Using wildcards in a SharePoint backup selections list
Wildcard characters can be used to define groups of databases. This way multiple objects can be backed up without having to specify the objects individually in the backup selections list. For example, you may have a farm with a large number of Web applications or have Web applications with many content databases. You can use wildcard characters to indicate groups of Web applications and use the NEW_STREAM directive to divide the backup into multiple jobs, as follows:
Table: Supported wildcard characters
Wildcard character | Action |
|---|---|
Asterisk (*) | Use as a substitute for zero or more characters. Specify the asterisk as the last character in the string. Example: To specify all objects that start with an a use a*. |
Question mark (?) | Use as a substitute for one or more characters in a name. Example 1: The string s?z processes all objects that have s for a first character, any character for a second character, and z for a third character. Example 2: The string |
Left & right brackets ([ ... ]) | Use to match any one character that is enclosed in square brackets. A minus (-) can be used to indicate a range of consecutive characters; for example, [0-9] is equivalent to [0123456789]. Note: The minus (-) loses this special meaning if it occurs last in the string. Note: The right square bracket (]) does not terminate such a string when it is the first character within it. For example, |
The following rules apply when wildcard characters are used in the backup selections list:
Only one wildcard pattern per backup selections list entry is allowed.
If a wildcard pattern is not honored it is treated literally.
Wildcard patterns are honored only in the final segment of the path name.
Correct
Microsoft SharePoint Resources:\WebApp*Microsoft SharePoint Resources:\WebApp[A-D]Microsoft SharePoint Resources:\WebAppDept?Incorrect
Microsoft SharePoint Resources:\Shared Services\*\Content DB
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