# Archiving log files

**URL:** <https://forums.powershell.org/t/archiving-log-files/841>\
**Category:** PowerShell Help\
**Created:** [December 31, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/archiving-log-files/841 "2011-12-31T18:30:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![archives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@archives](https://forums.powershell.org/u/archives)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/archiving-log-files/841/1 "2011-12-31T18:30:00Z")

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by Bueno at 2013-04-09 04:46:21

> Hi There!  
>   
> I need some assistance is composing a script to archive multiple files in multiple directories. These files are to be moved across the network into more or less an identical directory structure.   
>   
> Let me show you the directory structure where I would like to move files from;  
> ` Directory: \server01\D$\applications\myapp\webserviceMode LastWriteTime Length Name---- ------------- ------ ----d---- 09/04/2013 11:55 OrderExportd---- 09/04/2013 12:12 OrdersImportd---- 09/04/2013 12:22 StockExportd---- 09/04/2013 12:22 StockStatusExportd---- 09/04/2013 11:46 Test-a— 24/02/2012 17:59 4666105 dbgout.log-a— 16/11/2011 10:21 4119552 KCWarehouse 2012-01-16.exe-a— 10/01/2012 15:39 1213952 KCWarehouse 2012-02-09.exe-a— 09/02/2012 09:57 3954176 KCWarehouse 2012-02-24.exe-a— 18/11/2011 09:28 1457664 KhaosMD 2012-05-25.exe-a— 09/04/2013 12:22 5373590 KhaosMD [2013-04 (week 15)].txt-a— 06/02/2012 10:14 239 KhaosMD.conf-a— 09/05/2012 09:05 2301952 KhaosMD.exe-a— 09/04/2013 11:52 1321 SOAP_ErrRequest.xml-a— 09/04/2013 11:52 470 SOAP_ErrResponse.xml-a— 09/04/2013 12:22 775 SOAP_Request.xml-a— 09/04/2013 12:22 90249 SOAP_Response.xml-a— 16/01/2013 22:53 643 web.config-a— 08/04/2013 23:28 623344 WMS [2013-04-08].txt-a— 09/04/2013 12:14 10536963 WMS [2013-04-09].txt-a— 18/01/2013 17:07 296 WMS.conf-a— 13/12/2012 09:42 9588736 WMS.exe-a— 28/03/2012 16:15 4068864 WMS_20121213.exe`  
>   
> And the directory structure of where I would like to move the files to;  
> ` Directory: \server02\webservicelogs$\liveMode LastWriteTime Length Name---- ------------- ------ ----d---- 04/04/2013 11:12 KhaosMDd-r-- 04/04/2013 11:12 OrderExportd---- 04/04/2013 13:26 OrdersImportd---- 04/04/2013 14:10 StockExportd---- 04/04/2013 15:23 StockStatusExportd---- 04/04/2013 15:24 WMS`  
>   
> What I need to do is move the contents of each of the following directories in the webservice directory of server01to the relevant folders on server02. I have also provided example file names;  
>   
> OrderExport  
> OrderExport [130117085433\_617].xml  
>   
> OrderImport  
> OrdersImport [120624134015\_674].xml  
> OrdersImport [120624134015\_674].log  
>   
> StockExport  
> StockExport [121008163342\_541].xml  
>   
> StockStatusExport  
> StockStatusExport [120501140157\_924].xml  
>   
> There are also logs in the webservice directory of server01 which are not in sub directories but I would liek to move them into the relevant directories on server02;  
>   
> WMS [2013-01-14].txt  
> KhaosMD [2012-05 (week 22)].txt  
>   
> I want to move files which are 1 day old only(lastwritetime).   
>   
> I have managed to do this successfully but only one directory at a time, my current script is big and messy. I used the following to move the contents of each sub directory (obvious I have one instance of the below code per sub directory);  
> `Get-ChildItem ‘\Server01\c$\Folder\WebService\OrderExport*’ -Include Ordersimport*.xml, Ordersimport*.log | Where-Object {$.lastwritetime.date -le (get-date).adddays(-1).date} | foreach-object {move-item -Destination '\tycho\webservicelogs$\OrderExport'} `  
>   
> _Then in order to move the logs in the webservice directory I do the following;  
> `$WMSLoc = ‘\Server01\c$\Folder\WebService*’ #contains WMS and KhaosMD logsGet-ChildItem $WMSLoc -Include WMS*.txt, KhaosMD*.txt | Where-Object {$`_`.lastwritetime.date -le (get-date).adddays(-1).date}Foreach ($Log in $WMSLoc){ if ($File.name -match "KhaosMD"){ Move-Item -LiteralPath $File -Destination $KDest } elseif ($File.name -match "WMS"){ Move-Item -LiteralPath $File -Destination $WDest }}`  
>   
> What I am looking for is some assistance in optimising my script.   
>   
> Thanks in advance.

by happysysadm at 2013-04-09 05:35:52

> Hi Bueno,  
>   
> in the first example, it looks like ‘odersexport’ is a recurring string. To begin with, I suggest you put this and ordersimport, StockExport and StockStatusExport into an array then pipe it to a foreach inside which you can re-use your code:  
>   
> [code2=powershell]@('ordersexport','ordersimport', 'StockExport,' 'StockStatusExport') | % {  
> (Get-ChildItem '\betty\c$\KSW\WebService$_\*' -Include $ __.xml, $\__.log | Where-Object {$_.lastwritetime.date -le (get-date).adddays(-1).date}) |  
> foreach-object {move-item -Destination '\tycho\webservicelogs$$_&#39;}   
> }[/code2]  
> Can you see what I mean?  
>   
> Tell me if this helps then we will have a look at the second part and also add a bit of error handling (for failed moves).  
>   
> Carlo

by MasterOfTheHat at 2013-04-09 07:09:23

> I haven’t tested this, but see if the logic helps:  
> `$sourceDir = "\betty\c$\Software\WebService"$destDir = "\betty\c$\Software\WebService&quot;# get all subdirectories in the desination path$allDestDirs = Get-ChildItem -Directory -Path $destDir# get all .xml and .log files in the source directory and subdirectories, then process each one individuallyGet-ChildItem -file -Recurse -Path $sourceDir -Include *.xml, *.log | ForEach-Object {	# save file object into a local variable so that the $_ variable can be used in nested loop	$currentFile = $	# set flag for reporting	$fileMoved = $false	# run through each destination subdirectory	$allDestDirs | ForEach-Object { # if the file you are processing contains the name of the subdirectory, move the file if($currentFile.Name -match $.Name) { Move-Item -Path $currentFile.FullPath -Destination $_.FullName $fileMoved = $true break }	}	if(!$fileMoved)	{ "File $($currentFile.FullPath) was not moved from source"	}}`

by Bueno at 2013-04-10 06:26:18

> Many thanks to the both of you. I marked MasterOfTheHat’s post as the answer as it worked better for me. I already had my mind set on comparing the file name to the directory name but couldn’t figure it out, now it’s just all too easy 😃  
>   
> I had to make a few changes as it was written in v3 and I’m using v2 in my environment. I will post the finished script up shortly.

by MasterOfTheHat at 2013-04-10 06:35:24

> Glad it helped! And yeah, it was in v3 and I neglected to tell you. Sorry about that. Definitely let us know what the final product looks like, and maybe it will help someone else in the future.

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**Author:** ![dotnVo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@dotnVo](https://forums.powershell.org/u/dotnVo)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/archiving-log-files/841/2 "2024-05-16T20:58:05Z")

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