mtools.1

MTOOLS version 2.0 Mtools is a public domain collection of programs to allow Unix systems t

.TH MTOOLS 1 local
.SH NAME
Mtools \- a collection of tools for manipulating MSDOS files
.SH SYNOPSIS
.nf
\fBmattrib\fR \- change MSDOS file attribute flags
\fBmcd\fR \- change MSDOS directory
\fBmcopy\fR \- copy MSDOS files to/from Unix
\fBmdel\fR \- delete an MSDOS file
\fBmdir\fR \- display an MSDOS directory
\fBmformat\fR \- add an MSDOS filesystem to a low-level formatted diskette
\fBmlabel\fR \- make an MSDOS volume label
\fBmmd\fR \- make an MSDOS subdirectory
\fBmrd\fR \- remove an MSDOS subdirectory
\fBmread\fR \- low level read (copy) an MSDOS file to Unix
\fBmren\fR \- rename an existing MSDOS file
\fBmtype\fR \- display contents of an MSDOS file
\fBmwrite\fR \- low level write (copy) a Unix file to MSDOS
.fi
.SH DESCRIPTION
Mtools is a public domain collection of programs to allow Unix systems
to read, write, and manipulate files on an MSDOS filesystem (typically a
diskette).  Each program attempts to emulate the MSDOS equivalent
command as closely as practical.
.PP
MSDOS filenames are optionally composed of a drive letter followed by a
colon, a subdirectory, and a filename.  Subdirectory names can use either
the '/' or '\e' separator.  The use of the '\e' separator or wildcards
will require the names to be enclosed in quotes to protect them from the
shell.
.PP
The regular expression "pattern matching" routines follow the Unix-style
rules.  For example, '*' matches all MSDOS files in lieu of '*.*'.  The
archive, hidden, read-only and system attribute bits are ignored during
pattern matching.
.PP
Not all Unix filenames are appropriate in the MSDOS world.  The Mtools
commands may have to alter Unix names to fit the MSDOS filename
restrictions.  Most commands have a -v (verbose) option that will
display the new names if they have been changed.  The following table
shows some examples of filename conversions:
.PP
.in +0.5i
.(b L
.TS
l l l.
Unix name	MSDOS name	Reason for the change
_	_	_
thisisatest	THISISAT	filename too long
emmet.gray	EMMET.GRA	extension too long
prn.txt	XRN.TXT	PRN is a device name
\.abc	X.ABC	null filename
hot+cold	HOTXCOLD	illegal character
.TE
.)b
.in
.PP
All options use the '-' (minus) flag, not '/' as you'd expect in MSDOS.
.PP
The
.I mcd
command is used to establish the device and the current working
directory (relative to the MSDOS filesystem), otherwise the default is
assumed to be A:/.
.PP
All the Mtools commands return 0 on success, 1 on utter failure, or 2
on partial failure.
.SH SEE ALSO
mattrib(1), mcd(1), mdel(1), mformat(1), mrd(1), mren(1), mtype(1),
mcopy(1), mdir(1), mlabel(1), mmd(1), mread(1), mwrite(1)
.SH BUGS
An unfortunate side effect of not guessing the proper device (when
multiple disk capacities are supported) is an occasional error message
from the device driver.  These can be safely ignored.