Super CopyTM
User’s Manual
Shareware version 1.00 for DOS
Release phase
Copyright © Cha Lin Wang 1999
Contents
1. Introduction 4
1.1 What is "Super Copy" for DOS? 4
1.2 Why was "Super Copy" created? 4
1.3 Minimum system requirements: 4
2. How to use "Super Copy" 5
2.1 Installation 5
2.2 Syntax 5
2.3 Command-line grammar 5
2.4 Switches and their usage 6
2.5 Examples 6
3. Differences between "Super Copy" and "xcopy.exe" 8
3.1 Specifying dependent sub-switches 8
3.2 Specification of dates 8
3.3 One-drive selective copy 8
3.4 File or directory? 8
3.5 Reserved devices 9
3.6 Keystrokes 9
3.7 Program output 9
4. Limitations of this software 10
4.1 Target file specification 10
4.2 Truncations 10
5. Software License 11
5.1 Software License 11
5.2 Disclaimer 11
"Super Copy" is a file-copying utility for computers based on the Intel x86 microprocessors running DOS (Disk Operating System). It features file searching using wildcards, duplication of directory trees, incremental file back-up capabilities, and the "one-drive selective copy" function.
Many modern PCs are equipped with mass-storage devices that accept removable media, such as magneto-optical disks, removable hard disks, etcetera. A problem arises when the user needs to copy individual files from one disk to another when only one disk drive is available. Using standard DOS commands, the basic alternatives are:
1) Temporarily buffer the files in a different disk drive (e.g. a hard disk)
2) Make an entire copy of the source disk, sector by sector
3) Create a phantom drive name, so that the physical disk drive would then have two names.
The first alternative is acceptable except for special cases such as networked workstations without hard disks, or as when the hard disk is simply full to the brim. Copying the entire source disk is easy but just too time consuming, especially if only a small file on the source disk needs to be duplicated. And finally, creating phantom drives using device drivers included with DOS often confuses applications that automatically search for the presence of mass storage devices. Furthermore, those device driver programs do take up memory. Hence "Super Copy" was created to address these issues while retaining all the functionality of the "xcopy.exe" command provided with DOS.
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Processor: |
80386 (SX or DX) or better |
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Operating system: |
Microsoft DOS version 5.0 or later, or a compatible operating system. |
|
Memory: |
2 MB |
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Mass storage devices: |
any supported as logical disk drives (appearing as "a:", "c:", etc.) |
Simply copy the following files to any directory of your hard disk or utilities diskette:
SCopy.exe Super Copy software.
DOS4GW.exe Extender program that interfaces Super Copy with the operating system.
After doing so, set your "PATH" environment variable to include the directory where you copied the above files.
Along with the above executables, you should have also received the following two files:
Readme.txt Information regarding features, bug fixes, and ordering commercial versions.
SCopy.htm (This "User's manual" in HTML format.)
In this section, some knowledge of the DOS is assumed from the reader.
At the command prompt you may execute "scopy.exe" with the following format:
scopy.exe [Drv1:][Dir1\][FileSpec1] [Drv2:][Dir2\][FileName2] [Switches]
When you hit ‘Enter’, this command then proceeds to read the source file(s) specified as
[Drv1:][Dir1\][FileSpec1]
where "Drv1" is the source drive, "Dir1" is the source directory path and "FileSpec1" is the specification of the source file(s). Then, "Super Copy" will write the source file(s) to
[Drv2:][Dir2\][FileName2]
where similarly, "Drv2" is the target drive, "Dir2" is the target directory path, and "FileName2" specifies a single target file.
To perform the special functions supported by "Super Copy", you may specify any the switches "/s[e]", "/a[m]", "/d", "/p", "/w", "/v" or "/y" described below.
Notes:
|
1) |
Just like all DOS commands, all drives, directories, file specifications and options are NOT case-sensitive. |
|
2) |
All items within [ ] are optional, however you must specify at least one of {Drv1, Dir1, FileSpec1} |
|
3) |
You may specify the target file’s name only if the source file specification is the name of a single file. No wildcards are allowed in the target file’s name. |
Defaults assumed by "Super Copy":
|
If not specified: |
then assume: |
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drive |
current drive |
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directory path |
current directory, i.e., ".\" |
|
source file specification |
all files, i.e., "*.*" |
|
target file name |
retain the name(s) of the source file(s) |
The components in the command format above are parsed (recognized) as follows:
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Source path |
The first path-name encountered in the command line. |
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Target path |
The second path-name encountered in the command line. |
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Path-name |
Any command line argument that does not start with a '/'. May contain a drive, a directory path and/or a file specification. Must total 80 or less characters in length. |
|
Argument |
Any sequence of characters with no spaces (or tabs) among them. "Super Copy" is executed as the command "scopy.exe" followed by some arguments, which are regarded as ‘being part of the same command line’. |
|
Drive |
Two characters in length, starts with the letter name of the logical drive and ends with a colon ‘:’. |
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Directory path |
Any continuous sequence of valid directory names, each ending with a backslash ‘\’. This sequence starts after the colon if a drive is specified. |
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File specification |
A sequence of characters immediately following the directory path. Each character must either be valid for inclusion in a directory entry of the file system, or be a wild-card character (‘*’ or ‘?’). |
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File name |
A file specification that contains no wild-card characters. |
|
Switch |
Any argument specified at the command line starting with a ‘/’; the next character(s) determine(s) the function(s) and validity of the switch. |
|
/s[e] |
"/s": copy all the non-empty subdirectories (and all files therein) under the source directory. "/se": copy all files and subdirectories, even if the latter are empty. |
|
/a[m] |
"/a": only copy files that have been modified since they were last backed up; i.e. those files that have the "Archive" attribute set. "/am": only copy files that have the "Archive" attribute set, and then modify (reset) said attribute for each file that was successfully copied. |
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/d |
prompt you to enter a year, a month and a day. "Super Copy" will then only copy files modified after the date you specify. |
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/p |
asks you whether or not to copy each file encountered. |
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/w |
prompts for you to prepare source or target media between reads and writes respectively. This is the implementation of "one drive selective copy". |
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/v |
this switch currently has no effect; it is reserved for future implementation. |
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/y |
overwrite pre-existing target files without prompting for confirmation. (Use of this switch is discouraged) |
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/? |
display help information about Super Copy. |
> scopy b:
All files in the current directory of drive "b:" will be copied to the current directory of the current drive.
> scopy a:*. b: /e /p
Copy all the files with no filename extensions (and all the directory structures) in drive "a:" to the current directory of drive "b:". Before each file is copied, you will be prompted to either allow or skip copying each file.
> scopy a*.txt c:\ /m /d
Copy all files matching "a*.txt", that have not been modified since the last backup, to the root directory of drive "c:". Furthermore, you will be asked for a date; "Super Copy" will only copy the files that were last modified on or after the date you specify.
The syntax and usage of "Super Copy" is very similar to that of the "xcopy.exe" command included with the operating system. However, there are some additional features implemented in "Super Copy", as well as some special usage rules, that make it different from "xcopy.exe" in some subtle ways. This chapter explains those differences as well as how to take advantage of the special features of "Super Copy".
|
With "Super Copy" you may use: |
but not: |
|
"/s" or "/se" |
"/s /e" |
|
"/a" or "/am" |
"/a /m" |
To resolve any ambiguities in specifying dates (because different countries use different formats), in "Super Copy" you need not (and cannot) specify the limiting date in the command line. Specifying switch "/d" will make "Super Copy" ask you to enter year, month and day, one by one.
Following are the allowable ranges of dates:
|
-2^31 |
<= |
Year |
<= |
2^31-1 |
|
1 |
<= |
Month |
<= |
12 |
|
1 |
<= |
Day |
<= |
31 |
The most important feature of "Super Copy":
> xcopy a:file.exe a:file.ext /w
will not work but
> scopy a:file.exe a:file.ext /w
will work, provided that you prepare or insert the source and target media as requested by "Super Copy". In order to use this feature, the run-time environment must not lock the media in the storage device you are attempting to operate. "Super Copy" includes a mechanism to prevent itself from truncating a source file, if for example you fail to switch diskettes between reads and writes.
If directory "bell" does not exist, the command
> xcopy ring bell
will give you the prompt:
Does BELL specify a file name
or directory name on the target
(F = file, D = directory)?
However,
> scopy ring bell
will copy file "ring" to file "bell", and
> scopy ring bell\
will copy file "ring" to file "bell\ring", without any prompts in either case.
Also,
> xcopy *.* bell
and answering "file" will read all source files and write them one by one to file "bell", with each content of the target file being overwritten by the next one until you end up with only a copy of the last source file that was read. However,
> scopy *.* bell
will copy all source files to directory "bell". The presence of wildcards in the source file specification makes "Super Copy" automatically assume that "bell" is the name of a target subdirectory.
"Super Copy" can write files to reserved devices such as "con" and "prn".
Different keys are used to respond to different prompts: ‘c’ for copy, ‘s’ for skip, ‘o’ for overwrite. This prevent accidents that would happen when you confirm quickly the copy of several files and suddenly an overwrite warning appears, but your finger just kept pressing ‘y’.
"Super Copy" displays four columns of output:
|
1) |
A letter indicating current activity: ‘R’=read, ‘W’=write, 'M'=modify attribute. |
|
2) |
Offset (decimal) into the file being accessed, or new value of attribute byte. |
|
3) |
Number of bytes (decimal) being transferred. |
|
4) |
Full pathname of the file being processed. |
When copying files, you cannot (and most likely need not) specify the target files. For example,
> xcopy a:file.ext b:*.*
and
> xcopy a:file.ext b:
both do the same thing. However, only
> scopy a:file.ext b:
is allowed.
Partial target file name substitution is not yet supported by "Super Copy".
> xcopy julyfile\july??.txt junefile\june??.txt
has no equivalent in "Super Copy" so you have to rename the target files after performing the copy.
"Super Copy" cannot determine whether the source and target files are the same file (i.e. occupy the same storage location), but it will ask you to confirm whether you really want to overwrite the file with itself. If you answer positively to this prompt, the file may be truncated with NO POSSIBILITY OF DATA RECOVERY. This limitation is due to the fact that Super Copy cannot lock and protect your source file, and still allow you to remove the source medium/disk from the drive in order to insert the target medium.
This is a legal agreement between you, the end-user, and Cha Lin Wang, the "copyright owner" of the "Super Copy" software ("the software"). By installing and/or using this software, you are accepting all the terms of this agreement.
5.1.1 Grant of license
The copyright owner grants you the right to use one executable copy of the software at any time as a single process (such as one display window or command prompt) in one computer (i.e. one processor), in accordance to the guidelines and instructions that accompany this software.
5.1.2 Copyright
The software is owned by the copyright owner (and any designated agents thereof), and is protected by the copyright laws of the Dominican Republic, the United States of America, and all applicable international copyright treaties.
You may make copies of the shareware version of this software and redistribute such copies provided that:
1) You do not make any modifications to the software and any accompanying files.
2) You redistribute the software with, and only with, all accompanying files as listed elsewhere in this document.
5.1.3 Usage of the software
You agree to use the software solely for personal and non-commercial purposes. Any commercial usage of this software will require that you obtain a separate license for such usage. The copyright owner may require and collect licensing fees.
You may not rent, lease or re-issue this license of the software, but you may terminate this license agreement by destroying all your copies of the software and all accompanying materials in your posession.
You waive any and all rights to access the source code of the software. You may not reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the software.
You may not use, copy, modify or transfer the software or any part thereof except as expressly provided in this license. All rights not expressly granted are reserved by the copyright owner.
If any provision of this agreement proves to be unenforceable, all other provisions will remain in full force.
The copyright owner and all designated agents disclaim all other warranties, either express or implied, including but not limted to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular pupose, with respect to the software and the accompanying materials. In no event will the copyright owner be liable for any damages arising from the use of, or inability to use, this software, even if the copyright owner and the agents have been advised of possible damages. Such damages include, but are not limited to, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, and loss of information.
x86 (family of microprocessors) is a trademark of Intel Corporation.
Disk Operating System (DOS), Windows and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
OS/2 is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.