copy(CMD) 19 June 1992 copy(CMD) Name copy - copy one or more files to another location Syntax copy [/a|/b] source [/a|/b] [ +source [/a|/b] [+ ...]] [destination [/a|/b]] [/v] Description This command can also be used to combine files. When more than one file is copied, MS-DOS displays each filename as the file is copied. Parameters source Specifies the location and name of a file or set of files from which you want to copy. source can consist of a drive letter and colon, a directory name, a filename, or a combination. destination Specifies the location and name of a file or set of files to which you want to copy. destination can consist of a drive letter and colon, a directory name, a filename, or a combination. Switches /a Indicates an ASCII text file. When the /a switch precedes the list of filenames on the command line, it applies to all files whose names follow the /a switch, until copy encounters a /b switch, in which case the /b switch applies to the file whose name precedes the /b switch. When the /a switch follows a filename, it applies to the file whose name precedes the /a switch and to all files whose names follow the /a switch, until copy encounters a /b switch, in which case the /b switch applies to the file whose name precedes the /b switch. An ASCII text file can use an end-of-file character (CtrlZ) to indicate the end of the file. When combining files, copy treats files as ASCII text files by default. /b Indicates a binary file. When the /b switch precedes the list of filenames on the command line, it applies to all files whose names follow the /b switch, until copy encounters an /a switch, in which case the /a switch applies to the file whose name precedes the /a switch. When the /b switch follows a filename, it applies to the file whose name precedes the /b switch and to all files whose names follow the /b switch, until copy encounters an /a switch, in which case the /a switch applies to the file whose name precedes the /a switch. The /b switch specifies that the command inter- preter is to read the number of bytes specified by the file size in the directory. The /b switch is the default value for copy unless copy is combining files. /v Verifies that new files are written correctly. Notes Copying to and from devices You can substitute a device name for one or more occurrences of source or for destination. Using or omitting the /b switch when copying to a device When destination is a device (for example, COM1 or LPT1), the /b switch causes MS-DOS to copy data to the device in binary mode. In binary mode, all characters (including such special characters as CtrlC, CtrlS, CtrlZ, and carriage return) are copied to the device as data. Whereas, omission of the /b switch causes MS-DOS to copy data to the device in ASCII mode. In ASCII mode, such special characters as those previously listed may cause MS-DOS to take special action during the copying process. Using the default destination file If you do not specify a destination file, MS-DOS creates a copy with the same name, creation date, and creation time as the original file, placing the new copy in the current directory on the current drive. If the source file is on the current drive and in the current directory and you do not specify a different drive or directory for the destination file, the copy command stops and MS-DOS displays the following error message: File cannot be copied onto itself 0 File(s) copied Using the /v switch If MS-DOS cannot verify a write operation, it displays an error message. Although recording errors rarely occur with the copy command, the /v switch lets you verify that critical data has been correctly recorded. The /v switch also slows down the copy command, because MS-DOS must check each sector recorded on the disk. Using the /a and /b switches The effect of an /a or /b switch depends upon its position on the command line. When the /a or /b switch follows the source filename, copy per- forms as shown in the following list: /a Treats the file as an ASCII (text) file and copies data that pre- cedes the first end-of-file character. copy does not copy the first end-of-file character or the remainder of the file. /b Copies the entire file, including any end-of-file character. When the /a or /b switch follows the destination filename, copy performs as shown in the following list: /a Adds an end-of-file character as the last character of the file. /b Does not add an end-of-file character. Combining files with the copy command If you specify more than one source, separating entries with a plus sign (+), copy combines the files, creating a single file. If you use wild- cards in source but specify a single filename in destination, copy com- bines all files matching the filename in source and creates a single file with the filename specified in destination. In either case, copy assumes the combined files are ASCII files unless you specify the /b switch. If the name of the destination file is the same as the name of one of the files being copied (except the first file), the original contents of the destination file are lost. When this happens, copy displays the follow- ing message: Content of destination lost before copy Copying files in subdirectories To copy all of a directory's files and subdirectories, you should use the xcopy(CMD) command. Copying zero-length files copy does not copy files that are 0 bytes long. Use xcopy(CMD) to copy these files. Changing the time and date of a file If you want to assign the current time and date to a file without modify- ing the file, use a command in the following format. The commas indicate the omission of the destination parameter. copy /b source+,, Examples The following command copies a file and ensures that an end-of-file char- acter is at the end of the copied file: copy memo.doc letter.doc /a To copy a file named ROBIN.TYP from the current drive and directory to an existing directory named BIRDS that is located on drive C, type the fol- lowing command: copy robin.typ c:\birds If the BIRDS directory does not exist, MS-DOS copies the file ROBIN.TYP into a file named BIRDS that is located in the root directory on the disk in drive C. To copy several files into one file, list any number of files as source parameters on the copy command line. Separate filenames with a plus sign (+) and specify a filename for the resulting combined file, as the fol- lowing example shows: copy mar89.rpt + apr89.rpt + may89.rpt report This command combines the files named MAR89.RPT, APR89.RPT, and MAY89.RPT from the current drive and directory and places them in a file named REPORT in the current directory on the current drive. When files are combined, the destination file is created with the current date and time. If you omit destination, MS-DOS combines the files and stores them under the name of the first specified file. For example, if a file named REPORT already exists, you can use the following command to combine all four files in REPORT: copy report + mar89.rpt + apr89.rpt + may89.rpt You can also combine several files into one by using wildcards, as the following example shows: copy *.txt combin.doc This command combines all files in the current directory on the current drive that have the extension .TXT into one file named COMBIN.DOC, also in the current directory on the current drive. If you want to combine several binary files into one by using wildcards, include the /b switch, as the following example shows: copy /b *.exe combin.exe This prevents MS-DOS from treating CtrlZ as an end-of-file character. _________________________________________________________________________ CAUTION If you combine binary files, the resulting file might not be usable due to internal formatting. _________________________________________________________________________ In the following example, copy combines each file that has a .TXT exten- sion with its corresponding .REF file. The result is a file with the same filename but with a .DOC extension. Thus, copy combines FILE1.TXT with FILE1.REF to form FILE1.DOC. Then copy combines FILE2.TXT with FILE2.REF to form FILE2.DOC, and so on. copy *.txt + *.ref *.doc The following copy command combines first all files with the .TXT exten- sion, then all files with the .REF extension into one file named COMBIN.DOC: copy *.txt + *.ref combin.doc Related command For information about copying directories and subdirectories, see the copy(CMD) command.