Robocopy: How to copy assets from multiple locations to a single location and maintain a log

Question

I have multiple folders containing assets (each folder has subfolders containing these assets .mp3, .txt, .png, etc). I want to copy all this assets along with the subfolder to a single location/folder. I was able to successfully run a robocopy command to achieve copying of assets along with subfolders from one folder to another folder:

robocopy source target /s

I will be running a scheduler once daily to copy the assets. Also I wanted to store the name of all the copied assets in a log file. The name of the log file should be in the form of

log_currentDate.txt

for example if the today's date is 20th Oct 2015... the name of the log file should be:

log_20151020.txt

The next day i.e. 21st Oct 2015, it should be:

log_20151021.txt

This log file should contain the name of all the copied assets on 20th Oct 2015, 21st Oct 2015 and so on. I created a batch command (thanks to @DavidPostill) to create a log as follows:

@echo off
for /f "tokens=1-3 delims=/ " %%a in ('date /t') do (
set _date=%%a%%b%%c
)
echo robocopy source target /log:D:\ABC\log%_date%.txt

This creates a log with the name "logTue2010.txt" (i.e. logdayddmm format). Problem:

1. Where does this log file gets stored? To make visible this log file, I have to write a separate command everyday as follows:

robocopy source target /log:D:\ABC\logWed1021.txt /tee /s

2. How do I ensure that a separate copy of log is obtained each day?
3. Also with the current command, the log file contains the entire output displayed on the cmd window. I just want it to contain the name of the asset with its extension.

EDIT 1: With the following batch command I was able to resolve the issue pertaining to log filename format:

@ECHO OFF
for /f %%a in ('wmic os get LocalDateTime ^| findstr ^[0-9]') do (set ts=%%a)
ECHO %ts:~0,8%_%ts:~8,4%
echo robocopy ship shore /log:D:\HAL\log\log_%ts:~0,8%_%ts:~8,4%.txt
robocopy Ship Shore /log:D:\HAL\log\log_%ts:~0,8%_%ts:~8,4%.txt /S

Also this batch command worked as well:

@echo off
for /f "tokens=2 delims==" %%G in ('wmic OS get LocalDateTime /value') do set "_date=%%G"
set "_date=%_date:~0,8%"
echo robocopy ship shore /log:D:\HAL\log\log_%_date%.txt
robocopy ship shore /log:D:\HAL\log\log_%_date%.txt /S

However other questions asked here is still unanswered.

Answer 1

Please don't cross-ask StackExchange the same question. Answered already at https://serverfault.com/q/730450/257436 as follows:

---

Get YYYYMMDD-formatted date independently of locale and regional settings using for /F loop against wmic (Windows Management Instrumentation Command) and environment variable substring:

@echo off
for /f "tokens=2 delims==" %%G in ('wmic OS get LocalDateTime /value') do set "_date=%%G"
set "_date=%_date:~0,8%"

There are more robocopy logging options:

            /L : List only - don’t copy, timestamp or delete any files.
           /NP : No Progress - don’t display % copied.
      /unicode : Display the status output as Unicode text.   #
     /LOG:file : Output status to LOG file (overwrite existing log).
  /UNILOG:file : Output status to Unicode Log file (overwrite)
    /LOG+:file : Output status to LOG file (append to existing log).
 /UNILOG+:file : Output status to Unicode Log file (append)
           /TS : Include Source file Time Stamps in the output.
           /FP : Include Full Pathname of files in the output.
           /NS : No Size - don’t log file sizes.
           /NC : No Class - don’t log file classes.
          /NFL : No File List - don’t log file names.
          /NDL : No Directory List - don’t log directory names.
          /TEE : Output to console window, as well as the log file.
          /NJH : No Job Header.
          /NJS : No Job Summary.

Answer 2

Where does this log file gets stored? To make visible this log file I have to write a separate command everyday

That because you didn't remove the last echo or add /s in the batch file.

I explained this yesterday, during our lengthy chat.

I also updated my answer to inform you what you need to do:

• Remove the last echo if you are happy with the date format
• Use /s if your source directory contains subdirectories that need copying.

Here is the batch file with those changes:

@echo off
for /f "tokens=1-3 delims=/ " %%a in ('date /t') do (
set _date=%%a%%b%%c
)
robocopy ship shore /log:%_date%.txt /s

I also said in the chat:

You also need to change the batch file to get the correct date format for your locale.

What is the output of date /t from a command prompt on your PC?

I asked this because I could see the batch file had the wrong date format on your PC (but was correct on mine). I never go a response to this question (so the date format remained unfixed).

As JosefZ rightly points out in his answer a better way to get the date format you want (log_ddmmyy.txt) regardless of your locale is to use wmic.

With those changes as well the final batch file becomes:

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
for /f "tokens=2 delims==" %%G in ('wmic OS get LocalDateTime /value') do (
  set _date=%%G
  set _date=!_date:~0,8!
  )
robocopy ship shore /log:D:\HAL\log_!_date!.txt /s
endlocal

Now the last step for you is to modify the log file format as you wish to contain the name of the asset with its extension:

• Use the switches described in JosefZ's answer to do this.

• Experiment with the switches to get the exact format you want. Hint: I think you need to use several of those switches.

Answer 3

So in order for RoboCopy to only include File file names is to add /NDL /NC /NS /NJH /NJS.

I have used this a lot.