mtools(1) General Commands Manual mtools(1)
NAME
mtools - Provides a collection of tools for manipulating DOS files
DESCRIPTION
The mtools commands are a public domain collection of programs that let
you read, write, and manipulate files on a DOS file system (typically a
diskette) from a UNIX system. Each command attempts to emulate the DOS
equivalent command as closely as possible. The following commands are
available:
changes DOS file attribute flags changes or reports the DOS working di-
rectory copies DOS files to and from a UNIX operating system deletes a
DOS file displays contents of a DOS directory adds a DOS file system to
a low-level formatted diskette creates a shell script to restore UNIX
file names from DOS mtools utility to label a DOS volume makes a DOS
directory removes a DOS directory performs a low level read (copy) of a
DOS file to UNIX renames an existing DOS file displays the contents of
a DOS file performs a low level write (copy) of a UNIX file to DOS
DOS file names are optionally composed of a drive letter followed by a
colon, a subdirectory, and a file name. Subdirectory names can use ei-
ther the '/' or '\' separator. The use of the '\' separator or wild-
cards requires the names to be enclosed in quotes to protect them from
the shell.
The regular expression pattern matching routines follow the UNIX-style
rules. For example, an asterisk (*) matches all DOS files in place of
asterisks separated by a dot (.) such as *.*. The archive, hidden,
read-only and system attribute bits are ignored during pattern match-
ing.
Not all UNIX file names are supported in the DOS world. The mtools
commands may have to change UNIX names to fit the DOS file name conven-
tions. Most commands provide the verbose flag (-v), that displays new
file names if they have been changed. The following table shows some
examples of file name conversions:
tab(@); lfHB lfHB lfHB l l l. _
UNIX name@DOS name@Reason for the change
_
_@_@_ thisisatest@THISISAT@file name too long
[email protected]@ex-
tension too long
[email protected]@PRN is a device name hot+cold@HOTX-
COLD@illegal character
_
All options use the minus (-) flag, not the slash (/) as provided under
DOS conventions.
The mcd command is used to establish the device and the current working
directory (relative to the DOS file system), otherwise the default is
assumed to be A:\.
All the mtools commands return 0 on success and 1 on complete failure.
All mtools require a floppy diskette properly installed on the system.
All mtools facilities address a device named /dev/fddrive, therefore, a
symbolic link between the floppy device and /dev/fddrive is also re-
quired.
RESTRICTIONS
If the proper device is not specified (when multiple disks capacities
are supported), an error message from the device driver may be dis-
played. This message can be ignored.
EXAMPLES
If the diskette is a SCSI attached floppy drive designated device rz13,
the following example sets up a floppy diskette for access by the
mtools commands: # cd /dev # ./MAKEDEV rz13 You can then link the de-
vice to /dev/fddrive as follows: # ln -s /dev/rrz13a /dev/fddrive The
following example sets up a floppy diskette for access by the mtools
commands if the floppy drive is FDI attached: # cd /dev # ./MAKEDEV fd0
You can then link the device to /dev/fddrive as follows: # ln -s
/dev/rfd0c /dev/fddrive The following example also sets up a SCSI at-
tached floppy diskette for access by the mtools commands: #
/usr/sbin/mknod /dev/rrz13c c 8 21506 You can then link the device to
/dev/fddrive as follows: # ln -s /dev/rrz13c /dev/fddrive Remember to
use the appropriate SCSI name and minor number for your configuration.
In this example, this is dev/rrz13c.
CAUTION: This method is recommended for use only by experienced
system administrators.
RELATED INFORMATION
Commands: ln(1), mattrib(1), mcd(1), mcopy(1), mdel(1), mdir(1), mfor-
mat(1), mlabel(1), mmd(1), mrd(1), mread(1), mren(1), mtype(1),
mwrite(1)
Floppy disk interface: fd(7)
Utilities: MAKEDEV(8), mknod(8)
delim off
mtools(1)