[ Back to Table of Contents ]
[ >> ]
XXCOPY TECHNICAL BULLETIN #01
From: Kan Yabumoto tech@xxcopy.com
To: XXCOPY user
Subject: XXCOPY Command Parameters Reference
Date: 2007-03-10 Revised for ver 2.95.1
====================================================================
Basic Command Parameter Syntax:
XXCOPY source destination (simplified syntax)
In its simplest form, XXCOPY takes two parameters,
from WHERE to WHERE
This very intuitive command syntax has its root in the COPY command
introduced in 1981 as a PC-DOS (MS-DOS) built-in command.
The first parameter is the source specifier and the second one is
the destination specifier. These two parameters must be in this
order. As common to the COPY and XCOPY command syntax, the
destination specifier can be omitted. Then, by default, the
current directory in the current drive becomes the destination.
XXCOPY source [ destination ]
By convention, an optional parameter is denoted in the syntax
definition with a pair of square-brackets surrounding it.
In addition, you may add command switches (which are also called
options) to customize XXCOPY's behaviors. It is the extensive
set of switches that make XXCOPY so versatile and powerful.
Full Command Parameter Syntax:
XXCOPY source [ destination ] [ switches... ]
All switches start with a slash (/) character whereas the source
and the destination specifiers do not have the slash(/) prefix.
The source and the destination specifiers must be separated from
other items in the command line by at least one blank (space or tab)
character. On the other hand, you may omit blank characters between
switches in order to minimize the total length of the command line.
Example:
XXCOPY C:\mydir\ D:\yourdir\ /S /H
Here, "C:\mydir\" is the source specifier and "D:\yourdir\" is
the destination specifier. They do not start with a slash (/).
It has two (/S and /H) switches.
Note that the positions of the switches need not be at the end of
the command line. Switches may begin even before the source specifier.
The order of the switches is not generally important except when
conflicting switches are specified, the rightmost switch will
prevail. More rules for special cases are discussed at the end
of this article. For a complete syntax and semantics for the
source specifier, see XXTB #04.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Caution to DOS novices:
The blank characters (space or tab) act as the delimiter of
the arguments. Therefore, a name with embedded space must
be surrounded by a pair of quotes (") to be kept unbroken.
XXCOPY C:\My Documents\ D:\backup\ // bad
XXCOPY "C:\My Documents\" D:\backup\ // good
This is true for nearly all command line applications.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Once you learn this simple rule, it is quite easy to understand a
long XXCOPY command line.
XXCOPY switches:
Here, a first time XXCOPY user may be overwhelmed by the sheer
number of the switches. Since the power of XXCOPY comes from
these switches, you have to learn to live with them. We try
our best to keep these (still increasing) switches under control.
Since the number of switches far exceeds the available alphabet,
many of the switches use multiple characters. For better or worse,
the syntax adheres to the original XCOPY's syntax very closely.
It is a mixed blessing, for sure. So, when we feel very strongly,
we took liberty in making improvements in a few exceptional cases.
But, overall, if you are very familiar with how XCOPY works, there
will be very little surprise for you.
Let us just take a look at the full list of XXCOPY switches with
a terse comment on each. For most switches, full explanation will
be given later.
for Command Line Syntax XXTB #25
for Command Reference Alphabetic Listing XXTB #26
for Command Reference Functional Classification XXTB #27
for The Wild-Wild-Source Specifier XXTB #28
----- The following switches use file attributes to select files -----
/A Same as /ATA. Copies only files with the archive attribute set.
Doesn't change the attribute.
/M Copies only files with the archive attribute set.
Turns off the archive attribute.
/AT<mask> Selects files by the attribute bits (AHSRC).
You may use two or more /AT<mask> switches to specify multiple
attributes required. E.g., /ATA/ATH qualifies files with both
the A(rchive) bit and the H(idden) bits.
Or, you may use one /AT<mask> switch with multiple letters to
select alternative attribute bits to select files. E.g.,
/ATAH qualifies a file which has either A-bit, H-bit or both.
/AX<mask> Excludes files with the specified attribute bits (AHSRC).
You may use two or more /AX<mask> switches to specify
attribute bits to exclude files for file operations. E.g.,
/AXA/AXH excludes files with A-bit, H-bit, or both.
Or, you may use one /AX<mask> switch with multiple letters to
exclude files with only the specified combination of attribute
bits. E.g., /AXAH excludes files with both A-bit and H-bit.
Note: The /AT<mask> and /AX<mask> switches have opposite conjugation
rules (the effects of combining attribute bits --- AND and OR).
/A0 Cancels *ALL* /A, /M, /AT, and /AX switches.
----- The following switches modify the file attributes -----
/AA Sets the src file archive bit (without actually copying).
/AZ Clears the src file archive bit (without actually copying).
Note: Both /AA and /AZ implicitly set /H (can be overridden).
/AC Copies specified files irrespective of the archive attribute.
Turns off the archive attribute after XXCOPY is done.
/AN<mask> Sets a new value to file attribute bits (replace the value).
The <mask> value is a combination of letters, AHSRC.
/AR<mask> Resets file attribute bits (clears specified bits).
/AS<mask> Sets file attribute bits (sets specified bits).
Note: The <mask> value for /AR and /AS specifies attributes (AHSRC)
whose bits are either reset or set respectively to the existing
file attributes. Unspecified attributes bits are kept unchanged.
/ARD<mask> Resets directory attribute bits (clears specified bits).
/ASD<mask> Sets directory attribute bits (sets specified bits).
/ARD and /ASD work on directories analogous to /AR and /RS.
Note: The /AA, /AN, /AR, /AS, /ARD, /ASD, and /AZ switches modify the
file attributes without copying the files to the destination,
whereas the /A, /AT and /AX switches select files by the file
attributes for various operations (copy, list, remove, etc.).
----- The following switches use other file attribute bits -----
/H Copies hidden and/or system files also.
/H0 Excludes hidden and/or system files (default).
/Ho Copies hidden and/or system files only.
/R Overwrites read-only files.
/K0 Keeps H-bit and S-bit, sets A-bit, clears R-bit (default).
/K Keeps the source attributes including read-only (same as /KS).
/KS Keeps the source attributes including the read-only bit.
/KD Keeps the attributes of destination (overwritten) file.
/KN Sets the destination attributes to normal (only /A).
(File attributes are discussed in XXTB #06)
----- The following switches are useful for backup and archive -----
/BI Backs up incrementally, different (by time/size) files only.
/BB Backs up brand new files only (does not overwrite existing ones).
/BN Backs up newer files only (includes brand new files).
/Bo Backs up older files only (includes brand new files).
/BX Backs up different-date files (includes brand new files).
/BZ Same as /BZX.
/BZE Backs up equal-size files (includes brand new files).
/BZL Backs up larger-size files (includes brand new files).
/BZS Backs up smaller-size files (includes brand new files).
/BZX Backs up different-size files (includes brand new files).
/BE Backs up exactly the same files(includes brand new files).
/BS Selects exactly the same files (this is useful with /RS).
/BU Standard Backup switch (same as /r/i/bi/q/c/h/e/v/y).
/B0 Undo any of /BI, /BB, /BN, /Bo, /BX, or /BZ switches.
/U Updates the files that already exist in destination.
Note: A "brand new" file refers to a file which exists in the
source directory but not in the destination directory
(Micrososoft's Robocopy call it a "lonely file").
/SP Spans the copy job over multiple destination (new volume).
Note: /SP cannot be used with switches which reference the
destination for file selection --- that is, the /Bxx
(backup) switches, and /U will be disabled by /SP.
That is, the spanning of the destination volume by /SP
assumes the backup operation is a full backup without
referencing the files already on the destination.
----- The following switch adds inclusive alternate templates -----
/IN<tmpl> Includes an alternate filename template (tmpl).
You may specify as many alternate filename patterns as you want.
The template must be for the "Lastname" of the source specifier
(no backslash in the template, but wildcard characters are OK).
----- The following switches exclude directories or files -----
/X<xspec> Adds an exclusion specifier (xspec) (see below for exclusion).
/EX<xlist> Specifies a text file which contains a list of xspecs (see below).
<xspec> Exclusion item for /X and the file contents specified by /EX.
. The text file may contain an arbitrary number of xspecs which
are separated by space, tab, or newline characters.
. An xspec with embedded spaces must be surrounded by a pair
of double-quote characters(").
. An xspec cannot span from one line to another.
. Two consecutive colons (::) or slashes (//) start a comment
field which ends at the end of the line.
. You may specify more than 1 exclusion file. In such a
case all of the exclusion files will be processed.
Exclusion specifier (xspec) syntax (consists of up to 3 parts):
for file, [ dir_spec\ ] [ *\ ] [ ftemplate ]
for dir, [ dir_spec\ ] [ *\ ] [ dtemplate ]
dir_spec is always followed by a backslash (\). It specifies
a directory (or directories with wildcard) which
are relative to the source directory unless it
starts with a \. A wildcard specifier is allowed
only in the last element of dir_spec.
*\ This second part specifies that the exclusion
applies to all subdirectories under dir_spec.
ftemplate File_template, must not contain backslash (\).
It may contain wildcard characters (* and/or ?).
dtemplate Directory_template, the template must be terminated
by one of the following four ending (three types)
dirname\*\* full directory
dirname\ full directory (same as dirname\*\*)
dirname\* partial directory, files only
dirname\?\* partial directory, subdirs only
The dirname part may have wildcards (* and/or ?).
Any of the three parts can be omitted.
There are 11 classes in xspecs as follows.
D dir_spec\ftmpl H dir_spec\*\ftmpl
A dir_spec\* E dir_spec\dtmpl\* I dir_spec\*\dtmpl\*
B dir_spec\?\* F dir_spec\dtmpl\?\* J dir_spec\*\dtmpl\?\*
C dir_spec\*\* G dir_spec\dtmpl\*\* K dir_spec\*\dtmpl\*\*
If dir_spec is omitted, the file_template applies to all subdirs.
XXCOPY optimizes the exclusion parameter by eliminating
some redundant specifiers.
Use "/W/oX" with xspec to test the syntax.
See XXTB #05 (The Exclusion specifier).
----- The following switches limit files by the filetime -----
/D Same as /DA.
/DA Copies newer files and brand new files.
/DB Copies older files and brand new files.
/DS Copies only the files whose filetime is exactly the same.
/DX Copies only the files whose filetime is different in any way.
Note: All filetime comparisons are affected by the fuzzy range (/FF).
/D:<date> Same as /DA:<date>.
/DA:<date> Copies files that were changed on or after the specified date.
/DB:<date> Copies files that were changed on or before the specified date.
/Do:<date> Copies files that were changed on the specified date.
/DA#<n> Copies files that were changed on or after <n> days ago.
/DB#<n> Copies files that were changed on or before <n> days ago.
/Do#<n> Copies files that were changed on the day <n> days ago.
Note: A "brand new" file refers to a file which exists in the
source directory but not in the destination directory
(Micrososoft's Robocopy call it a "lonely file").
Note: With /DA#<val>, /DB#<val> and /Do#<val>, the parameter <val> will
be treated as the number of Days unless it is appended with a
one-letter suffix (D, H, M, or S which stand for Days, Hours,
Minutes, or Seconds, respectively). When <val> is given in
the number of days, the exact time is midnight of the day.
e.g., /DA#0 denotes files made some time today after midnight.
/Do#2 means all day the day before yesterday.
/DA#30m selects files made within the last 30 minutes.
/DA:. Copies files that were changed today or later (same as /DA#0).
/DB:. Copies files that were changed yesterday or earlier.
/Do:. Copies files that were changed today only.
/DA:<val> and /DB:<val> work as a pair if both are specified.
e.g., /DA:1997-01-01 /DB:1997-12-31 files made in 1997
/DA:1997-04-01 /DB:1997-04-30 files made in April 1997
/DB:1997-03-31 /DA:1997-05-01 exclude files made in April
/DA:1997-01-01 /DB:1997-01-01 try the shorter /Do:1997-01-01
Since the US and European conventions are not reconcilable,
we recommend the ISO 8601 standard (YYYY-MM-DD) with a 4-digit
year value followed by month and day. If all values have
2 digits only, it is interpreted according to the system setting.
A file date must be between 1970-01-01 and 2069-12-31.
A partial date specifier is accepted for /DA:, /DB: and /Do:
where yyyy-mm and yyyy denote the month and year respectively.
E.g., /Do:2000-2 is equivalent to /DA:2000-2-1 /DB:2000-2-29,
and /DB:1999 to /DB:1999-12-31, and /DA:2000 to /DA:2000-1-1.
/DA:<time> Same as /DA:<date> except an additional time value may be added.
/DB:<time> Same as /DB:<date> except an additional time value may be added.
The <time> parameter starts with the <date> (as shown above)
followed by 'T' or '@' and hh:mm:ss, hh:mm, or hh.
e.g., 2002-10-25T15:25:30 (recommended as ISO 8601 std)
31-10-2002@13:00 10-31-2002@13 (min and sec may be omitted)
(/D0:<date> cannot be specified with the <time> value).
Note: /DA, /DB, /DX, /DS, /Do, /DA:<date> and /DB:<date> are mutually
exclusive (except /DA:<date> and /DB:<date> work as a pair).
Note: /DA and /DB, if date is omitted, are the same as /BN and /Bo,
respectively, except that /DA and /DB can be combined with another
/Bxx switch (e.g., /BI) where as /BN and /Bo cannot (in the same group).
Note: /DA, /DB, /DX and /DS compare source and destination files using
both date and time whereas /DA:<date> and /DA#<n> use date only.
/D0 Cancels all file-date related (/D...) switches.
----- The following switches modify filetime semantics -----
/FW Uses the Last-Write timestamp for the Filetime comparison (default).
/FA Uses the Last-Access timestamp for the Filetime comparison.
/FC Uses the Creation timestamp for the Filetime comparison.
Note: /FW, /FA and /FC are mutually exclusive choices.
/FL Filetime in Local time (default).
/FU Filetime in UTC(Universal Coordinated Time - same as GMT).
Note: /FL and /FU are mutually exclusive choices.
Note: The word "Filetime" (or sometimes, "Filedate") is used
in the context of comparing the time value associated
with a file against another time value (e.g., in /DA, /BN)
and XXCOPY uses only one of the three timestamps that
are attached to a file (by the /FW, /FA or /FC switch).
/FF Fuzzy Filetime (same as /FF2S --- matches within 2 sec).
/FF0 Fuzzy Filetime cancelled (adjustment value set to +/- 0).
/FF<val> Fuzzy Filetime, adjust ref time +/- <val> seconds.
/FF+<val> Fuzzy Filetime, adjust ref time by adding <val> seconds.
/FF-<val> Fuzzy Filetime, adjust ref time by subtracting <val> seconds.
Note: With /FF<val>, /FF+<val> and /FF-<val>, the parameter <val> will
be treated as the number of seconds unless it is appended with a
one-letter suffix (D, H, M, or S which stand for Days Hours,
Minutes, or Seconds, respectively).
e.g., /FF treats file times within +/- 2 sec as the same.
/FF-1H treats files older by up to 1 hour as the same.
/FF+2/FF-4 (you may choose asymmetric slack values).
Note: The /FF switch affects all filetime comparisons such as /CLONE,
/BI, /BU, /BS, /BX, /BO, /BN, /DA, /DB, /DS, /DX, /TS, and /TD.
Note: The FAT (DOS/Win9x) file system has a 2-second granularity in
file time whereas NTFS, Unix and other file systems use finer
time stamps. The /FF switch is useful for incremental backup
between volumes of different file systems.
/FT Legacy switch; replaced by /FF+2.
/FR Legacy switch; replaced by /FF-2.
----- The following switches cope with time zones -----
/TS+<n> Adds an offset (Hr) to the time of source (and the copied ) file.
/TS-<n> Subtracts an offset (Hr) from source (and the copied) file.
/TD+<n> Adds an offset (Hr) to the time of the destination file.
/TD-<n> Subtracts an offset (Hr) from the dst file for comparison.
Note: The offset value <n> for /TS and /TD is specified in hours
unless it is appended with a one-letter suffix (D, H, M, or S
which stand for Days, Hours, Minutes, or Seconds respectively).
----- The following switches control timestamps -----
/TTA Touches (modifies) timestamp of Last Access of src.
/TTA0 Preserves timestamp of Last Access of src (default).
/TCA Copies the timestamp of Last Access fm src to dst.
/TCA0 Uses current time for dst Last Access (default).
/TCC Copies the timestamp of Create Time fm src to dst.
/TCC0 Uses current time for dst Create time (default).
/TCW Copies the Last Write time fm src to dst (default).
/TCW0 Uses current time for dst Last Write time.
----- The following switches qualify the source by file size -----
/SZ:<n>-<m> Copies a file whose size is between n bytes and m bytes.
/SZ:<n>- Copies a file whose size is equal to or greater than n bytes.
/SZ:-<m> Copies a file whose size is equal to or less than m bytes.
/SZ:<n> Copies a file whose size is exactly n bytes.
/SZ!<n>-<m> Copies a file whose size is NOT between n bytes and m bytes.
/SZ!<n>- Copies a file whose size is NOT equal to or greater than n bytes.
/SZ!-<m> Copies a file whose size is NOT equal to or less than m bytes.
/SZ!<n> Copies a file whose size is NOT equal to n bytes.
/SZ:- Disables size-based selection (/SZ!- also works).
Note: The size values <n> and <m> are entered in bytes unless appended
with a suffix letter (K, M, or G which stands for metric kilo
(x1000), mega (x1000000), or giga (x1000000000) respectively).
/SZ<n> Legacy switch; replaced by /TR<n>.
----- The following switch limits the destination file size -----
/TR<n> Truncates the new file to (copies the first) n bytes.
Note: The TR<n> switch replaces the legacy SZ<n> switch.
----- The following switches deal with subdirectories -----
/S Copies directories and subdirectories except empty ones.
/E Copies directories and subdirectories, including empty ones.
Same as /S /E.
/T Creates directory structure, but does not copy files. It copies
all directories including empty ones (implicitly sets /E).
/SG Same as /SGN (see variations in handling duplicates below).
/SGF Gathers files into one-level directory (unsorted First file 1st).
/SGN Gathers files into one-level directory (sorted, Newest file 1st).
/SGo Gathers files into one-level directory (sorted, Oldest file 1st).
/SGFo Gathers files into one-level directory (First only).
/SGNo Gathers files into one-level directory (Newest only).
/SGoo Gathers files into one-level directory (Oldest only).
/SG0 Cancels file-gather switches (/SG...).
/SL Flattens subdirectories, add-name-Left (see below).
/SX Flattens subdirectories, add-name-Middle (see below).
/SR Flattens subdirectories, add-name-Right (see below).
/SL, /SX, and /SR are the same as /S except the output files
will be saved as a flat directory without adding levels of
subdirectories. The source subdirectory name will become a
part of the target filename. /SL and /SR add the subdir name
to the left or right of the name respectively.
/SX inserts the subdirectory name in the middle.
/SLR Rebuilds flattened directory (path to the left).
/SXR Rebuilds flattened directory (path in the middle).
/SRR Rebuilds flattened directory (path to the right).
/SLR /SXR, and /SRR do opposite of /SL, /SX and /SR respectively.
/S<d> Sets the directory delimiter character for /SL, /SX and /SR,
where <d> is any legal non-alphabetic, non-blank character.
The default delimiter is back-apostrophe (`).
/DL<n> Limits processing of directory nesting to n levels.
/DL0 removes the limit. /DL works only when /S or /E is set.
----- The following switches check the destination directory -----
/I If destination does not exist and copying more than one file,
assumes that destination must be a directory (no prompting).
Note: when the destination specifier ends with a backslash,
it declares as a directory which implicitly sets the /I switch.
/IA Continues if destination is absent (terminates if exists).
/IA<item> Continues if the specified item (file/directory) is absent.
/IP Continues if destination is present (terminates if absent).
/IP<item> Continues if the specified item (file/directory) is present.
/ILD<label> Continues if the destination volume label matches as specified.
/ILS<label> Continues if the source volume label matches as specified.
/Z Deletes extra files or subdirectories in destination.
/ZY Same as /Z except there is no confirmation prompt.
----- The following switches control the prompting behaviors -----
/P Prompts you before creating each destination file.
/PC Prompts you before creating new files.
/PC0 Suppresses warning on file-creation.
/PD Prompts you before starting each directory with options for...
Y (Yes), N (No), A (All), R (Remaining dirs), S (This & subdirs).
/PN Prompts when on excessive failures on /NX operations.
/PN0 Suppresses prompts on excessive failures of /NX operatoins.
/Po Prompts you before overwriting existing files (default).
/Po0 Suppresses warning on file-overwrite (Legacy /Y).
/PZ Prompts you for confirmation of the dst (for /CLONE /Z /ZY).
/W Same as /WS.
/WS Prompts you to press a key at the start of copying.
/WS<n> Waits at the start of operation for a specified period (n sec).
/WE Prompts you to press a key at the end of copying.
/WE<n> Waits at the end of the operation for a specified period (n sec).
/WD0 Suppresses warning for copying a non-directory source.
/WD Prompts with a warning for copying a non-directory src (default).
/WV0 This switch is now obsolete and has no effect.
/WV This switch is now obsolete and has no effect.
/C Continues copying even if errors occur (default).
/C0 Disables the /C switch (terminates upon error).
/CB Continues batch file if XXCOPY ended OK last time.
/CBQ Same as /CB except suppresses console output to end immediately.
/CB0 Cancels the /CB and /CBQ switches.
/CE Same as /CBQ/EC (most useful in batch file with @echo off).
/CR<n> Sets the retry period (n seconds, default = 3) on failed copy.
/Y Overwrites existing files without prompting (See /BB).
/-Y Prompts you before overwriting existing files.
/Y0 Same as above (/-Y).
/YY Suppresses ALL prompts unconditionally (good in a batch script).
----- The following switches control Remove (file delete) -----
/RC Removes files in src after a successful copy (equivalent to move)
/RS Removes files in src which qualify (no copying).
/RD Removes files in dst which qualify to be overwritten (no copying)
/RX Removes files in dst which are absent in src (no copying).
/R0 Undo any of /RC, /RS, RD, or /RX switches.
/RCP Prompts on source-file-remove after successful copy (default).
/RCY Suppresses prompts after a successful source-file-remove.
Note: Whereas /Y and /-Y modify prompting for the copy action
of /RC (Remove after Copy) switch, the suffix 'P' or 'Y' controls
the prompt for the file remove action after copy.
Note: The suffix 'P' or 'Y' can also be added to any of /RS, /RD,
or /RX switches which will insert or suppress respective prompt.
For these remove-without-copy switches, the /Y and /-Y switches
also control the prompt for the remove action.
Note: /RX can be thought of a /Z operation without copying files.";
In general, the /RS/BB combination (by swapping src and dst)";
provides more file-selection controls than the /RX switch.";
Note: /PD and /PD0 control additional prompt on each directory.
/RMDIR Removes a directory Same as /RS/S/H/R/PD0/ED0.
----- The following switches control empty directories -----
/ED0 Deletes an empty directory (default)
/ED Preserves the directory even if it becomes empty.
/ED<n> Preserves n levels of empty directories.
Note: These switches are in effect only with file/directory removal
operations (/Z, /RC, /RS, /RD, /RX, and /CLONE cases).
----- The following switches control cyclic directory copy -----
/CC0 Disallows cyclic copy (src includes the dst directory).
/CC Warns a cyclic copy with a Y/N prompt.
/CCY Allows a cyclic copy by excluding the dst from src (default).
----- Filename pattern matching -----
/N Uses the short (8.3) name for name matching, and creation.
/N0 Disables /N and /NP (default, uses longname when applicable).
/NP Uses precise name matching (ignores match in alias).
/NP0 Uses loose name matching (default, longname or shortname match).
/NX Preserves the shortname when the file is copied.
/NX0 Disables the /NX (shortname preservation) feature.
Note: /N, /NP, and /N0 are mutually exclusive.
Note: If src and dst are both local drive, the shortname will be
preserved (/NX) by default, but if either src or dst is
specified by a UNC (starts with \\), /NX0 is default.
/NL Renames longname to match the source (No copy operations).
/NS Renames shortname to match the source (No copy operations).
/NC0 Disables /NCL, /NCU, or /NCX (accepts letters of both cases).
/NCU Uses Uppercase-only name when a new file is created.
/NCL Uses Lowercase-only name when a new file is created.
/NCX Uses Uppercase-only name when a new short-name file is created.
/NW Uses the new (Win32) wildcard matching scheme.
/ND Uses the old (DOS) wildcard matching scheme.
Note: /ND and /NW are mutually exclusive choices.
----- The following switches terminate when a quota is met ----
/QF Quits when the quota for the file count has been reached.
/QBL Quits before the byte count exceeds the limit (same as /QB).
/QBT Quits when the total byte count reaches the trigger point.
/QSL Quits before the space dips below the limit (same as /QS).
/QST Quits when the remaining space reaches the trigger point.
----- Miscellaneous switches -----
/NI Becomes nice to other tasks by idling (1000 msec) between actions.
/NI<n> Same as /NI. Specifies n msec as the idle time (0 to disable it).
/CF<fname> Specifies a Command File whose contents are treated as if
they were entered at the position it appear in the command line.
The Command File is a text file which may have multple lines.
// Starts a comment field. The rest of the line will be ignored.
:: Starts a comment field. The rest of the line will be ignored.
(See XXTB #37 for a full coverage of this feature.)
/1 DATMAN One-pass copy (when copying from DATMAN tape, default).
/0 Disables DATMAN One-pass copy (not recommended, but allowed).
/V Verifies after copy default (same as /V1).
/V1 Verifies after copy (quick test --- file size match).
/V2 Verifies after copy byte-by-byte check (DATMAN 2-pass).
/V0 Disables verify switch (canceling /V, /V1, or /V2).
/VE Displays only error cases of DATMAN 2-pass verify (/V2).
/ER Emulates XCOPY's exit code (for ERRORLEVEL check in batch files).
/CLONE Duplicates a directory (volume). This switch is a shortcut of
the following combination: /KS/H/E/R/Q/Y/BI/ZY/ZE/oD0.
/CK Checks remaining space before copy (default).
/CK0 Disables the pre-check of remaining space before copy.
----- The following switches control the progress bars -----
/PB Shows Progress bar for the job (default file progress >= 1M).
/PB<n> Shows Progress bar for the job and another Progress bar for a
single-file progress with file length greater than <n>, which is
specified in bytes (or with a suffix, K, M or G) (default: 1M).
/PBH Enables Progress bar Halt/Abort button (default).
/PBH0 Disables Progress bar Halt/Abort button.
----- The following switches control List output -----
/L Same as /LLZ which performs the list operation (no file copy).
/L<items> Customizes the format for List operation (no file copy).
<items> is a string of one or more of the following letters
which selects the combination and the output order.
D file date
T file time
Z file size in bytes
A file attributes: A(rchive),H(idden),S(system),R(eadonly)
S short name (8.3)
L long name with full directory path
Note: When S and L are both missing, L is used by default.
Note: The format specified by /FM<items> will be used if /L
is not followed by its parameter.
/LTREE Lists directory tree (without copy or making directories).
Note: with /LTREE, the /DA/DB/Do parameters apply on dir time.
/F Displays full source and destination file names while copying.
/Fo<fname> Displays full source and file names and also saves into a file.
/FM0 Cancels the /FM<items> parameter previously set.
/FM<items> Specifies the output line format for /L and or /Fo output.
<items> is a string of one or more of the following letters
which selects the combination and the output order.
D file date
T file time
Z file size in bytes
A file attributes: A(rchive),H(idden),S(system),R(eadonly)
S short name (8.3)
L long name with full directory path
Note: When S and L are both missing, L is used by default.
Note: /L/FM<items> can be combined into a /L<items> switch.
----- Miscellaneous switches -----
/MD<dir> Makes directory before other actions (even with /L).
Tip: make a date-encoded directory with a macro reference.
e.g., /MDc:\Bkup/$DATE$ (even good for log files).
----- The following switches control Security Information -----
/SC Same as /SC3 (copies security info).
/SC0 Cancels the /SC or /SF switch (no security info copied).
/SC1 Copies security info (Permissions only) when a file is copied.
/SC2 Copies security info (Auditing only) when a file is copied.
/SC3 Copies security info (both Perm, Audit) when a file is copied.
/SF Same as /SF3 (fixes up security info)
/SF0 Cancels the /SC or /SF switch (equivalent to /SC0).
/SF1 Fixes up security info (Permissions only) (no file copy).
/SF2 Fixes up security info (Auditing only) (no file copy).
/SF3 Fixes up security info (both Perm, Audit) (no file copy).
Note: /SC and /SF work only when src and dst are both NTFS.
----- The following switches control file-write cache -----
/CA Enables all cache. Same as /CA7 (default).
/CA0 Cache control: src-rd = OFF dst-wr = OFF dst-rd = OFF
/CA1 Cache control: src-rd = OFF dst-wr = OFF dst-rd = ON
/CA2 Cache control: src-rd = OFF dst-wr = ON dst-rd = OFF
/CA3 Cache control: src-rd = OFF dst-wr = ON dst-rd = ON
/CA4 Cache control: src-rd = ON dst-wr = OFF dst-rd = OFF
/CA5 Cache control: src-rd = ON dst-wr = OFF dst-rd = ON
/CA6 Cache control: src-rd = ON dst-wr = ON dst-rd = OFF
/CA7 Cache control: src-rd = ON dst-wr = ON dst-rd = ON
/CL Legacy switch, replaced by /CA
----- The following switches control the console output -----
/EC Echoes the entire command line (after macro processing).
/Q0 Displays all file names.
/Q Same as /Q1. Does not display files which are skipped.
/Q1 Does not display files which are skipped.
/Q2 Does not display directories which are excluded.
/Q3 Does not display file and directory names while copying.
/ZS Disables the sign-on message and statistics output.
----- The following switches control the log output -----
/oA<fname> Appends to a logfile, reporting errors. (does not overwrite log).
/oN<fname> Outputs a new logfile, reporting errors (make a new log) file.
/oQ Surrounds pathname output with quotation marks
/o0 Cancels the /oN or /oA switch specified earlier.
The screen and the log file output can be fine tuned by the followng:
/oP<n> Parameter (command switch detailed) list.
/oI<n> Include item (alternate file template) list.
/oX<n> Exclude item list.
/oF<n> File list (files which were successfully operated).
/oS<n> Skipped file list (with the reason why skipped).
/oD<n> Deleted file list (by a /Z or /ZY switch).
/oE<n> Error summary with the system error code
These items can be controlled by the suffix <n> value, 0-3.
0: No output
1: Screen only
2: Log file only
3: Screen and Log file both
Note: It is advised that the log file created by /oA or /oN to be
free from the names of successfully copied files that would
overshadow relatively infrequent lines of error and warning.
Instead, use the /Fo switch to create a separate file for a
list of successfully copied files.
/DEBUG Shows the command parameters and prompts you to start.
/DEBUGX Shows the command parameters and exits.
/HELP Shows the switches in detail (print this output).
/HELP /X Shows Partial Help (switches starting with letter X).
/HELPA Shows the /HELP listing in alphabetical order.
/HELPE Lists the Exit codes (ERRORLEVEL values) returned by XXCOPY.
/? Shows a summary of the switches on one page.
... /? Shows related switches when entered with other switches.
Note: All XXCOPY command switches are case-insensitive.
The alphabet, O, is spelled in lower-case (o) in this page to
help distinguish it from the numeric zero (0).
Note: Virtually all of the switches can be disabled by adding 0 (zero)
at the end (e.g., /A and /A0). Due to the space limitation and
their redundant nature, only some of these cases are listed in
the help text.
----- Pre-defined macros to embed current date and time ----
/$xxxx$ Pre-defined macros for current date and time which may appear
anywhere in the command argument and other XXCOPY parameters.
Examples below are for the current time, Dec 25, 2002 13:15:30
/$DATE$ Expands to month and date (equivalent to /$MMDD$) --> "1225".
/$TIME$ Expands to hour and minutes (equiv. /$HHNN$) --> "1315".
/$YYMMDD$ Expands to 2-digit year month day --> "021225".
/$YYYY-MM$ Expands to 4-digit year month --> "2002-12".
/$YY-M-D$ Expands to 2-digityear-mo-dy (mo and dy without leading zero).
/$HHNNSS$ Expands to hour minutes second --> "131530".
/$MON-DD$ Expands to month day --> "DEC-25".
/$II-IWK-K$ Expands to the ISO 8601 year-week --> "02-W52-3".
/TM0 Cancels the time offset set by /TM+ or /TM-.
/TM+<n> Adds an offset to the current time of macro reference.
/TM-<n> Subtracts an offset to the current time of macro reference.
Note: The offset value <n> for /TM+ and /TM- is specified in days
unless it is appended with a one-letter suffix (D, H, M, or S
which stand for Days, Hours, Minutes, or Seconds respectively).
----- Environment Variables in XXCOPY command files ----
/%xxxx% Environment variable (E-Var) reference in command files
(/CF and /EX). Like the macro reference counterpart,
the string value which correspoinds to an E-Var can be
brought in the command line text using the /%xxxx% syntax.
Note that this syntax should be used only inside the
external file text for XXCOPY (/CF and /EX) which cannot
be processed by the OS's command processor. That is, in
the regular command line, the E-Var reference is already
supported (without a leading slash as the prefix).
----- Installation of XXCOPY ----
/INSTALL Installs the XXCOPY software package on your computer.
/INSTALL:<dir> Installs XXCOPY at user-specified directory.
/UNINSTALL Uninstalls XXCOPY from your computer.
/LICENSE Displays the XXCOPY license status on your computer.
/HOSTS Displays the names of remote hosts accessed by XXCOPY.
----- The following switches are DATMAN specific -----
DATMAN is a revolutionary tape control software also published
by Pixelab, Inc. It makes a tape drive behave almost like a disk.
/J Forces DATMAN catalog (journal) flush.
/J0 Suppresses DATMAN's automatic catalog (journal) flush.
/J1 Flushes DATMAN catalog when needed (default).
/J2 Flushes DATMAN catalog unconditionally at the end.
/G<n> Sets DATMAN N-Group (redundant) write. (<n> : 0 - 7).
e.g., /G1 writes the same data twice on DATMAN tape.
----- Environment variables that affect XXCOPY-----
COPYCMD Specifies file-overwrite prompting.
/Y suppresses the prompt (always overwrite)
/-y prompts you for a Yes/No/All option for a file overwrite
(This feature is for the COPY/XCOPY compatibility.)
XXCOPY Specifies XXCOPY's command argument. This argument string
is evaluated first and therefore the user-typed command line
can override it. The syntax is the same as regular argument.
XXCOPYX Specifies a list of exclusion specifiers (xspec).
Do not use switch prefix (/X). See the /X switch for details.
/ZE Disables the use of all Environment Variables for XXCOPY.
/ZX Disables the use of the Environment Variable XXCOPYX.
/ZX0 Enables the XXCOPYX settings. Good for /CLONE and /RMDIR.
The shortcut /CLONE and /RMDIR contain /ZE as a component.
e.g., /CLONE/ZX0 allows the use of XXCOPYX settings.
Summary XXCOPY switches that check two directories: -------
/ src \
Files are classified into four groups; | ---+---
--------------------------------------------- | A / B | \
A files in src which do not exist in dst | | | |
B files in src which also exist in dst \ | C / D |
C files in dst which also exist in src ---+--- |
D files in dst which do not exist in src \ dst /
-------
/BB all files in A (none in B)
/BI all files in A plus files in B that are different in filetime or size
/BX all files in A plus files in B that are different in filetime
/BZX all files in A plus files in B that are different in size
/BZL all files in A plus files in B that are larger
/BZS all files in A plus files in B that are smaller
/BZE all files in A plus files in B that are the same size
/BN all files in A plus files in B that have newer filetime
/Bo all files in A plus files in B that have older filetime
/BE all files in A plus files in B that have exactly the same time and size
/BS (none in A) files in B that have exactly the same time and size
/U (none in A) all files in B (subject to other switches)
/U/BI (none in A) files in B that are different in filetime or size
Note: all the variations in the backup switches (/Bx) include the files in A
with the exception of /BS to be consistent with the spirit of BACKUP.
As shown in the example (/U/BI), adding /U eliminates the files in A.
/RS files in A and/or B that satisfy other specified switches (for remove).
/RC same as /RS (for remove-after-copy).
/RD (none in D) files in C that would be overwritten (for remove).
/RX all files in D (for remove).
Note: /BS for copy usually accomplishes nothing but is useful as /RS/BS.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Source Specifier:
XXCOPY's first argument (without regard to command switches) is
the source specifier. The source specifier is usually a path
specifier for the source. But, for XXCOPY (as well as for XCOPY),
the source specifier may contain the "Base" directory and an
optional file pattern specification whose subtleties are not fully
appreciated by many XXCOPY users.
The source specifier has three parts:
[ volume_spec ] [ base_dir ] [ pattern ]
Example (the destination specifier is omitted here):
xxcopy c:\mydir\*.doc
xxcopy "c:\program files\mydir\myfile.doc"
xxcopy \\myserver\drivec\config.sys
Here, the three parts in the source specifiers are quite obvious. In
the second example, the double-quotes (") make XXCOPY to treat the
entire command argument as one source specifier. Without the double-
quotes, the embedded space character would make it two parameters
volume_spec
In most cases, the volume spec is a drive letter followed by a
colon (e.g., C: ). But, it can be a universal naming convention
(UNC) string for a volume in a network (e.g., \\myserver\drivec ).
If you omit volume_spec, the current drive is assumed.
base_dir
The name of the source directory. When the XXCOPY command
contains the subdirectory switch (/S and/or /E), the base_dir
specifier denotes the starting directory where the source
files and subdirectories are located. The base_dir part
must not contain wild card characters.
pattern
The last part within the source specifier denotes the pattern
matching string which may contain wildcard characters (* or ?).
It matches only the last components within a full filename.
You may omit any of the three parts, but you may need something
as the source specifier as the space holder so that you can specify
the destination specifier as the second non-switch argument. In
this case, you may use "." which denotes the current directory
as the source.
When you omit either the base_dir part or the pattern part,
that is, when a source specifier without a backslash separating the
two parts, the exact meaning of the command become ambiguous.
We will discuss the source specifier ambiguity in a later
article.
Destination Specifier:
The destination specifier has two parts:
[ volume_spec ] [ dest_dir ]
volume_spec
As for the source specifier case, the destination may contain
a volume specifier (e.g., C: ). If it is omitted, the volume
of the current directory will be used.
dest_dir
The name of the destination directory. Here, the destination
must be a directory name (which may or may not yet exist
in the destination volume). Unlike the original COPY command,
you are not allowed to specify wildcard characters in the
destination specifier which would be conveniently used to
perform renaming action while copying the files.
XXCOPY does not rename files while they are copied. therefore,
no wildcard characters have no place in dest_dir.
Unlike the source specifier counterpart, the destination specifier
consists of only two parts both of which are optional. When you
omit both of them, then the command line would have no explicit
argument as the destination specifier. Don't worry, the current
directory will be used as the default destination directory. Or,
you may just type "." which denotes the current directory explicitly.
Prefix and Delimiters:
Earlier versions of XXCOPY switch used to accept either a slash (/)
or a hyphen (-) followed by at least one letter or digit. That was
started with the DOS version (XXCOPY16.EXE) which did not have to
resolve the hyphen character from filename before the long name
was introduced. However, due to the fact that the hyphen is now
a legal character in Win32's long filename, this practice had to
be abandoned. It became clear lately that the over all price to
pay in the twisted syntax rules to support of the Unix-like switch
prefix has become too high for the now-questionable "benefit".
Usually, command line parameters are separated by blanks. However,
you may safely combine switches without separating blanks for the
command switches (e.g., /s/t/u/v). However, you must separate
the source and the destination specifiers by blanks.
© Copyright 2008 Pixelab, Inc. All rights reserved.
