Archive Old Versions

Move superseded versions out of a folder.

Method

Archive Old Versions moves the older versions of each file in the Source folder into the Archive destination, leaving the newest in place.

When Volare sets up a show folder, Source folder and Archive destination default to the show’s Staged folder and Staged\_archive.

Volare doesn’t track folders named _archive, and a new distribution starts with them excluded. Moving old versions to an _archive folder inside Staged keeps them close to their original location, while the next Mirror distribution clears them off the media servers.

Which files move

Files in the same folder that share a name apart from their version form a version group, such as Intro_v01.mov, Intro_v02.mov and Intro_v03.mov. Names are compared ignoring case. In each version group the newest versions stay and the rest move. Files without a version stay where they are.

Frame patches

A frame patch, such as Intro_v04_frame0120.mov, replaces only some frames of the version beneath it. A version and the patches above it count as one, and stay or move together, so a patch is never left without its underlying version.

With Versions to keep at 2:

File	Result	Why
Intro_v05.mov	Kept	The current version
Intro_v04_frame0120.mov	Kept	Patches v03, so it stays
Intro_v03.mov	Kept	Counts as one version with its patch
Intro_v02.mov	Moved	Older than the two kept
Intro_v01.mov	Moved	Older than the two kept

Exclude

A file on the Exclude list stays where it is, whatever its version. An entry can be the full file name or the name without its extension, and matches in any folder, ignoring case.

With Versions to keep at 2 and walkin_loop_v01 on the Exclude list:

File	Result	Why
walkin_loop_v04.mov	Kept	The current version
walkin_loop_v03.mov	Kept	The version before it
walkin_loop_v02.mov	Moved	Older than the two kept
walkin_loop_v01.mov	Kept	On the Exclude list

An excluded file among the newest still counts as one of them, so nothing extra stays.

Output layout

Old versions are moved to the Archive destination, under the same subfolders they have in the source.

In Staged:

Staged\Song_01\Intro_v01.mov

In the archive:

Staged\_archive\Song_01\Intro_v01.mov

Parameters

Parameter	Details
Source folder	The folder to move old versions out of.
Archive destination	The folder to move old versions to. Defaults to an _archive folder inside the Source folder.
Versions to keep	The number of newest versions of each file that stay in place.
Include subfolders	Include every folder inside the Source folder.
Exclude	Files that stay where they are, whatever their version. See Exclude.