REMOVE

Synopsis

HELP:   Remove original file after successful processing [FALSE]
TYPE:   SWITCH
SYNTAX: REMOVE

Description

When reading, the REMOVE switch causes the original file(s) to be deleted after the output has been written successfully. If any error occurs while a file is being written, the input file is not deleted. When writing, the remove switch causes the written file(s) to be deleted if an error occurs.

The switch should not be used if the target is an archive file and wildcards are used. The original files are deleted as soon as they are written to the archive. If consecutive writes to the archive file (further input files or the archive trailer) fail, the archive may end up corrupted with the original files deleted.

If the switch is used together with the append switch to write to an archive which already contains members, the whole archive will be deleted if an error occurs. Be careful with the remove switch when writing archives. If an error occurs, the archive will be deleted.