DOCUMENT:Q176875  18-JUL-2001  [ssafe]
TITLE   :INFO: The Primary Functions of Ssarc.exe and Ssrestor.exe
PRODUCT :Microsoft SourceSafe
PROD/VER:WINDOWS:5.0,6.0
OPER/SYS:
KEYWORDS:kbSSafe500 kbSSafe600 kbFAQ kbDSupport kbSsafe600FAQ

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The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Visual SourceSafe for Windows, versions 5.0, 6.0 
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SUMMARY
=======

Earlier versions of the Visual SourceSafe did not provide a method for archiving
parts of Visual SourceSafe databases. The only way to free up space was to
destroy a file or project. Furthermore, there was no way to move information
between databases. The archive utilities Ssarc.exe and Ssrestor.exe are separate
command-line utilities that allow you to do the following:

1. Archive a file or project out of the database into a special compressed file,
   then restore it later with its history, Share Links, and other information
   intact.

2. Archive specific versions of a file (for example, all versions prior to 3.1),
   thus freeing up the space they use in the database, and then restore them to
   the database later.

3. Archive a file, project or project tree from one database and restore it into
   a different database.

MORE INFORMATION
================

The archive utilities Ssarc.exe and Ssrestor.exe are separate command-line
utilities that allow you to do the following:

1. Archive a file or project out of the database into a special compressed file,
   then restore it later with its history, Share Links, and other information
   intact.

   A syntax example of this is:

         C:\>"C:\Program Files\DevStudio\Vss\Win32\SSARC" -d- -i- -sD:\VSSTest
         Archive.ssa $/ 

   The quotes are only necessary if a space exists in the command line. The -d-
   option is an instruction not to delete the files being archived from the
   original database. The -i- option is an instruction for no input (accept all
   defaults). The -s switch specifies a path to the Srcsafe.ini and the data
   directory.

2. Archive specific versions of a file (for example, all versions prior to 5),
   thus freeing up the space they use in the database, and then restore them to
   the database later.

   For example, if the files in the project are at least version 20 and you want
   to archive old versions that are no longer needed, the you could use the
   following syntax to accomplish this:

         C:\>"C:\Program Files\Devstudio\Vss\Win32\SSARC" -v10 -sD:\VSSTest
         Archive.ssa $/Queries/Test

   Because the -d- and -i- options where not specified, the user will be prompted
   to answer the questions:

   Delete archived information from database?(Y/N)
   File C:\archive.ssa already exists. Overwrite?(Y/N)

   NOTE: In general, the archive utility is inclusive. That is, in the above
   example, the created archive (Archive.ssa) contains version 10 and everything
   before it. If you are using a label, and the label has a space in it, you
   must add an end quote to the entire option (for example, "-vThis One").

3. Archive a file, project or project tree from one database and restore it into
   a different database. You could use the following syntax to restore the
   Archive.ssa (from example one above) from the VSSTest database to another
   database called VSSTest2:

        C:\>"C:\Program Files\Devstudio\Vss\Win32\SSRESTOR" -sD:\VSSTest2
        Archive.ssa $/Queries/Test

   For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft
   Knowledge Base:

   Q173387 PRB: Restoring an Archive of an Entire Database

   Q172157 PRB: Do Not Use SourceSafe When Running SSARC or SSRESTOR

REFERENCES
==========

Visual SourceSafe, version 5.0, "Visual SourceSafe User's Guide," pages 217- 220

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbSSafe500 kbSSafe600 kbFAQ kbDSupport kbSsafe600FAQ 
Technology        : kbSSafeSearch kbAudDeveloper kbSSafe600 kbSSafe500
Version           : WINDOWS:5.0,6.0
Issue type        : kbinfo

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