THE OUTPUT LOG

Robocopy outputs a log of files and directories processed to its console window. This output can be redirected to a disk file if required.

Each log line starts with a brief text tag, which is formatted according to the following rules :

*CAPITALSindicate an anomaly that should be investigated.

Leading Capsindicate a file that was selected for copying.

lowercaseindicates a file that was skipped.

(lowercase tags will only be seen if /V is used).

Tags that indicate copying are left-aligned, tags that indicate skipping are right-aligned, tags that indicate anomalies are placed further to the left than other tags, and error messages always start in column 1. This arrangement simplifies the task of scanning through even a verbose listing, and makes it easier to spot new downloads, anomalies, and network errors.

If few files are copied, the left margin of the output log will be mostly blank. Copied files and anomalies are easily-spotted non-blank entries in the left margin of the output log.

Disregarding error reporting and retries, at most one line of output is produced per source file or directory. Lines for directories show the number of files matching the Include Filespecs in the directory (where known), and the full pathname of the directory. Lines for files indicate what was done with the file, the size of the file, and its name.

One line is also output for each Mismatched file and directory, and also for each Extra file and directory in the destination. These resemble lines for normal directories and file, except that lines for Extra files include the file's full pathname, as an aid to rapid housekeeping.

By default, only Extra files that match the Include Filespecs on the command line will be reported. The rationale for this is that you are probably not interested in spurious *.TXT files in the destination when you are refreshing *.CPP files. However, if you really do need a list of all extra files in the destination, irrespective of their type, you can obtain one by using /X.

By default, no output is produced for skipped files. To obtain a verbose listing which shows all source files matching the Include Filespecs, including skipped files, use the /V switch.

By default, Robocopy will output copy progress information, in the form of a display of the percentage of the file copied so far (% copied). You can use the /NP switch to suppress the display of %copied progress information - useful when output is redirected to a disk file.

To see the start time of each file copy, and the estimated time that the copy should complete (based on the observed throughput of previous copies), use the /ETA switch. These times are displayed after the file name in the format "hh:mm -> hh:mm" (start time -> ETA).

Finally, to obtain a list the files that would be copied, without committing to the overhead of actually doing the copying, you can use the /L switch.