New kinda BackUp question...

I have been working on getting all essential files for AutoCAD backed up and
finally have the script working to get all files that I need with the
exception of one. The temporary backup directory. By default it goes to
Local User settings temp folder. And that is fine, but over a short amount
of time it can grow to very large sizes. I actually only need to back up
about the previous 10 days from the time of back up, though. So here goes
my question:

How can I either make a folder delete files after a certain amount of days
have passed?
or
How can I only backup the files in a folder that have been modified or
created within the last 10 days?

 

Doc,

Have a look at the dos command XCOPY. It contains an option to copy files
that've been changed/created after a certain date. Use that to copy the
files you're after.

Once you've copied the ones you want to keep, you can delete the others.

 

*RDI* typed some great info as displayed here:

| Have a look at the dos command XCOPY. It contains an option to copy
| files that've been changed/created after a certain date. Use that to
| copy the files you're after.

That is in fact the command I am using, but it will only set to one specific
date. What I need it to do is copy everything that has been created or
modified ten days before today (note: where today is a variable). Is that
possible?

 

So you only want to keep things that are OLDER than a certain date? I
thought you wanted to get rid of things that were older.

It sounds like it'll take a little more thought.

 

Try setting the ARCHIVE attribute on everything the directory (use the
attrib command to do this).
Then XCopy with the date function and the /M option. After copying the
files, it'll turn the archive attribute OFF. The remaining files (the ones
NOT meeting your date spec) will still have the archive attribute set.

Now use XCOPY again this time--tell it to copy ONLY files with the archive
attrbute set.

Watch the word wrap below.

example for the following batch file (this one will include files in
sub-folders): mybackup.bat "c:\Source Directory\" "c:\Destination
Directory" 12-06-04 s

example for the following batch file (this one will not include files in
sub-folders): mybackup.bat "c:\Source Directory\" "c:\Destination
Directory" 12-06-04
@echo off
rem the first arguement should be the source path.
rem the second argument should be the destination path of your final files.
rem the third arguemnt should be the date
rem if you want to perform this operation on files in sub-folders as well,
the
rem fourth argument should be s (otherwise leave it blank.

attrib %1\*.* +a %4

md c:\temp-xc\

xcopy %1 c:\temp-xc /m /d:%3

copy c:\temp-xc %2 /m

rd c:\temp-xc /S /Q

 

I just realized a mistake in the "batch file". Change the line which reads
"copy c:\temp-xc %2 /m" to say "XCopy %1 %2 %4"

 

*RDI* typed them thar words:

| So you only want to keep things that are OLDER than a certain date? I
| thought you wanted to get rid of things that were older.

No... You had it right the first time. I need all things between x-(x-10)
where x=today. Everything else is not important.

 

Oh that's easy then.

From XCopy's help:
/D:m-d-y Copies files changed on or after the specified date.
If no date is given, copies only those files whose
source time is newer than the destination time.

Therefore the following will copy all files AFTER 12/1/04 (between 12/1 and
today).

xcopy "c:\test directory\*.*" "c:\Destination Directory\*.*" /d:12-1-04

 

*Don I* typed them thar words:

| xcopy "c:\test directory\*.*" "c:\Destination Directory\*.*"
| /d:12-1-04

Not so easy... because then I have to manualy go into the script and change
the date, because that may work fine for today, but tomorrow I will need it
to be 12-2-04, and then the day after that it will need to be 12-3-04. What
I was hoping for was a switch that backed up everything from 10 days before
the current date to the current date. So any set date would not work. It
need to be a variable...

Any ideas?

 

Does it need to be a script? If you can use Lisp, you can extract the
elements of the date from the CDATE system variable with (substr) and put
them together into the form the /d switch wants with (strcat). The part
about ten days ago is the tricky one, when that would involve going back
into the previous month. You'd probably have to compare the 7th and 8th
characters of CDATE to see whether they're 10 or less, and if so, subtract
them from 10 and take the remainder off of 28 (to cover all possible
months), and reduce the 5th and 6th characters by one. But you would also
have to compare those, and if they're 01, change them to 12 instead of 00.
Anyway, as complicated as it may be, I think it could be done.