cmd.exe - copy

Copy one file

The following command copies one file (a_file.txt) into the directory p:\ath\to\destination\directory. a_file.txt must be located in the current directory.

C:\users\rene> copy a_file.txt p:\ath\to\destination\directory

If the destination does not refer to a directory, it is interrpreted as a new name for the file (thus the file is copied and renamed):

c:\users\rene> copy another_file.txt p:\ath\to\destination\directory\renamed_file.txt

No creation of directories

If the destination directory does not exist, it won't be created. Rather, an error message is displayed (

c:\users\rene> copy hello.txt p:\ath\to\inexsting\directory\file.txt
The system cannot find the path specified.
        0 file(s) copied.

Using source paths

The source file can also be given with a path, relative or absolute:

C:\users\rene> copy %appdata%\prg\file p:\ath\to\destination

Copying multiple files

Mulitple files can be copied in one command, however only to the same destination directory.

C:\users\rene> copy %appdata%\prg\* p:\ath\to\destination

Using wildcards

Of course, wildcards are possible. The following command copies all files in src whose extension is foo to the directory dest.

C:\users\rene> copy src\*.foo dest

If the wildcard is used twice, the files are copied and their suffix renamed*.

C:\users\rene> copy *.txt *.txt.save

Updating a file's timestamp

The following command updates a file's timestamp, much as touch on Unix does. However, it won't create the file if it does not exist.

c:\> copy someFile.txt +,,

Options

`/A` \| `/B`	Indicates an ASCII text \| binary file.
`/D`	Allow the destination file to be created decrypted destination Specifies the directory and/or filename for the new file(s).
`/V`	Verifies that new files are written correctly.
`/N`	Uses short filename, if available, when copying a file with a non-8dot3 name.
`/Y` \| `/-Y`	Suppresses \| causes prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an existing destination file.
`/Z`	Copies networked files in restartable mode.
`/L`	If the source is a symbolic link, copy the link to the target instead of the actual file the source link points to.