MTOOLS(1) manual page

Table of Contents

## Name

Mtools - a collection of tools for manipulating MSDOS files

## Synopsis

    mattrib - change MSDOS file attribute flags
    mcd - change MSDOS directory
    mcopy - copy MSDOS files to/from Unix
    mdel - delete an MSDOS file
    mdir - display an MSDOS directory
    mformat - add an MSDOS filesystem to a low-level formatted diskette
    mlabel - make an MSDOS volume label
    mmd - make an MSDOS subdirectory
    mrd - remove an MSDOS subdirectory
    mread - low level read (copy) an MSDOS file to Unix
    mren - rename an existing MSDOS file
    mtype - display contents of an MSDOS file
    mwrite - low level write (copy) a Unix file to MSDOS

## Description

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). Each program attempts to emulate the MSDOS equivalent command as closely as practical.

MSDOS filenames are optionally composed of a drive letter followed by a colon, a subdirectory, and a filename. Subdirectory names can use either the '/' or '\' separator. The use of the '\' separator or wildcards will require 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, '*' matches all MSDOS files in lieu of '*.*'. The archive, hidden, read-only and system attribute bits are ignored during pattern matching.

Not all Unix filenames are appropriate in the MSDOS world. The Mtools commands may have to alter Unix names to fit the MSDOS filename restrictions. Most commands have a -v (verbose) option that will display the new names if they have been changed. The following table shows some examples of filename conversions:

Unix name | MSDOS name | Reason for the change
_ | _ | _
thisisatest | THISISAT | filename too long
emmet.gray | EMMET.GRA | extension too long
prn.txt | XRN.TXT | PRN is a device name
.abc | X.ABC | null filename
hot+cold | HOTXCOLD | illegal character

All options use the '-' (minus) flag, not '/' as you'd expect in MSDOS.

The mcd command is used to establish the device and the current working directory (relative to the MSDOS filesystem), otherwise the default is assumed to be A:/.

All the Mtools commands return 0 on success, 1 on utter failure, or 2 on partial failure.

## See Also

mattrib(1) , mcd(1) , mdel(1) , mformat(1) , mrd(1) , mren(1) , mtype(1) , mcopy(1) , mdir(1) , mlabel(1) , mmd(1) , mread(1) , mwrite(1)

## Bugs

An unfortunate side effect of not guessing the proper device (when multiple disk capacities are supported) is an occasional error message from the device driver. These can be safely ignored.

Table of Contents

- Name
- Synopsis
- Description
- See Also
- Bugs