archive property of a file

[Shahzad]

Hi,
Every file in windows has properties like, read/write, etc which are set just be right clikc on file and properties. My question is what difference does it make to check/uncheck the archive option?

thanks
Shahzad

[Stephen Pouros]

As far as i am aware most of the Windows operating system doesnt utilise the archive flag. It is used by Winzip and backup software as a mathod of specifying files to be backed up or compressed. I have never seen any other software that uses it.

Steve

[Bill Heffner]

DOS "sets" (checks) the archive flag every time a file is changed. Various third-party systems use this flag for varied purposes: usually data backup, in which case they "clear" (uncheck) the flag when they back the file up. If you haven't changed a file but want it to be backed up, you can manually check it.