[Toc][Index]

TOUCH - Change date and time stamps

 
 Purpose:    Change a file's date and time stamps. 
             
 Format:     TOUCH [/C /D[acw][mm-dd-yy] /E /F /Q /T[acw][hh:mm]] file ... 
             
             
             file :  One or more files whose date and/or time stamps are 
             to be changed. 
             
             /C(reate file)                  /F(orce read-only files) 
             /D(ate)                         /Q(uiet) 
             /E (no Error messages)          /T(ime) 
 
 See also:  LIST. 
 File Selection 
 Supports extended wildcards, ranges, multiple file names, and include 
 lists. 
 Usage 
 TOUCH is used to change the date and/or time of a file.  You can use it 
 to be sure that particular files are included or excluded from an 
 internal command, backup program, compiler MAKE utility, or other program 
 that selects files based on their time and date stamps, or to set a group 
 of files to the same date and time for consistency. 
 TOUCH should be used with caution, and in most cases should only be used 
 on files you create.  Many programs depend on file dates and times to 
 perform their work properly.  In addition, many software manufacturers 
 use file dates and times to signify version numbers.  Indiscriminate 
 changes to date and time stamps can lead to confusion or incorrect 
 behavior of other software. 
 TOUCH normally works with existing files, and will display an error if 
 the file you specify does not exist, or has the read-only attribute set. 
  To create the file if it does not already exist, use the /C switch.  To 
 force a date and time change for read-only files, use the /F switch. 
 TOUCH displays the date, time, and full name of each file whose timestamp 
 is modified.  To disable this output, use /Q. 
 If you don't specify a date or a time, TOUCH will default to the current 
 date and time from your system clock.  For example, to set the time stamp 
 of all .C files in the current directory to the current date and time: 

 
         [d:\source] touch *.c
          6-12-97 11:13:58  D:\SOURCE\MAIN.C
          6-12-97 11:13:58  D:\SOURCE\INIT.C
          ...
 
 
 If you specify a date but not a time, the time will default to the 
 current time from your system clock.  Similarly, if you specify a time 
 but not a date, the date will be obtained from the system clock. 
 On HPFS files, TOUCH sets the "modified" or "last write" date and time by 
 default.  By adding the appropriate character to the /D or /T switch, you 
 can set the other date and time stamps that are maintained for each file: 
    
    a       last access date and time. 
    c       creation date and time 
    w       last write date and time (default) 
 
 Options 
    /C:     (Create file) Create the file (as a zero-byte file) if it does 
            not already exist.  You cannot use wildcards with /C, but you 
            can create multiple files by listing them individually on the 
            command line. 
    /D:     (Date) Specify the date that will be set for the selected 
            files.  If the date is not specified, TOUCH will use the 
            current date.  For HPFS files you can use /Da, /Dc, or /Dw, 
            followed by the date, to explicitly specify the last access, 
            creation, or last write date stamp.  The date must be entered 
            using the proper format for your current country settings. 
    /E:     (No error messages) Suppress all non-fatal error messages, 
            such as "File not found."  Fatal error messages, such as 
            "Drive not ready," will still be displayed.  This option is 
            most useful in batch files. 
    /F:     (Force read-only files) Remove the read-only attribute from 
            each file before changing the date and time, and restore it 
            afterwards.  Without /F, attempting to change the date and 
            time on a read-only file will usually cause an error. 
    /Q:     (Quiet) Do not dislpy the new date and time and the full name 
            for each file. 
    /T:     (Time) Specify the time that will be set for the selected 
            files, in hh:mm format.  If the time is not specified, TOUCH 
            will use the current time.  For HPFS files you can use /Ta, 
            /Tc, or /Tw, followed by the time, to explicitly specify the 
            last access, creation, or last write time stamp. 
 

Created using Inf-PHP v.2 (c) 2003 Yuri Prokushev
Created using Inf-HTML v.0.9b (c) 1995 Peter Childs