Mcopy

The mcopy command is used to copy MS-DOS files to and from Unix. It uses the following syntax:

mcopy [-tnvmoOsSrRA] sourcefile targetfile
mcopy [-tnvmoOsSrRA] sourcefile [ sourcefiles... ] targetdirectory
mcopy [-tnvm] MSDOSsourcefile

Mcopy copies the specified file to the named file, or copies multiple files to the named directory. The source and target can be either MS-DOS or Unix files.

The use of a drive letter designation on the MS-DOS files, 'a:' for example, determines the direction of the transfer. A missing drive designation implies a Unix file whose path starts in the current directory. If a source drive letter is specified with no attached file name (e.g. mcopy a: .), all files are copied from that drive.

If only a single, MS-DOS source parameter is provided (e.g. "mcopy a:foo.exe"), an implied destination of the current directory (`.') is assumed.

A filename of `-' means standard input or standard output, depending on its position on the command line.

Mcopy accepts the following command line options:

Q

When mcopying multiple files, quits as soon as one copy fails (for example due to lacking storage space on the target disk)

t

Text file transfer. Mcopy translates incoming carriage return/line feeds to line feeds.

n

No confirmation when overwriting Unix files. Mcopy doesn't warn the user when overwriting an existing Unix file. In order to switch off confirmation for DOS files, use -o.

m

Preserve the file modification time. If the target file already exists, and the -n option is not in effect, mcopy asks whether to overwrite the file or to rename the new file (section Name clashes) for details).

Bugs

Unlike MS-DOS, the '+' operator (append) from MS-DOS is not supported. However, you may use mtype to produce the same effect:

mtype a:file1 a:file2 a:file3 >unixfile
mtype a:file1 a:file2 a:file3 | mcopy - a:msdosfile

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