CatTools naming convention
This topic applies to KCT 3.12.7 and earlier. If you are on KCT NG 2026.2 or later, see NG topic.
Troubleshoot 'Number of device specific dated files to retain' option not working:
If you have set Number of device specific dated files to retain but the activity is deleting all files, it is likely due to using a custom file naming convention, rather than using the default CatTools file naming convention.
CatTools default naming convention uses, in this backup activity example, the naming convention:
Config.Current.Running.Cisco_Router_2.txt
However, if you are using a convention which does not place a period mark (.) at the end of the device name, such as Cisco_Router_2., CatTools may not group the files relating to the device correctly. As demonstrated below, if you are using a file naming convention such as:
Cisco_Router_2-backup.txt
CatTools is unable to group the Cisco_Router_2 files together correctly. Therefore all files are deleted.
The solution is to change the dash ( - ) in your custom naming convention to a period (.). For example:
Cisco_Router_2-backup.txt
becomes
Cisco_Router_2.backup.txt