Archive wildcard characters reference

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2

When you configure the WMS Archive Data Writer plug-in for a publishing point, you have the option of using wildcard characters when you name your archive file. These wildcard characters are substituted with the appropriate values when the archive file is created. The use of wildcard characters enables the data writer plug-in to create multiple archive files from a publishing point. Each file is named according to a known schema. This creates archived content that can be easily categorized and managed.

The following is a list of the valid wildcard characters for use with the WMS Archive Data Writer plug-in.

Character Description

a

Abbreviated name for the day of the week (three letters).

A

Full name for the day of the week.

b

Abbreviated name for the month (three letters).

B

Full name for the month.

c

Date and time representation appropriate for the location of the server generating the archive file.

d

Day of month in two-digit format (01 to 31).

E

Numeric counter that starts at 1 and increases every time that the archive data writer plug-in creates a new digital media file.

F

The expanded value of the role attribute. If the archive file is created from a media element in a playlist that contains a role attribute describing its use, such as Advertisement, Movie, and so on, this wildcard character is expanded to the value for the attribute. If this attribute does not exist, then the wildcard character is replaced with an underscore (_). For more information, see role attribute.

H

Hour (24-hour format) in two-digit format (00 to 23).

I

Hour (12-hour format) in two-digit format (01 to 12).

j

Day of year in three-digit format (001 to 366).

m

Month in two-digit format (01 to 12).

M

Minute in two-digit format (00 to 59).

L

Last path segment of the content source. If the archive file is created from a media element in a playlist, use this wildcard character to include the last path segment in the URL referenced by the src attribute in the archive file name. The last path segment in the URL includes all of the characters after the last forward slash (/) or backward slash (\) in the URL. If the last path segment contains a colon (:), then the colon and all characters after it are removed.

For example:

  • Individual files. If the src attribute references %systemdrive%\WMPub\WMRoot\Welcome1.asf, the L wildcard character returns a value of "Welcome1.asf".

  • Remote publishing point (on-demand or broadcast). The L wildcard character returns the value of the file name of the source content from the origin server.

  • Encoder push. If the src attribute references https://encoder1 in a push scenario, the L wildcard character returns a value of "_".

  • Encoder pull. If the src attribute references https://encoder 2 in a pull scenario, the wildcard character returns a value of "_".

N

A four-digit sequence that starts at 0 and increases every time a new file is needed. The counter resets to 0 when the rest of the file name changes in any way.

p

The indicator for 12-hour format (A.M. or P.M.) of the server generating the archive file.

S

Seconds in two-digit format (00 to 59).

T

The computer name of the server generating the archive file.

U

Week of the year in two-digit format (00 to 53, with Sunday as the first day of week).

V

The name of the publishing point from which content is being archived. If content is being logged from the <Default> (on-demand) publishing point, the word "[Default]" is inserted in the archive file name. If the publishing point name contains a forward slash (/), the forward slash is replaced with an underscore (_) in the log file name. If the publishing point is renamed, the archive file automatically cycles to reflect the new name.

w

Day of the week in one-digit format (0 to 6, with Sunday as 0).

W

Week of the year in two-digit format (00 to 53, with Monday as first day of the week).

x

Date representation for the location of the server generating the log file.

X

Time representation for the location of the server generating the log file.

y

Year without century in two-digit format (00 to 99).

Y

Year with century in four digit format (for example, 1999, 2010).

Z

Time zone name or abbreviation. There are no characters if the time zone is unknown.

Note

If the media element in the playlist contains a mediaName attribute, then the value for the mediaName attribute is used instead of the value of the src attribute.
When archiving content streamed from a playlist, each media element in the playlist creates a separate archive file that shares the same basic name. Each archive file name ends in a three-digit number that increases by one for every archive file that uses the same file name. The first archive file with a specific name will end with 001. The next file with that name will end with 002. When archiving other streamed content, file name incrementing begins only with the first duplicate file name.
When you broadcast content as part of a playlist, each playlist item will be archived in a separate file. The name of each archive file will depend on your wildcard character selections and its sequence in the broadcast.
If the value of the wildcard character cannot be resolved, it will be replaced in the file name by an underscore () character.
Wildcard characters can also be used as custom system environment variables. For example, you could define a system environment variable of %ArchiveRoot% that automatically resolves to the path %systemdrive%\Wmpub\Wmarchive\Archive<Y>-<m>-<d>.asf. If you create custom system environment variables, you must restart Windows Media Services before those variables can be recognized and expanded.

See Also

Other Resources

Windows Media Services SDK role
Windows Media Services SDK src
Windows Media Services SDK mediaName