Indy

Just wanted to check in, and thank everyone for your input and direction. I did check out EVACopy, which is an excellent utility. It does ALMOST everything I need to do, but can only check once per minute of keyboard/mouse inactivity. You can technically set it for less (say, 0.1) but after the first attempt, it can't do it faster than 45 seconds due to the program's limitations. I chatted with the programmer, who has done a great job; the software should work nicely for most people who need such a solution. Unfortunately, when we're working on projects that need this auto-backup feature, we literally work steadily for hours without pausing long enough for the backup to kick in. So while EVACopy won't work for my needs (and I continue to investigate how to script this in some way), it truly is a neat program! I actually plan to use it for other purposes at home, so I'll definitely get some use out of it.

Maybe you are asking too much for a batch. Yes, I knew this would be adventurous from the outset. I don't really need the batch to run invisibly -- just without need for user interaction. I'm thinking my "quick and dirty" example would make more sense... every 15 minutes, check the folder, and copy backups based on dates/times that have changed in the last 15 minutes. It has literally been 20 years since I did any of this. Time to check out those links and maybe find a good book. or two. :-)

Yep -- I just created the folder, and it retested perfectly. It polls through each file and reports it as existing. So my next question: How can I have the batch file then pause, without using PAUSE, and wait a few minutes before checking again? Obviously, my aim is to have this run silently in the background, watching the folder and quietly copying backups if needed. Then, how will it know to then copy any files that are new or changed? Best, -Indy

Sorry, you are quite right, XP. However, we're going to Windows 7 machines soon. It appears to poll through all files in the folder properly. Ignore the attached image; I goofed when I ran it originally. So I could eliminate PAUSE and just let it cycle through repeatedly? I'll delve into those links and see if I can learn something! Best, -Indy

Sorry, you are quite right, XP. However, we're going to Windows 7 machines soon. I tried your batch without the ECHO OFF so you can see everything, and it looks like the attached. It's complaining about not finding the specified file. Note there are four files in the directory. I'll delve into those links and see if I can learn something! Best, -Indy

I know this is a long shot, but I'm hoping someone out there might be able to direct me. I'd like a batch file that will do the following: 1. Watch a specified directory. 2. When any file in the directory changes -- as in a new file is created or a file is updated -- copy it to a different directory 3. But when it copies to the backup directory, rename the copied file with the appended time and date So, if C:\main\filename.txt changes, copy to C:\backup\filename_DATE_TIME.txt The thing is, it would have to poll the directory to account for any changes -- creations or alterations -- and back it up. This can be quick and dirty... it can merely check a folder every X minutes and copy any files newer than current date/time minus those X minutes. But it would have to keep multiple backups any files that change in the backup folder. Ultimately, I'd love to get fancy, and limit the backups to, say, the last five versions of the file, and delete any older than that. Yes, I know, now I'm just getting greedy. But if I can learn how to watch a folder for file changes and copy changed files with new names, I'd be plenty satisfied. I just can't figure out how to poll through all files in a directory, much less rename each copied file on the fly. Any ideas? I'm an old programmer from way back and code from time to time, but haven't done batch-file programming to any extent for about 20 years. So I'm on the cusp of digging up a complete, advanced, batch-file reference just to write this one file. If anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it. Best, -Indy