The ? wildcard is if you know the exact number of characters.

In my working example I use Myfile.???????? where the extension is a YYYYMMDD date format.

I also use Retrieve file...

Does it work if you specify a single file that you know exists without the wildcarding?

I have done this successfully with the ? wildcard.

>>As far as replication goes, I have read all about it

It sounds like you know as much or more about it then me then. I wasn't sure if you had...

You could explore replication http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms151198.aspx but this can be complicated depending on how data is accessed/updated. Your terminal server solution may well be the best one especially if...

Hmmm...never is a strong word. For updating data I agree, never...

On further investigation I came across this link which recommends some changes to SSMS settings to avoid what they call "unintentional issues in production environments".

http://sqlserverpedia.com/wiki/SQL_Server_Troubleshooting_Tips_and_Tricks

See Query Execution Settings...

Data lock. EM use to lock the table resulting in calls from disgruntled users. I agree its preferrably to actually type your queries but occasionally I want to drag and...

Service broker looks pretty powerful but the learning curve also looks steep. You may want to consider a simpler setup. Have your trigger do something that is highly reliable, like...

The transaction log backups would already need to be in existence....

SQL Profiler will report on current/ongoing database activity. It almost sounded from your post that you want to know about historical data insertion. In this case you would need...

You can use the SET parameter with DTEXEC

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms162810.aspx

xp_cmdshell will need to be enabled.

Create variables in your packages. The use expressions in your package so that your destination and...

declare @cmd varchar(255)

set @cmd = 'C:WinZip\WINZIP32.exe d:\testzip.zip'

exec master..xp_cmdshell @cmd

This is an example. I'm guessing this example actually unzips a file.

You will need to first use WINZIP32.exe to add password...

>>SA to change the drive letters of the Old Drives and rename the new drives as D: and E:

Probably will work but the rename is not necessary.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/224071

You can import folders/files into a table

Maybe this, haven't tried it: http://www.sqlusa.com/articles2005/launchcelebration/ or http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/SQLCLR/65656/

The method I have used is xp_cmdshell and dir. Search xp_cmdshell and dir...

>>I need to parse out some the information, like the timestamp field, into usable information (make it into a real timestamp that SQL can understand).

I would think you'd want an...