mtools(1)mtools(1)NAMEmtools - 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: Converts a DOS file format to an UNIX file format. Changes
DOS file attribute options such as whether the file is writeable. This
is analogous the the chmod command in UNIX. Changes or reports the DOS
working directory Copies DOS files to and from a UNIX operating system
Deletes a DOS file Displays the contents of a DOS directory Copies a
diskette to another diskette as a bit-image copy Adds a DOS file system
to a low-level formatted diskette Creates a shell script to restore
UNIX file names from DOS file names Labels a DOS volume Makes a DOS
directory Removes a DOS directory Performs a low level read (copy) of a
DOS file to a UNIX-format file Renames an existing DOS file Displays
the contents of a DOS file Performs a low level write (copy) of a UNIX
file to a DOS-format file Converts a UNIX file to DOS format
DOS file names optionally are composed of a drive letter followed by a
colon, a subdirectory, and a file name. Subdirectory names can use
either the slash (/) or backslash (\) characters as a separator. The
use of the backslash separator or wildcards requires the names to be
enclosed in quotes to protect them from the shell.
The regular expression “pattern matching” routines follow the UNIX
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 might have to change UNIX file names to fit the DOS file name
conventions. Most commands provide the verbose option (-v), that dis‐
plays new file names if they have been changed. The following table
shows some examples of file name conversions:
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
UNIX File Name DOS File Name Reason for the Change
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
thisisatest THISISAT File name too long
file.stuff FILE.STU File xtension too long
prn.txt XRN.TXT The string prn specifies a
device name
.abc X.ABC Null file name
hot+cold HOTXCOLD Illegal character
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
All options use the minus (-) option, 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/disk/floppy. You must
create a symbolic link between the diskette's device special files and
the file /dev/disk/floppy, depending on what type of diskette drive is
on your system. See the EXAMPLES section for information on how you set
up the diskette drive.
RESTRICTIONS
If the proper device is not specified (when multiple disk capacities
are supported) the device driver might display an error message. You
can ignore this message.
EXAMPLES
Device special file names are created automatically for all existing
devices. If no device special file exists for the floppy drive, see
dsfmgr(8). Refer to hwmgr(8) for information on how you determine what
kind of floppy drive is on your system, and to find its device name.
If the diskette drive is attached to the floppy disk interface (FDI) it
has the device name floppyN, where N is an integer. Your /dev/disk
directory must contain the following device special files for two
floppy disk partitions: /dev/disk/floppyNa /dev/disk/floppyNc
Link the c partition to the file /dev/disk/floppy: # ln -s
/dev/disk/floppy0c /dev/disk/floppy If the diskette drive is a
SCSI device, the device name has the format dskN, where N is an
integer. Use the SysMan Station, or the hwmgr command to deter‐
mine the device name.
The following example sets up a SCSI floppy diskette for access
by the mtools commands by linking the device to /dev/disk/floppy
as follows: # ln -s /dev/disk/dsk13c /dev/disk/floppy To test
the configuration of a diskette drive, insert a DOS formatted
disk and enter the following command: # /usr/ucb/mtools/mdir
Volume in drive A is "volume_name." Directory for A:/
file type size date time file type size date time
SEE ALSO
Commands: dos2unix(1) ,dsfmgr(8), hwmgr(8), ln(1), mattrib(1), mcd(1),
mcopy(1), mdel(1), mdir(1), mdiskcopy(1), mformat(1), mlabel(1),
mmd(1), mrd(1), mread(1), mren(1), mtype(1), mwrite(1), sysman_sta‐
tion(8), unix2dos(1)
Floppy disk interface: fd(7)mtools(1)