Automatically delete a file after X days

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Do you know of a way to automatically delete a file after X number of days? There is a user where I work who distributes files of some sort to customers, but only wants the customer to have the file for a week or so (until he’s had a chance to teleconference with the customer and go over the file). Is there a way to expire/delete the file in Win98?

Thanks

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Check out DelOld – it may do what you want.

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Thanks for your prompt reply.

I’d prefer to have something that takes care of itself. I’d rather ask the users to delete the file in question before I ask them to install/run some other program that will do the same thing.

If there was, however, a program that I could attach an ‘expiration date’ to, I would recommend it. Whatever it is, it would have to realize that the file is more than x days old, so it should not be opened.

Yes, Dave, I believe I would want a time bomb of some sort.

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Since you are wanting this type of operation and I was a client of yours, I would NOT be for long. NO ONE should ever try to delete files off another’s machine. The file structure needs to be ‘date, time’ stamp within the file name and the user then needs to select the most current file. Some companies NEED to have history of all versions of the files that are in use.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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I understand how you’d like to implement a date/time nomenclature for the files, but apparently my user doesn’t want his customers to archive the files he gives them. If, for instance, the files are PowerPoint presentations (I’m not sure that they ARE..), he doesn’t want the customers to claim – once they have a final product, “but in your presentation 2 years ago, you said, ‘blah, blah'”.

I recommended to him just to post the files to a secure web page; he could at least control the availability of the files. The customer, however, could still archive a copy of the file, either by right-clicking and ‘Saving Target As’ or by opening the file in the current location, and Saving As from the parent program, right?

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If it is NOT the final product, a watermark should be used on every page so stating such. Also the use of PDF type with NO Print, copy, cut and paste, and save settings would be what he needs. This would have the watermark of “Draft” or such and would be just that. This would be much better than any time bomb on some one eles computer.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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What an excellent idea for documents/presentations/text-type documents! I’ll pass that on to my user.

Now… any ideas what to do if it’s not a document like that? Well, if your suggestion DOESN’T solve my problem, I’ll post back and inform you.

Thanks.

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Are you asking How to delete a file(s) from another’s machine using a time bomb of some type?

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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