MTOOLS version 2.0 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). The following MSDOS commands are emulated: Mtool MSDOS name equivalent Description ----- ---- ----------- mattrib ATTRIB change MSDOS file attribute flags mcd CD change MSDOS directory mcopy COPY copy MSDOS files to/from Unix mdel DEL/ERASE delete an MSDOS file mdir DIR display an MSDOS directory mformat FORMAT add MSDOS filesystem to a low-level format mlabel LABEL make an MSDOS volume label. mmd MD/MKDIR make an MSDOS subdirectory mrd RD/RMDIR remove an MSDOS subdirectory mread COPY low level read (copy) an MSDOS file to Unix mren REN/RENAME rename an existing MSDOS file mtype TYPE display contents of an MSDOS file mwrite COPY low level write (copy) a Unix file to MSDOS You should be able to just close your eyes and pretend you're on an MSDOS system. Everything should work the same... except for the added 'm' at the beginning of each command. I really wanted to avoid the use of a 'text' mode and a 'data' mode when transferring files, but I couldn't find a better way. It gets rather confusing and it's quite possible to mess up a file if you apply the text mode when it is not appropriate (ie: to a COM or EXE file). The pattern matching routine more closely resembles Unix than MSDOS. For example, "*" matches all MSDOS files in lieu of "*.*". The use of wildcards (or the '\' separator) will require the names to be enclosed in quotes to protect them from the shell. For example: RIGHT: mcopy "a:*.c" . will copy all files on the A: disk with the extension .C to the current Unix directory. WRONG: mcopy a:*.c . will cause the shell to expand a:*.c in the current Unix directory (which is probably not what you wanted) then copy that list of files (if there were any) from A: to the current Unix directory. RIGHT: mcopy *.c a: will copy all files with the extension .c in the current Unix directory to the A: drive. (This time you *want* the shell the expand the *.c). The manuals are very terse... it's assumed that the reader is already familiar with MSDOS. Mcopy is really a front-end to the low level Mread and Mwrite commands. Emmet P. Gray US Army, HQ III Corps & Fort Hood ...!uunet!uiucuxc!fthood!egray Attn: AFZF-DE-ENV fthood!egray@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu Directorate of Engineering & Housing Environmental Management Office Fort Hood, TX 76544-5057