Running File Maintenance

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Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista

Media files are usually large. As jobs are run, job files (which include the original media source files, job manifest files, and the transformed output for completed jobs) accumulate in the watch folder WorkQueue folders. Accumulating job files, as well as log files, can eventually clutter the disk and potentially impact performance.

To specify when job and log files are no longer required and can be deleted, do the following:

  1. In the Connections pane, click Watch Folders.

  2. In the Watch Folders page, select a watch folder, and then in the Actions pane, click Edit.

  3. In the watch folder property sheet, on the Maintenance tab, specify a minimum amount of time that job files should be retained before they can be deleted. In Asset retention, under Retention period, select a number in the box and then select the interval type (Minutes, Hours, or Days) in the list. For example, to specify that job files be retained for at least 1 day, select 1 in the box and then select Days in the list.

  4. For job files that have met the minimum retention requirements, specify which types of job files can be deleted by selecting one or more of the following check boxes:

    • Delete canceled files. Deletes job files from the watch folder's Canceled folder.

    • Delete failed job files. Deletes job files from the watch folder's Failed folder.

    • Delete finished job files. Deletes job files from the watch folder's Finished folder.

Note

Job files in the Finished folder are for successfully completed jobs. Make sure that you copy the transformed output files from finished jobs to safe storage before they're removed at the maintenance schedule that you set up. (You will do this later in this procedure.)

Note

Transform Manager includes a default Robocopy task that you can configure to automatically copy the transformed output files from finished jobs to safe storage, enabling maintenance to be performed safely on the Finished folder. For more information about how to configure the default Robocopy task, see Storing the Converted Output Files.

  1. Specify a minimum amount of time that log files should be retained before they can be deleted. In Log retention, select a number in the box and then select the interval type (Minutes, Hours, or Days) in the list. For example, to specify that log files be retained for at least 1 day, select 1 in the box and then select Days in the list.

  2. In Maintenance schedule, specify when the selected job files and log files that are no longer required can be deleted. You can specify that Transform Manager delete these files either on a schedule or every day at a specific time.

    • To delete the files on a schedule, select Run every, select a number in the box and then select the interval type (Minutes, Hours, or Days) in the list. For example, to specify that files be deleted every 6 hours, select 6 in the box and then select Hours in the list.

    • To delete files every day at a specific time, select Run daily at, and then specify the time in Hours and Minutes. For example, to delete files every day at 11:30 PM, select 23 Hours and 30 Minutes.

    • (Optional) In Maintenance command, enter a path to a Windows PowerShell cmdlet, an executable program file (.exe), a Windows command file (.cmd), or a batch file (.bat) that performs custom maintenance actions.

  3. If you edited these settings for a watch folder that's started, restart the watch folder to apply the changes:

    1. Select the watch folder in the Watch Folders page.

    2. In the Actions pane, click Stop.

    3. In the Actions pane, click Start.

Note

When file maintenance is performed at the scheduled time, the maintenance command that you specify is run first. Then any job files that you selected for deletion and that exceed the specified retention period are deleted, followed by any log files that exceed the specified retention period.