directory will be taken
+    into account.
+</div>
Index: src/main/java/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupLink.java
===================================================================
--- src/main/java/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupLink.java	(revision 32387)
+++ src/main/java/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupLink.java	(working copy)
@@ -169,6 +169,7 @@
     public void doSaveSettings(StaplerRequest res, StaplerResponse rsp,
                                @QueryParameter("backupDirectoryPath") String backupPath,
                                @QueryParameter("archive_format") String format,
+                               @QueryParameter("customExclusionsString") String customExclusionsString,
                                @QueryParameter("verbose") boolean verbose,
                                @QueryParameter("fileNameTemplate") String fileNameTemplate,
                                @QueryParameter("keepWorkspaces") boolean keepWorkspaces,
@@ -190,7 +191,7 @@
 
         CompressionMethodEnum archiveType = CompressionMethodEnum.getFromCode(format);
         configuration.setArchiveType(archiveType);
-        configuration.setCustomExclusions(new ArrayList<String>());
+        configuration.setCustomExclusionsString(customExclusionsString);
         configuration.setKeepWorkspaces(keepWorkspaces);
         configuration.setKeepFingerprints(keepFingerprints);
         configuration.setKeepBuilds(keepBuilds);
Index: src/main/resources/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupLink/backupsettings.properties
===================================================================
--- src/main/resources/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupLink/backupsettings.properties	(revision 32379)
+++ src/main/resources/org/jvnet/hudson/plugins/backup/BackupLink/backupsettings.properties	(working copy)
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 backup.directory.title=Backup directory
 backup.settings.save=Save
 backup.root.directory.title=Hudson root directory
+backup.customExclusions.title=Custom exclusions
 backup.verbose.title=Verbose mode
 backup.fileNameTemplate.title=File name template
 backup.archivetype.title=Format