Chronical

Chronical is a Windows PowerShell archiving tool designed to streamline the creation of repeated chronicals ( .zip files ).

What is it?

Chronical allows you to specify a file structure outline and repeatedly create .zip archives containing this structure.

It is designed to easily bundle the defined files into a chronical (archive) with a single run whilst preserving file structure.

You can choose specific files to be bundled or entire directories.

Chronical can be run in various configurations from a single script, to using an externally defined archive structure, or with the supporting simple use launch script.

How to use

1. Define the archive structure by either:

   • Create a chronical_paths file detailing each file or directory to be bundled on individual lines.

   • Update the archive_structure variable in chronical.ps1 with comma separated strings detailing each file and directory to be bundled.

2. Run the archive tool by either:

   • Right-click on the chronical.ps1 script and select Run with PowerShell

   • Double click on the chronical.bat script.

3. On first run you may recieve the below security warning. If so simply select [R] Run Once by typing R into the window.

   Security warning
   Run only scripts that you trust. While scripts from the internet can be useful, this script can potentially harm your computer.
   [D] Do not run  [R] Run once  [S] Suspend  [?] Help (default is "D"):
   

4. Your archive.zip file with then be created containing only the files specified in the outline.

5. Repeat step 3 to create new chronicals. Previous chronicals will be stored in the chronical_history directory stamped with the dates each archiver were created.

Chronical Path Structure

The chronical_paths file outlines which files/directories are to be archived. The relative paths of each file is listed on a separate line.

Batch Script

The chronical.bat script is an optional inclusion to make running the suite simpler. It can be safely removed if not required. chronical.ps1 however is necessary and must remain included.

Single Script Usage

For single file usage the chronical.ps1 can be modified to list the paths inside the script removing the requirement for a chronical_paths file.

This is achieved by modifying the $local:archive_structure variable on line 5 from its default "" state.

Note: The $local:archive_structure overrides the chronical_paths file.

Example

From:
$local:archive_structure = ""

To:
$local:archive_structure = "first/", "second/nested/other.txt", "second/new.py"

Note: The $local:archive_structure variable requires comma separated strings for each path.

Customisation

The chronical.ps1 file contains parameters easily modifiable to change the default behaviour of the script being (found from line 8 onwards).

Simply modify the script with your chosen values.

Parameters

# -- Parameters to modify -- #
$local:parameters = @{
    paths = @{
        source_path = "chronical_paths"		# Separate archive structure file. Overridden by 'archive_structure'
        destination_path = "archive.zip"	# Path of archive to create
        backup_path = "chronical_history\"	# Backup existing zip to this directory
        temp_path = "chronical_temp"		# Temporarily zip directroy preserve zip structure
    }
    make_backups    = $true			# Whether or not to keep backups of old archives. Iff false they are just overridden.
    leave_open      = $true			# Whether or not the shell stays open after execution
    skip_non_exist  = $true			# Skip over files that don't exist. Iff false the program halts
    silent          = $false		# Hide console output (Overridden if verbose mode is enabled)
    verbose         = $false		# Echo out verbose messages (Overrides silent mode)
    compression_level = "Optimal"	# The compression level of archive (Optimal, Fastest, NoCompression)
}

Example

Example

Example usages for Chronical can be found in the example directory for both modes, containing an example file structure and following archive.

first/
second/nested/other.txt
second/new.py

Simply follow the how to use steps to run Chronical in the example directories

Note: Not all files are inside the chronicals_path file structure. This is intentional to showcase the ability to skip over specfic files or directories