I see the Archive setting when I use Properties to save a file as Read
Only. Why is there such a setting, and where do these archived files
go?

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Carl,

I see the Archive setting when I use Properties to save a file
as Read Only. Why is there such a setting, and where do these
archived files go?

They go nowhere.

Its a flag from back outof the stone age (DOS era), *indicating* that the
file has changed, and /needs to be/ backupped (after which the backup
program is suposed to reset the flag).

Try it out: clear the flag and see that it stays cleared, until you do something with it.

Regards,
Rudy Wiesr

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"until you do something with it."

With "it" being the file.

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On Thu, 28 Nov 2024 20:39:57 +0100, "R.Wieser" <[email protected]d>
wrote:

Carl,

I see the Archive setting when I use Properties to save a file
as Read Only. Why is there such a setting, and where do these
archived files go?

They go nowhere.

Its a flag from back outof the stone age (DOS era), *indicating* that the >file has changed, and /needs to be/ backupped (after which the backup
program is suposed to reset the flag).

Try it out: clear the flag and see that it stays cleared, until you do >something with it.

Regards,
Rudy Wiesr

Tried what you said. It did exactly what you said it'd do.

I was just curious.

Thanks for the answer.

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On Thu, 28 Nov 2024 20:39:57 +0100, R.Wieser wrote:

Try it out: clear the flag and see that it stays cleared, until you do something with it.

PS) Do that in DOS. Not Windows NT+. Windows NT couldn't care less about
that attribute. IIRC, by Windows, it's only used by the built in Backup application. Dunno how *nix based OSes treat that attribute.

But that attribute is not DOS' file attribute. It's FAT's file attribute.
It's just that, modern OSes don't use it anymore. It's more like an extra
file attribute usable as a marker for whatever context it was for.

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Carl,

Try it out: clear the flag and see that it stays cleared, until
you do something with it.

..

Tried what you said. It did exactly what you said it'd do.

I was just curious.

The same as I was when I first encounter that flag. :-)

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

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JJ,

It's just that, modern OSes don't use it anymore.

I can't even remember it /ever/ been used. DOS era or later.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

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On Fri, 29 Nov 2024 09:34:51 +0100, R.Wieser wrote:

JJ,

It's just that, modern OSes don't use it anymore.

I can't even remember it /ever/ been used. DOS era or later.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

In DOS, it's used by BACKUP, RESTORE, and XCOPY. As it was designed for. I forgot XCOPY also uses it even in Windows NT.

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JJ,

It's just that, modern OSes don't use it anymore.

I can't even remember it /ever/ been used. DOS era or later.

...

In DOS, it's used by BACKUP, RESTORE,

That might explain it.

The only times I have heard the latter mentioned was when someone could not restore their backups, because they had a newer version of DOS installed
(IOW, zero backwards compatibility).

and XCOPY.

You got me there, it looks like I have forgotten it supported the Archive
bit. :-|

... Perhaps because its a bit useless (understatement) on computers where
every tom-dick-and-harry could muck around with it (IOW, absolutily un-dependable).


By the way:

"Windows NT couldn't care less about that attribute." Under XP that
attribute is, using the GUI, accesible thru a files properties -> advanced dialog.

"It's FAT's file attribute." NTFS (the one I could check) also has it.

"But that attribute is not DOS' file attribute." Nobody here claimed that it was ("DOS *era*" is a time designation).

... though to be honest, if asked I would also have said its a filesystem thing. IOW, I learned something too. :-)


Also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archive_bit

It specifically mentions OS-es, not file systems.

https://networkencyclopedia.com/archive-attribute/

Same here, it talks about the Windows OS having the Archive Attribute. No mentioning of filesystems its limited to.

(I tried to find a list of filesystems to see which ones supported the
Archive attribute, but could not readily find any such thing. Which I find telling in itself)

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

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On Thu, 28 Nov 2024 11:56:32 -0600, [email protected] wrote:

I see the Archive setting when I use Properties to save a file as Read
Only. Why is there such a setting, and where do these archived files
go?

It marks the file as changed.

I use it in batch files --- for example I can ask for all the files in
a directory with the archive bit set to be updated in a ZIP archive,
and for the archive bit then to be reset.

I use it to transfer data files between my desktop and laptop computer
-- the batch file copies the ZIP archive to a USB flash drive, and
then on the other computer the changed files are unZIPped and put in
the relevant directory. This makes it possible to transfer the changed
files with a single command (a call to the batch file), and it saves a
bit of time in copying only the changed files rather than all of them.


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

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