Sophisticated(!) copying in DOS

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

You need to be a little more careful with your code, especially
if you want to do "Sophisticated copying" (your Subject line).
I wrote this:

/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt"
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp"

There are two obvious problems with your code:
- You shifted the first quote to the beginning of the line. Makes no sense
whatsoever!
- You quote a .bmp file after the exclude switch. On several previous
occasions in this thread it was pointed out that the file after the
/exclude switch must be a text file containing a list of files to be
excluded. It cannot be a .bmp file!

STILL a "Can't read file \\SOURCEDRIVE\Shareddocs\Mailroom\dontcopy.txt"

I know the "path" is OK, because if I exclude the "/EXCLUDE:" line, it
copies everything.

Also, I tried the line with an
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp" - a picture of my
dog - and still got the "Can't read file ...grace.bmp"

So, it appears to be something it's not liking about "Exclude"?

Arggggghhhhh!

With your "path" command you wrecked your existing path! The
correct way would be to type this:

path %path%;\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs.

However . . . adding SourceDrive\ShareDocs to the path makes no
sense, because SourceDrive\ShareDocs contains no executable
programs. The path is used to locate executable programs, not data
files.

Here is what you should type:

xcopy /y "\\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM"
/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt" "C:\RECEIVE\"

This is all one long line. Note the "/y" switch, the trailing backslash
after "c:\Receive\", and the sets of double quotes. Depending on
your actual names, they could be essential.

I added
PATH \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS

And now get
'xcopy' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file

I guess I should have added %PATH% \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS?

btw, here is the full command in my batch file:

XCOPY \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM /EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt C:\RECEIVE

My goal is to take all of the files (save the five listed in
"dontcopy.txt"!) and copy them from a subdirectory called "Mailroom" on
my
server to a subdirectory called "Receive" on my laptop.

(The file "dontcopy.txt" is in \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM)


Thanks,



From the help
" /EXCLUDE:file1[+file2][+file3]...
Specifies a list of files containing strings. Each string should be

in
a

separate line in the files. When any of the strings match any part

of
the

absolute path of the file to be copied, that file will be excluded from
being copied. For example, specifying a string like \obj\ or .obj will
exclude all files underneath the directory obj or all files with the .obj
extension respectively."

So
/EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt
NOT
/EXCLUDE dontcopy.txt

Since where you put the file resulted in "can't read xxx", I suggest
putting "dontcopy.txt" in a directory that is listed in the PATH listing.

RJB wrote:

It's all listed in the screens above

The donotcopy.txt contains a list - one per line - of each exclded file.

The long and short is

xcopy \\destinationpath\subdir /EXCLUDE donotcopy.txt
\\receivingpath\subdirectory






Let's see your precise command, and the contents of the
exclude file.



I've tried every permutation I can think of, and the results I get are:
Can't read file: XXX

0 File(s) copied

(where XXX is whatever file comes after the "/exclude:" switch.

The "donotcopy.txt" file is in the SOURCE directory, correct?

Also, if I just try to exclude file(s) by name - a la /EXCLUDE:ABC*.fil,
I
get the same result...
Can't read file: ABC*.fil

0 File(s) copied

What the heck is going on???



:


BINGO! We have a Winner!

RJB wrote:


At the risk of being redundantly monotonous and obtuse:

1) Create a notepad file
2) In the file, type:
ABC Jackson.fil
ABC Smith.fil
ABC Alias.fil
ABC Lost.fil
ABC Polar.fil
3) Save it as "filelist.txt"
4) In the xcopy command,
XCOPY \\PATH\SOURCE_SUBDIRECTORY /EXCLUDE filelist.txt
\\PATH\TARGET_SUBDIRECTORY /d /h /p /r /u /k /y

Close?


:



Inline,

RJB wrote:



Yeah, I gotta say, Pegasus, your solution gives me an ice cream

headache.

I still don't know if I get the "file listing" info...

From your initial post, it seems as if I am creating a file - called

"file1"

- and in that file it includes a list of excluded files.

CORRECT



But I probably just want to do
/EXCLUDE ABC*.fil

Wrong, should be like this

XCOPY /EXCLUDE FILELIST.TXT

FILELIST.TXT contents are ABC*.fil
one entry per line, you may have to experiment with it a bit.



Which is what your most recent post says. Right?

nope.


Anyway, I think I have enough info to experiment with.

Thanks,

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Your reply contains several errors and misconceptions - see below.

theres a lot of doublethink in these replies. doing 'xcopy /exclude
abc*.fil 'is the same as copying them somewhere else then doin 'delete
abc*.fil' ,and a lot simpler.......easier to delete the one u dont want
rather than copy the ones u do want.................

No it is NOT the same. The /Exclude switch ensures that the files
do NOT get copied. You can easily test this, by issuing a copy
command that would overfill a floppy disk without the /exclude
switch. Your own method (copy & delete) would overfill the
floppy disk!

DOS isnt sophisticated

There is no DOS under Windows. DOS is an operating system
as is Unix. It's the Command Prompt you're referring to,
and it is far more sophisticated than you would guess. If you
do not believe me, please explain what the following two lines
of code do, and why:
echo %date:~0,3%
echo %time::=-%

its a programmers o/s

You probably mean "it's a programmer's o/s", with these
pesky apostrophes. But still, what you say is correct.

and tends not to pander
to what became known a 'Quiche Eaters' (people who like GUI's and
'structured programming, (such as Nicklaus Wirth, the inventor of
PASCAL)'

GUIs and structured programming have nothing in common.
Furthermore, the word "GUIs" requires no apostrophe, same as
"two dogs" requires no apostrophy, because both are plurals.

GUI's ruined computing

GUIs (note: no apostrophe!) made computing accessible to
the masses. It's what made the Apple so popular, until Microsoft
pulled even.

 

[RJB]

Thanks. The .bmp attempt was to test if the exclude command was working, and
something was wrong with the .txt file setup.

(I thought if I excluded ONE file, then I would prove that /EXCLUDE was
working... And the .txt file was the problem. I didn't realize EXCLUDE MUST
be a .txt file... I thought that was only to exclude a series of files...
For just one file of any kind, I presumed you could exclude that. Do you
understand what I was trying?)

As you can see from my first line in this reply, I am still getting the
error... "Can't read file".

And the quotes were quotes meaning, "Hey, everything between the quotes is
what I typed for a command". I thought I only needed quotation marks on the
actual command line if I was using the 'long' file and path names from
Windows rather than the traditional DOS-tastic 8 character path name.

So I am still where I started.

(And I don't want to copy everything and delete. Eventually, there will be
files in the source and destination directories that are different, but will
have the same name! THOSE are the very files I need to exclude from copying!

I think what I may do is:

MOVE \\SOURCE\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR
Copy \\SOURCE\*.*
MOVE \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE

and call it a day!

You need to be a little more careful with your code, especially
if you want to do "Sophisticated copying" (your Subject line).
I wrote this:

/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt"
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp"

There are two obvious problems with your code:
- You shifted the first quote to the beginning of the line. Makes no sense
whatsoever!
- You quote a .bmp file after the exclude switch. On several previous
occasions in this thread it was pointed out that the file after the
/exclude switch must be a text file containing a list of files to be
excluded. It cannot be a .bmp file!

STILL a "Can't read file \\SOURCEDRIVE\Shareddocs\Mailroom\dontcopy.txt"

I know the "path" is OK, because if I exclude the "/EXCLUDE:" line, it
copies everything.

Also, I tried the line with an
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp" - a picture of my
dog - and still got the "Can't read file ...grace.bmp"

So, it appears to be something it's not liking about "Exclude"?

Arggggghhhhh!

With your "path" command you wrecked your existing path! The
correct way would be to type this:

path %path%;\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs.

However . . . adding SourceDrive\ShareDocs to the path makes no
sense, because SourceDrive\ShareDocs contains no executable
programs. The path is used to locate executable programs, not data
files.

Here is what you should type:

xcopy /y "\\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM"
/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt" "C:\RECEIVE\"

This is all one long line. Note the "/y" switch, the trailing backslash
after "c:\Receive\", and the sets of double quotes. Depending on
your actual names, they could be essential.


I added
PATH \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS

And now get
'xcopy' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file

I guess I should have added %PATH% \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS?

btw, here is the full command in my batch file:

XCOPY \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM /EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt C:\RECEIVE

My goal is to take all of the files (save the five listed in
"dontcopy.txt"!) and copy them from a subdirectory called "Mailroom"
on
my
server to a subdirectory called "Receive" on my laptop.

(The file "dontcopy.txt" is in \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM)


Thanks,



From the help
" /EXCLUDE:file1[+file2][+file3]...
Specifies a list of files containing strings. Each string should be in
a
separate line in the files. When any of the strings match any part of
the
absolute path of the file to be copied, that file will be excluded from
being copied. For example, specifying a string like \obj\ or .obj will
exclude all files underneath the directory obj or all files with the
.obj
extension respectively."

So
/EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt
NOT
/EXCLUDE dontcopy.txt

Since where you put the file resulted in "can't read xxx", I suggest
putting "dontcopy.txt" in a directory that is listed in the PATH
listing.

RJB wrote:

It's all listed in the screens above

The donotcopy.txt contains a list - one per line - of each exclded
file.

The long and short is

xcopy \\destinationpath\subdir /EXCLUDE donotcopy.txt
\\receivingpath\subdirectory






Let's see your precise command, and the contents of the
exclude file.



I've tried every permutation I can think of, and the results I get
are:
Can't read file: XXX

0 File(s) copied

(where XXX is whatever file comes after the "/exclude:" switch.

The "donotcopy.txt" file is in the SOURCE directory, correct?

Also, if I just try to exclude file(s) by name - a la
/EXCLUDE:ABC*.fil,
I
get the same result...
Can't read file: ABC*.fil

0 File(s) copied

What the heck is going on???



:


BINGO! We have a Winner!

RJB wrote:


At the risk of being redundantly monotonous and obtuse:

1) Create a notepad file
2) In the file, type:
ABC Jackson.fil
ABC Smith.fil
ABC Alias.fil
ABC Lost.fil
ABC Polar.fil
3) Save it as "filelist.txt"
4) In the xcopy command,
XCOPY \\PATH\SOURCE_SUBDIRECTORY /EXCLUDE filelist.txt
\\PATH\TARGET_SUBDIRECTORY /d /h /p /r /u /k /y

Close?


:



Inline,

RJB wrote:



Yeah, I gotta say, Pegasus, your solution gives me an ice
cream

headache.

I still don't know if I get the "file listing" info...

From your initial post, it seems as if I am creating a file -
called

"file1"

- and in that file it includes a list of excluded files.

CORRECT



But I probably just want to do
/EXCLUDE ABC*.fil

Wrong, should be like this

XCOPY /EXCLUDE FILELIST.TXT

FILELIST.TXT contents are ABC*.fil
one entry per line, you may have to experiment with it a bit.



Which is what your most recent post says. Right?

nope.


Anyway, I think I have enough info to experiment with.

Thanks,

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

This is a curious thread in that we keep running into two types
of problems:
- You quote generic commands that have some character
misplaced (first a colon, then a double quote), and then
you say that this was not the real command anyway.
- In spite of several encouragements, you never show us the
real command you're using.

Your latest reply is no exception: Again you do not show us what
you've done - you only report the problems.

I might add that your task is utterly trivial. I can be solved in less
than a minute by someone who pays attention to standard batch
file conventions.

Unless you agree to show us what you have written (i.e. the
verbatim contents of your batch file plus the contents of your
"exclude" file), I will stop responding in this thread. Its length
is badly out of proportion with the triviality of the problem.
There is nothing sophisticated about it!

Thanks. The .bmp attempt was to test if the exclude command was working, and
something was wrong with the .txt file setup.

(I thought if I excluded ONE file, then I would prove that /EXCLUDE was
working... And the .txt file was the problem. I didn't realize EXCLUDE MUST
be a .txt file... I thought that was only to exclude a series of files...
For just one file of any kind, I presumed you could exclude that. Do you
understand what I was trying?)

As you can see from my first line in this reply, I am still getting the
error... "Can't read file".

And the quotes were quotes meaning, "Hey, everything between the quotes is
what I typed for a command". I thought I only needed quotation marks on the
actual command line if I was using the 'long' file and path names from
Windows rather than the traditional DOS-tastic 8 character path name.

So I am still where I started.

(And I don't want to copy everything and delete. Eventually, there will be
files in the source and destination directories that are different, but will
have the same name! THOSE are the very files I need to exclude from copying!

I think what I may do is:

MOVE \\SOURCE\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR
Copy \\SOURCE\*.*
MOVE \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE

and call it a day!

You need to be a little more careful with your code, especially
if you want to do "Sophisticated copying" (your Subject line).
I wrote this:

/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt"
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp"

There are two obvious problems with your code:
- You shifted the first quote to the beginning of the line. Makes no sense
whatsoever!
- You quote a .bmp file after the exclude switch. On several previous
occasions in this thread it was pointed out that the file after the
/exclude switch must be a text file containing a list of files to be
excluded. It cannot be a .bmp file!

STILL a "Can't read file \\SOURCEDRIVE\Shareddocs\Mailroom\dontcopy.txt"

I know the "path" is OK, because if I exclude the "/EXCLUDE:" line, it
copies everything.

Also, I tried the line with an
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp" - a picture of my
dog - and still got the "Can't read file ...grace.bmp"

So, it appears to be something it's not liking about "Exclude"?

Arggggghhhhh!






With your "path" command you wrecked your existing path! The
correct way would be to type this:

path %path%;\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs.

However . . . adding SourceDrive\ShareDocs to the path makes no
sense, because SourceDrive\ShareDocs contains no executable
programs. The path is used to locate executable programs, not data
files.

Here is what you should type:

xcopy /y "\\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM"
/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt" "C:\RECEIVE\"

This is all one long line. Note the "/y" switch, the trailing backslash
after "c:\Receive\", and the sets of double quotes. Depending on
your actual names, they could be essential.


I added
PATH \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS

And now get
'xcopy' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file

I guess I should have added %PATH% \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS?

btw, here is the full command in my batch file:

XCOPY \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM /EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt C:\RECEIVE

My goal is to take all of the files (save the five listed in
"dontcopy.txt"!) and copy them from a subdirectory called "Mailroom"
on
my
server to a subdirectory called "Receive" on my laptop.

(The file "dontcopy.txt" is in \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM)


Thanks,



From the help
" /EXCLUDE:file1[+file2][+file3]...
Specifies a list of files containing strings. Each string should

be
in

a
separate line in the files. When any of the strings match any

part
of

the
absolute path of the file to be copied, that file will be excluded from
being copied. For example, specifying a string like \obj\ or .obj will
exclude all files underneath the directory obj or all files with the
.obj
extension respectively."

So
/EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt
NOT
/EXCLUDE dontcopy.txt

Since where you put the file resulted in "can't read xxx", I suggest
putting "dontcopy.txt" in a directory that is listed in the PATH
listing.

RJB wrote:

It's all listed in the screens above

The donotcopy.txt contains a list - one per line - of each exclded
file.

The long and short is

xcopy \\destinationpath\subdir /EXCLUDE donotcopy.txt
\\receivingpath\subdirectory






Let's see your precise command, and the contents of the
exclude file.



I've tried every permutation I can think of, and the results I get
are:
Can't read file: XXX

0 File(s) copied

(where XXX is whatever file comes after the "/exclude:" switch.

The "donotcopy.txt" file is in the SOURCE directory, correct?

Also, if I just try to exclude file(s) by name - a la
/EXCLUDE:ABC*.fil,
I
get the same result...
Can't read file: ABC*.fil

0 File(s) copied

What the heck is going on???



:


BINGO! We have a Winner!

RJB wrote:


At the risk of being redundantly monotonous and obtuse:

1) Create a notepad file
2) In the file, type:
ABC Jackson.fil
ABC Smith.fil
ABC Alias.fil
ABC Lost.fil
ABC Polar.fil
3) Save it as "filelist.txt"
4) In the xcopy command,
XCOPY \\PATH\SOURCE_SUBDIRECTORY /EXCLUDE filelist.txt
\\PATH\TARGET_SUBDIRECTORY /d /h /p /r /u /k /y

Close?


:



Inline,

RJB wrote:



Yeah, I gotta say, Pegasus, your solution gives me an ice
cream

headache.

I still don't know if I get the "file listing" info...

From your initial post, it seems as if I am creating a file -
called

"file1"

- and in that file it includes a list of excluded files.

CORRECT



But I probably just want to do
/EXCLUDE ABC*.fil

Wrong, should be like this

XCOPY /EXCLUDE FILELIST.TXT

FILELIST.TXT contents are ABC*.fil
one entry per line, you may have to experiment with it a bit.



Which is what your most recent post says. Right?

nope.


Anyway, I think I have enough info to experiment with.

Thanks,

 

[RJB]

I don't want to copy everything and delete. Eventually, there will be
files in the source and destination directories that are different, but will
have the same name! THOSE are the very files I need to exclude from copying!

 

[RJB]

OK, I know you're trying to be helpful, but it's getting kind of tough.

Trust me that I have spent hours - in batch file and just typing commands in
at the command prompt - and no matter what I do, I am getting the "can't
read" message.

I am running in command prompt for two reasons: one is, I am tired of
opening the file, typing it, and saving it, when I can just run directly in
cmd.exe. Second, I don't get error messages when I run the batch. It either
works or it doesn't, and then the batch file closes. At least when I run
cmd.exe, I can read each error message as I go.

I HAVE shown you the exact command I am attempting to run, to the best of my
ability. Since I have no way of copying from the command prompt to my web
browser, I must retype the commands. I am sorry for the few typos in the
translation. And, I have discovered that if I post in newsgroups directly,
my spell check has flubbed some things as well.

From what I have found in xcopy /?, it tells me that the /EXCLUDE switch
should work with ANY file, not just text files.

If it could be solved in less than a minute, it would have been. I am sorry
if turning to Microsoft help is not the answer. It was my first line of
defense.

I have tried to answer every single question you have asked as carefuly and
as completely as possible. Again, my apologies for not being able to
anticipate the unasked and give you full open kimono.

The only difference between what I have continually typed and what is on my
command prompt is that \\SOURCEPATH\SHAREDDOCS\ is actually
G:\\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_(My last name)\SHAREDDOCS\ and I didn't
really feel it was necessary to type that over and over again, when I
presumed we could understand \\SOURCEPATH\

I do appreciate your trying to help. I have tried everything you have said,
along with every other permutation I could think of.

**** No matter what I do, I get "Can't read file."

It ain't trivial to me.

This is a curious thread in that we keep running into two types
of problems:
- You quote generic commands that have some character
misplaced (first a colon, then a double quote), and then
you say that this was not the real command anyway.
- In spite of several encouragements, you never show us the
real command you're using.

Your latest reply is no exception: Again you do not show us what
you've done - you only report the problems.

I might add that your task is utterly trivial. I can be solved in less
than a minute by someone who pays attention to standard batch
file conventions.

Unless you agree to show us what you have written (i.e. the
verbatim contents of your batch file plus the contents of your
"exclude" file), I will stop responding in this thread. Its length
is badly out of proportion with the triviality of the problem.
There is nothing sophisticated about it!

Thanks. The .bmp attempt was to test if the exclude command was working, and
something was wrong with the .txt file setup.

(I thought if I excluded ONE file, then I would prove that /EXCLUDE was
working... And the .txt file was the problem. I didn't realize EXCLUDE MUST
be a .txt file... I thought that was only to exclude a series of files...
For just one file of any kind, I presumed you could exclude that. Do you
understand what I was trying?)

As you can see from my first line in this reply, I am still getting the
error... "Can't read file".

And the quotes were quotes meaning, "Hey, everything between the quotes
is
what I typed for a command". I thought I only needed quotation marks on the
actual command line if I was using the 'long' file and path names from
Windows rather than the traditional DOS-tastic 8 character path name.

So I am still where I started.

(And I don't want to copy everything and delete. Eventually, there will
be
files in the source and destination directories that are different, but will
have the same name! THOSE are the very files I need to exclude from copying!

I think what I may do is:

MOVE \\SOURCE\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR
Copy \\SOURCE\*.*
MOVE \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE

and call it a day!

You need to be a little more careful with your code, especially
if you want to do "Sophisticated copying" (your Subject line).
I wrote this:

/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt"
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp"

There are two obvious problems with your code:
- You shifted the first quote to the beginning of the line. Makes no sense
whatsoever!
- You quote a .bmp file after the exclude switch. On several previous
occasions in this thread it was pointed out that the file after the
/exclude switch must be a text file containing a list of files to be
excluded. It cannot be a .bmp file!


STILL a "Can't read file \\SOURCEDRIVE\Shareddocs\Mailroom\dontcopy.txt"

I know the "path" is OK, because if I exclude the "/EXCLUDE:" line, it
copies everything.

Also, I tried the line with an
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp" - a picture of my
dog - and still got the "Can't read file ...grace.bmp"

So, it appears to be something it's not liking about "Exclude"?

Arggggghhhhh!






With your "path" command you wrecked your existing path! The
correct way would be to type this:

path %path%;\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs.

However . . . adding SourceDrive\ShareDocs to the path makes no
sense, because SourceDrive\ShareDocs contains no executable
programs. The path is used to locate executable programs, not data
files.

Here is what you should type:

xcopy /y "\\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM"
/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt" "C:\RECEIVE\"

This is all one long line. Note the "/y" switch, the trailing backslash
after "c:\Receive\", and the sets of double quotes. Depending on
your actual names, they could be essential.


I added
PATH \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS

And now get
'xcopy' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file

I guess I should have added %PATH% \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS?

btw, here is the full command in my batch file:

XCOPY \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM /EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt
C:\RECEIVE

My goal is to take all of the files (save the five listed in
"dontcopy.txt"!) and copy them from a subdirectory called
"Mailroom"
on
my
server to a subdirectory called "Receive" on my laptop.

(The file "dontcopy.txt" is in \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM)


Thanks,



From the help
" /EXCLUDE:file1[+file2][+file3]...
Specifies a list of files containing strings. Each string should be
in
a
separate line in the files. When any of the strings match any part
of
the
absolute path of the file to be copied, that file will be
excluded
from
being copied. For example, specifying a string like \obj\ or
.obj
will
exclude all files underneath the directory obj or all files with the
.obj
extension respectively."

So
/EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt
NOT
/EXCLUDE dontcopy.txt

Since where you put the file resulted in "can't read xxx", I suggest
putting "dontcopy.txt" in a directory that is listed in the PATH
listing.

RJB wrote:

It's all listed in the screens above

The donotcopy.txt contains a list - one per line - of each exclded
file.

The long and short is

xcopy \\destinationpath\subdir /EXCLUDE donotcopy.txt
\\receivingpath\subdirectory






Let's see your precise command, and the contents of the
exclude file.



I've tried every permutation I can think of, and the results I get
are:
Can't read file: XXX

0 File(s) copied

(where XXX is whatever file comes after the "/exclude:" switch.

The "donotcopy.txt" file is in the SOURCE directory, correct?

Also, if I just try to exclude file(s) by name - a la
/EXCLUDE:ABC*.fil,
I
get the same result...
Can't read file: ABC*.fil

0 File(s) copied

What the heck is going on???



:


BINGO! We have a Winner!

RJB wrote:


At the risk of being redundantly monotonous and obtuse:

1) Create a notepad file
2) In the file, type:
ABC Jackson.fil
ABC Smith.fil
ABC Alias.fil
ABC Lost.fil
ABC Polar.fil
3) Save it as "filelist.txt"
4) In the xcopy command,
XCOPY \\PATH\SOURCE_SUBDIRECTORY /EXCLUDE filelist.txt
\\PATH\TARGET_SUBDIRECTORY /d /h /p /r /u /k /y

Close?


:



Inline,

RJB wrote:



Yeah, I gotta say, Pegasus, your solution gives me an ice
cream

headache.

I still don't know if I get the "file listing" info...

From your initial post, it seems as if I am creating a file -
called

"file1"

- and in that file it includes a list of excluded files.

CORRECT



But I probably just want to do
/EXCLUDE ABC*.fil

Wrong, should be like this

XCOPY /EXCLUDE FILELIST.TXT

FILELIST.TXT contents are ABC*.fil
one entry per line, you may have to experiment with it a
bit.



Which is what your most recent post says. Right?

nope.


Anyway, I think I have enough info to experiment with.

Thanks,

 

[Bob I]

Plain and simple. The "FILE"(dontcopy.txt) placed after /EXCLUDE MUST BE
A PLAIN TEXT FILE. Open NOTEPAD and put in the contents. The file types
called out or listed in "dontcopy.txt" can be any type of file there
ever was including unknown types because the only thing that is READ is
the "dontcopy.txt" file and it MUST BE plain text and ONE entry per
line. If you are using word or wordpad or wordperfect to make the
exclude file, DON'T. Use NOTEPAD and ONLY NOTEPAD. Remember XCOPY reads
the file containing the list of files to be excluded. If it's NOT PLAIN
TEXT, it's not going to work.

OK, I know you're trying to be helpful, but it's getting kind of tough.

Trust me that I have spent hours - in batch file and just typing commands in
at the command prompt - and no matter what I do, I am getting the "can't
read" message.

I am running in command prompt for two reasons: one is, I am tired of
opening the file, typing it, and saving it, when I can just run directly in
cmd.exe. Second, I don't get error messages when I run the batch. It either
works or it doesn't, and then the batch file closes. At least when I run
cmd.exe, I can read each error message as I go.

I HAVE shown you the exact command I am attempting to run, to the best of my
ability. Since I have no way of copying from the command prompt to my web
browser, I must retype the commands. I am sorry for the few typos in the
translation. And, I have discovered that if I post in newsgroups directly,
my spell check has flubbed some things as well.

From what I have found in xcopy /?, it tells me that the /EXCLUDE switch
should work with ANY file, not just text files.

If it could be solved in less than a minute, it would have been. I am sorry
if turning to Microsoft help is not the answer. It was my first line of
defense.

I have tried to answer every single question you have asked as carefuly and
as completely as possible. Again, my apologies for not being able to
anticipate the unasked and give you full open kimono.

The only difference between what I have continually typed and what is on my
command prompt is that \\SOURCEPATH\SHAREDDOCS\ is actually
G:\\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_(My last name)\SHAREDDOCS\ and I didn't
really feel it was necessary to type that over and over again, when I
presumed we could understand \\SOURCEPATH\

I do appreciate your trying to help. I have tried everything you have said,
along with every other permutation I could think of.

**** No matter what I do, I get "Can't read file."

It ain't trivial to me.

This is a curious thread in that we keep running into two types
of problems:
- You quote generic commands that have some character
misplaced (first a colon, then a double quote), and then
you say that this was not the real command anyway.
- In spite of several encouragements, you never show us the
real command you're using.

Your latest reply is no exception: Again you do not show us what
you've done - you only report the problems.

I might add that your task is utterly trivial. I can be solved in less
than a minute by someone who pays attention to standard batch
file conventions.

Unless you agree to show us what you have written (i.e. the
verbatim contents of your batch file plus the contents of your
"exclude" file), I will stop responding in this thread. Its length
is badly out of proportion with the triviality of the problem.
There is nothing sophisticated about it!

Thanks. The .bmp attempt was to test if the exclude command was working,
and

something was wrong with the .txt file setup.

(I thought if I excluded ONE file, then I would prove that /EXCLUDE was
working... And the .txt file was the problem. I didn't realize EXCLUDE
MUST

be a .txt file... I thought that was only to exclude a series of files...
For just one file of any kind, I presumed you could exclude that. Do you
understand what I was trying?)

As you can see from my first line in this reply, I am still getting the
error... "Can't read file".

And the quotes were quotes meaning, "Hey, everything between the quotes
is
what I typed for a command". I thought I only needed quotation marks on
the

actual command line if I was using the 'long' file and path names from
Windows rather than the traditional DOS-tastic 8 character path name.

So I am still where I started.

(And I don't want to copy everything and delete. Eventually, there will
be
files in the source and destination directories that are different, but
will

have the same name! THOSE are the very files I need to exclude from
copying!

I think what I may do is:

MOVE \\SOURCE\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR
Copy \\SOURCE\*.*
MOVE \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE

and call it a day!





You need to be a little more careful with your code, especially
if you want to do "Sophisticated copying" (your Subject line).
I wrote this:

/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt"
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp"

There are two obvious problems with your code:
- You shifted the first quote to the beginning of the line. Makes no
sense

whatsoever!
- You quote a .bmp file after the exclude switch. On several previous
occasions in this thread it was pointed out that the file after the
/exclude switch must be a text file containing a list of files to be
excluded. It cannot be a .bmp file!



STILL a "Can't read file
\\SOURCEDRIVE\Shareddocs\Mailroom\dontcopy.txt"

I know the "path" is OK, because if I exclude the "/EXCLUDE:" line, it
copies everything.

Also, I tried the line with an
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp" - a picture of
my

dog - and still got the "Can't read file ...grace.bmp"

So, it appears to be something it's not liking about "Exclude"?

Arggggghhhhh!







With your "path" command you wrecked your existing path! The
correct way would be to type this:

path %path%;\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs.

However . . . adding SourceDrive\ShareDocs to the path makes no
sense, because SourceDrive\ShareDocs contains no executable
programs. The path is used to locate executable programs, not data
files.

Here is what you should type:

xcopy /y "\\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM"
/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt" "C:\RECEIVE\"

This is all one long line. Note the "/y" switch, the trailing
backslash

after "c:\Receive\", and the sets of double quotes. Depending on
your actual names, they could be essential.



I added
PATH \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS

And now get
'xcopy' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file

I guess I should have added %PATH% \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS?

btw, here is the full command in my batch file:

XCOPY \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM /EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt

C:\RECEIVE

My goal is to take all of the files (save the five listed in
"dontcopy.txt"!) and copy them from a subdirectory called
"Mailroom"
on
my
server to a subdirectory called "Receive" on my laptop.

(The file "dontcopy.txt" is in \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM)


Thanks,




From the help
" /EXCLUDE:file1[+file2][+file3]...
Specifies a list of files containing strings. Each string should
be

in

a

separate line in the files. When any of the strings match any
part

of

the

absolute path of the file to be copied, that file will be
excluded

from

being copied. For example, specifying a string like \obj\ or
.obj

will

exclude all files underneath the directory obj or all files with
the

.obj

extension respectively."

So
/EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt
NOT
/EXCLUDE dontcopy.txt

Since where you put the file resulted in "can't read xxx", I
suggest

putting "dontcopy.txt" in a directory that is listed in the PATH

listing.

RJB wrote:


It's all listed in the screens above

The donotcopy.txt contains a list - one per line - of each
exclded

file.

The long and short is

xcopy \\destinationpath\subdir /EXCLUDE donotcopy.txt
\\receivingpath\subdirectory







Let's see your precise command, and the contents of the
exclude file.




I've tried every permutation I can think of, and the results I
get

are:

Can't read file: XXX

0 File(s) copied

(where XXX is whatever file comes after the "/exclude:" switch.

The "donotcopy.txt" file is in the SOURCE directory, correct?

Also, if I just try to exclude file(s) by name - a la

/EXCLUDE:ABC*.fil,

I
get the same result...
Can't read file: ABC*.fil

0 File(s) copied

What the heck is going on???



:



BINGO! We have a Winner!

RJB wrote:



At the risk of being redundantly monotonous and obtuse:

1) Create a notepad file
2) In the file, type:
ABC Jackson.fil
ABC Smith.fil
ABC Alias.fil
ABC Lost.fil
ABC Polar.fil
3) Save it as "filelist.txt"
4) In the xcopy command,
XCOPY \\PATH\SOURCE_SUBDIRECTORY /EXCLUDE filelist.txt
\\PATH\TARGET_SUBDIRECTORY /d /h /p /r /u /k /y

Close?


:




Inline,

RJB wrote:




Yeah, I gotta say, Pegasus, your solution gives me an ice
cream

headache.


I still don't know if I get the "file listing" info...

From your initial post, it seems as if I am creating a

file -

called

"file1"


- and in that file it includes a list of excluded files.

CORRECT




But I probably just want to do
/EXCLUDE ABC*.fil

Wrong, should be like this

XCOPY /EXCLUDE FILELIST.TXT

FILELIST.TXT contents are ABC*.fil
one entry per line, you may have to experiment with it a
bit.




Which is what your most recent post says. Right?

nope.



Anyway, I think I have enough info to experiment with.

Thanks,

 

[RJB]

Done that.

Done it three ways:

1) Listing each file on its own line
2) Listing each file, with its full path, on its own line
3) (What I'd prefer) Going back to my original examples, "ABC*.fil".

(Now, granted, they are not literally "ABC Jackson.fil" etc., but the file
names DO include proprietary information, and I can't post the actual file
names here. Suffice to say they all are the same extensions, and the ones I
wish to exclude ALL begin with the same three letters!)

And, to be avoid typos, I am highlighting the file, choosing Properties,
highlighting the file's name, COPYing it, and PASTEing it into the Notepad
file!

If I delete the /EXCLUDE switch, the whole subdirectory copies, so I know my
path is correct.

I continue to get "Can't read file:" \\G:\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_(My
last name)\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM\nocopylist.txt"" <=(I created a new Notepad
file and called it nocopylist.txt) (And for the rock and roll grammar patrol
folks, I KNOW I shouldn't put double-quotes inside double quotes, but I sure
don't want anyone to get bogged down if I used single quotes!)

"Can't read file"

I believe my commands are correct... It's the "Can't read file" nonsense....

Plain and simple. The "FILE"(dontcopy.txt) placed after /EXCLUDE MUST BE A
PLAIN TEXT FILE. Open NOTEPAD and put in the contents. The file types
called out or listed in "dontcopy.txt" can be any type of file there ever
was including unknown types because the only thing that is READ is the
"dontcopy.txt" file and it MUST BE plain text and ONE entry per line. If
you are using word or wordpad or wordperfect to make the exclude file,
DON'T. Use NOTEPAD and ONLY NOTEPAD. Remember XCOPY reads the file
containing the list of files to be excluded. If it's NOT PLAIN TEXT, it's
not going to work.

OK, I know you're trying to be helpful, but it's getting kind of tough.

Trust me that I have spent hours - in batch file and just typing commands
in at the command prompt - and no matter what I do, I am getting the
"can't read" message.

I am running in command prompt for two reasons: one is, I am tired of
opening the file, typing it, and saving it, when I can just run directly
in cmd.exe. Second, I don't get error messages when I run the batch. It
either works or it doesn't, and then the batch file closes. At least when
I run cmd.exe, I can read each error message as I go.

I HAVE shown you the exact command I am attempting to run, to the best of
my ability. Since I have no way of copying from the command prompt to my
web browser, I must retype the commands. I am sorry for the few typos in
the translation. And, I have discovered that if I post in newsgroups
directly, my spell check has flubbed some things as well.

From what I have found in xcopy /?, it tells me that the /EXCLUDE switch
should work with ANY file, not just text files.

If it could be solved in less than a minute, it would have been. I am
sorry if turning to Microsoft help is not the answer. It was my first
line of defense.

I have tried to answer every single question you have asked as carefuly
and as completely as possible. Again, my apologies for not being able to
anticipate the unasked and give you full open kimono.

The only difference between what I have continually typed and what is on
my command prompt is that \\SOURCEPATH\SHAREDDOCS\ is actually
G:\\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_(My last name)\SHAREDDOCS\ and I didn't
really feel it was necessary to type that over and over again, when I
presumed we could understand \\SOURCEPATH\

I do appreciate your trying to help. I have tried everything you have
said, along with every other permutation I could think of.

**** No matter what I do, I get "Can't read file."

It ain't trivial to me.

This is a curious thread in that we keep running into two types
of problems:
- You quote generic commands that have some character
misplaced (first a colon, then a double quote), and then
you say that this was not the real command anyway.
- In spite of several encouragements, you never show us the
real command you're using.

Your latest reply is no exception: Again you do not show us what
you've done - you only report the problems.

I might add that your task is utterly trivial. I can be solved in less
than a minute by someone who pays attention to standard batch
file conventions.

Unless you agree to show us what you have written (i.e. the
verbatim contents of your batch file plus the contents of your
"exclude" file), I will stop responding in this thread. Its length
is badly out of proportion with the triviality of the problem.
There is nothing sophisticated about it!




Thanks. The .bmp attempt was to test if the exclude command was working,

and

something was wrong with the .txt file setup.

(I thought if I excluded ONE file, then I would prove that /EXCLUDE was
working... And the .txt file was the problem. I didn't realize EXCLUDE

MUST

be a .txt file... I thought that was only to exclude a series of
files...
For just one file of any kind, I presumed you could exclude that. Do you
understand what I was trying?)

As you can see from my first line in this reply, I am still getting the
error... "Can't read file".

And the quotes were quotes meaning, "Hey, everything between the quotes
is
what I typed for a command". I thought I only needed quotation marks on

the

actual command line if I was using the 'long' file and path names from
Windows rather than the traditional DOS-tastic 8 character path name.

So I am still where I started.

(And I don't want to copy everything and delete. Eventually, there will
be
files in the source and destination directories that are different, but

will

have the same name! THOSE are the very files I need to exclude from

copying!

I think what I may do is:

MOVE \\SOURCE\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR
Copy \\SOURCE\*.*
MOVE \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE

and call it a day!





You need to be a little more careful with your code, especially
if you want to do "Sophisticated copying" (your Subject line).
I wrote this:

/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt"
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp"

There are two obvious problems with your code:
- You shifted the first quote to the beginning of the line. Makes no

sense

whatsoever!
- You quote a .bmp file after the exclude switch. On several previous
occasions in this thread it was pointed out that the file after the
/exclude switch must be a text file containing a list of files to be
excluded. It cannot be a .bmp file!



STILL a "Can't read file

\\SOURCEDRIVE\Shareddocs\Mailroom\dontcopy.txt"

I know the "path" is OK, because if I exclude the "/EXCLUDE:" line, it
copies everything.

Also, I tried the line with an
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp" - a picture of

my

dog - and still got the "Can't read file ...grace.bmp"

So, it appears to be something it's not liking about "Exclude"?

Arggggghhhhh!







With your "path" command you wrecked your existing path! The
correct way would be to type this:

path %path%;\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs.

However . . . adding SourceDrive\ShareDocs to the path makes no
sense, because SourceDrive\ShareDocs contains no executable
programs. The path is used to locate executable programs, not data
files.

Here is what you should type:

xcopy /y "\\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM"
/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt" "C:\RECEIVE\"

This is all one long line. Note the "/y" switch, the trailing

backslash

after "c:\Receive\", and the sets of double quotes. Depending on
your actual names, they could be essential.



I added
PATH \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS

And now get
'xcopy' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file

I guess I should have added %PATH% \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS?

btw, here is the full command in my batch file:

XCOPY \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM /EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt

C:\RECEIVE

My goal is to take all of the files (save the five listed in
"dontcopy.txt"!) and copy them from a subdirectory called "Mailroom"
on
my
server to a subdirectory called "Receive" on my laptop.

(The file "dontcopy.txt" is in \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM)


Thanks,




From the help
" /EXCLUDE:file1[+file2][+file3]...
Specifies a list of files containing strings. Each string should

be

in

a

separate line in the files. When any of the strings match any

part

of

the

absolute path of the file to be copied, that file will be excluded

from

being copied. For example, specifying a string like \obj\ or .obj

will

exclude all files underneath the directory obj or all files with

the

.obj

extension respectively."

So
/EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt
NOT
/EXCLUDE dontcopy.txt

Since where you put the file resulted in "can't read xxx", I

suggest

putting "dontcopy.txt" in a directory that is listed in the PATH

listing.

RJB wrote:


It's all listed in the screens above

The donotcopy.txt contains a list - one per line - of each

exclded

file.

The long and short is

xcopy \\destinationpath\subdir /EXCLUDE donotcopy.txt
\\receivingpath\subdirectory







Let's see your precise command, and the contents of the
exclude file.




I've tried every permutation I can think of, and the results I

get

are:

Can't read file: XXX

0 File(s) copied

(where XXX is whatever file comes after the "/exclude:" switch.

The "donotcopy.txt" file is in the SOURCE directory, correct?

Also, if I just try to exclude file(s) by name - a la

/EXCLUDE:ABC*.fil,

I
get the same result...
Can't read file: ABC*.fil

0 File(s) copied

What the heck is going on???



:



BINGO! We have a Winner!

RJB wrote:



At the risk of being redundantly monotonous and obtuse:

1) Create a notepad file
2) In the file, type:
ABC Jackson.fil
ABC Smith.fil
ABC Alias.fil
ABC Lost.fil
ABC Polar.fil
3) Save it as "filelist.txt"
4) In the xcopy command,
XCOPY \\PATH\SOURCE_SUBDIRECTORY /EXCLUDE filelist.txt
\\PATH\TARGET_SUBDIRECTORY /d /h /p /r /u /k /y

Close?


:




Inline,

RJB wrote:




Yeah, I gotta say, Pegasus, your solution gives me an ice
cream

headache.


I still don't know if I get the "file listing" info...

From your initial post, it seems as if I am creating a

file -

called

"file1"


- and in that file it includes a list of excluded files.

CORRECT




But I probably just want to do
/EXCLUDE ABC*.fil

Wrong, should be like this

XCOPY /EXCLUDE FILELIST.TXT

FILELIST.TXT contents are ABC*.fil
one entry per line, you may have to experiment with it a bit.




Which is what your most recent post says. Right?

nope.



Anyway, I think I have enough info to experiment with.

Thanks,

 

[Kerry Brown]

The only difference between what I have continually typed and what is on
my command prompt is that \\SOURCEPATH\SHAREDDOCS\ is actually
G:\\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_(My last name)\SHAREDDOCS\ and I didn't
really feel it was necessary to type that over and over again, when I
presumed we could understand \\SOURCEPATH\

Unless this is another typo it is your problem. There is an extra backslash
after G: With a long path it is sometimes easier to make sure you are
explicitly in the directory where the files are located.

e.g.

G:
CD \CURRENT_FOLDER
XCOPY G:*.* H:\copy_files_here\ /EXCLUDE:FILELIST.TXT

Make sure FILELIST.TXT and the files to be copied are in this directory.

Kerry

 

[RJB]

Thanks. I caught that and fixed it at some point. I have the subdirectory
mapped so it was actually \\RJBDESKTOP\SHAREDDOCS, but the full path is the
G:\LEDBER\blahblahblah.

What do you mean "make sure [I am] explicitly in the directory"? I am
running the batch file FROM the destination laptop...

Still not it... Because if I delete the /EXCLUDE command, everything copies
OK. It's just hanging on the /EXCLUDE command. Which I have put at the end
of the command line, as well.

Arrrgggghhhh....

Here's the next thing I may try:

ATTRIB +h ABC*.*
xcopy \\SOURCEPATH\etc
ATTRIB -h ABC *.*

 

[Kerry Brown]

Thanks. I caught that and fixed it at some point. I have the subdirectory
mapped so it was actually \\RJBDESKTOP\SHAREDDOCS, but the full path is
the G:\LEDBER\blahblahblah.

What do you mean "make sure [I am] explicitly in the directory"? I am
running the batch file FROM the destination laptop...

Are you at a cmd prompt? Is the current directory the source directory? Is
the excludelist.txt file in the same directory? If so then don't use paths
other than the destination in the xcopy command. If you are exectuting from
a .cmd file then use the commands from my last post to make sure the current
directory is correct. If all of the above is not true then make it so and
try again. It works everytime on two seperate computers for me.

 

[Bob I]

Messing around I discovered that
1. * or "wildcards" are not read as wildcards. Everything in the string
is literal.
2. Was unsuccessful at reproducing the Can't read file" error.

Suggest
1. Using just ABC as the criteria in the DONTCOPY.TXT file.
2. Try running from the command line rather than batch file till it works.
3. Try using shorter path or local drive for the exclude file.

Done that.

Done it three ways:

1) Listing each file on its own line
2) Listing each file, with its full path, on its own line
3) (What I'd prefer) Going back to my original examples, "ABC*.fil".

(Now, granted, they are not literally "ABC Jackson.fil" etc., but the file
names DO include proprietary information, and I can't post the actual file
names here. Suffice to say they all are the same extensions, and the ones I
wish to exclude ALL begin with the same three letters!)

And, to be avoid typos, I am highlighting the file, choosing Properties,
highlighting the file's name, COPYing it, and PASTEing it into the Notepad
file!

If I delete the /EXCLUDE switch, the whole subdirectory copies, so I know my
path is correct.

I continue to get "Can't read file:" \\G:\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_(My
last name)\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM\nocopylist.txt"" <=(I created a new Notepad
file and called it nocopylist.txt) (And for the rock and roll grammar patrol
folks, I KNOW I shouldn't put double-quotes inside double quotes, but I sure
don't want anyone to get bogged down if I used single quotes!)

"Can't read file"

I believe my commands are correct... It's the "Can't read file" nonsense....

Plain and simple. The "FILE"(dontcopy.txt) placed after /EXCLUDE MUST BE A
PLAIN TEXT FILE. Open NOTEPAD and put in the contents. The file types
called out or listed in "dontcopy.txt" can be any type of file there ever
was including unknown types because the only thing that is READ is the
"dontcopy.txt" file and it MUST BE plain text and ONE entry per line. If
you are using word or wordpad or wordperfect to make the exclude file,
DON'T. Use NOTEPAD and ONLY NOTEPAD. Remember XCOPY reads the file
containing the list of files to be excluded. If it's NOT PLAIN TEXT, it's
not going to work.

RJB wrote:

OK, I know you're trying to be helpful, but it's getting kind of tough.

Trust me that I have spent hours - in batch file and just typing commands
in at the command prompt - and no matter what I do, I am getting the
"can't read" message.

I am running in command prompt for two reasons: one is, I am tired of
opening the file, typing it, and saving it, when I can just run directly
in cmd.exe. Second, I don't get error messages when I run the batch. It
either works or it doesn't, and then the batch file closes. At least when
I run cmd.exe, I can read each error message as I go.

I HAVE shown you the exact command I am attempting to run, to the best of
my ability. Since I have no way of copying from the command prompt to my
web browser, I must retype the commands. I am sorry for the few typos in
the translation. And, I have discovered that if I post in newsgroups
directly, my spell check has flubbed some things as well.

From what I have found in xcopy /?, it tells me that the /EXCLUDE switch
should work with ANY file, not just text files.

If it could be solved in less than a minute, it would have been. I am
sorry if turning to Microsoft help is not the answer. It was my first
line of defense.

I have tried to answer every single question you have asked as carefuly
and as completely as possible. Again, my apologies for not being able to
anticipate the unasked and give you full open kimono.

The only difference between what I have continually typed and what is on
my command prompt is that \\SOURCEPATH\SHAREDDOCS\ is actually
G:\\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_(My last name)\SHAREDDOCS\ and I didn't
really feel it was necessary to type that over and over again, when I
presumed we could understand \\SOURCEPATH\

I do appreciate your trying to help. I have tried everything you have
said, along with every other permutation I could think of.

**** No matter what I do, I get "Can't read file."

It ain't trivial to me.




This is a curious thread in that we keep running into two types
of problems:
- You quote generic commands that have some character
misplaced (first a colon, then a double quote), and then
you say that this was not the real command anyway.
- In spite of several encouragements, you never show us the
real command you're using.

Your latest reply is no exception: Again you do not show us what
you've done - you only report the problems.

I might add that your task is utterly trivial. I can be solved in less
than a minute by someone who pays attention to standard batch
file conventions.

Unless you agree to show us what you have written (i.e. the
verbatim contents of your batch file plus the contents of your
"exclude" file), I will stop responding in this thread. Its length
is badly out of proportion with the triviality of the problem.
There is nothing sophisticated about it!





Thanks. The .bmp attempt was to test if the exclude command was working,

and


something was wrong with the .txt file setup.

(I thought if I excluded ONE file, then I would prove that /EXCLUDE was
working... And the .txt file was the problem. I didn't realize EXCLUDE

MUST


be a .txt file... I thought that was only to exclude a series of
files...
For just one file of any kind, I presumed you could exclude that. Do you
understand what I was trying?)

As you can see from my first line in this reply, I am still getting the
error... "Can't read file".

And the quotes were quotes meaning, "Hey, everything between the quotes
is
what I typed for a command". I thought I only needed quotation marks on

the


actual command line if I was using the 'long' file and path names from
Windows rather than the traditional DOS-tastic 8 character path name.

So I am still where I started.

(And I don't want to copy everything and delete. Eventually, there will
be
files in the source and destination directories that are different, but

will


have the same name! THOSE are the very files I need to exclude from

copying!


I think what I may do is:

MOVE \\SOURCE\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR
Copy \\SOURCE\*.*
MOVE \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE

and call it a day!






You need to be a little more careful with your code, especially
if you want to do "Sophisticated copying" (your Subject line).
I wrote this:

/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt"
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp"

There are two obvious problems with your code:
- You shifted the first quote to the beginning of the line. Makes no

sense


whatsoever!
- You quote a .bmp file after the exclude switch. On several previous
occasions in this thread it was pointed out that the file after the
/exclude switch must be a text file containing a list of files to be
excluded. It cannot be a .bmp file!




STILL a "Can't read file

\\SOURCEDRIVE\Shareddocs\Mailroom\dontcopy.txt"


I know the "path" is OK, because if I exclude the "/EXCLUDE:" line, it
copies everything.

Also, I tried the line with an
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp" - a picture of

my


dog - and still got the "Can't read file ...grace.bmp"

So, it appears to be something it's not liking about "Exclude"?

Arggggghhhhh!








With your "path" command you wrecked your existing path! The
correct way would be to type this:

path %path%;\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs.

However . . . adding SourceDrive\ShareDocs to the path makes no
sense, because SourceDrive\ShareDocs contains no executable
programs. The path is used to locate executable programs, not data
files.

Here is what you should type:

xcopy /y "\\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM"
/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt" "C:\RECEIVE\"

This is all one long line. Note the "/y" switch, the trailing

backslash


after "c:\Receive\", and the sets of double quotes. Depending on
your actual names, they could be essential.




I added
PATH \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS

And now get
'xcopy' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file

I guess I should have added %PATH% \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS?

btw, here is the full command in my batch file:

XCOPY \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM /EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt

C:\RECEIVE


My goal is to take all of the files (save the five listed in
"dontcopy.txt"!) and copy them from a subdirectory called "Mailroom"
on
my
server to a subdirectory called "Receive" on my laptop.

(The file "dontcopy.txt" is in \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM)


Thanks,




From the help

" /EXCLUDE:file1[+file2][+file3]...
Specifies a list of files containing strings. Each string should

be


in


a


separate line in the files. When any of the strings match any

part


of


the


absolute path of the file to be copied, that file will be excluded

from


being copied. For example, specifying a string like \obj\ or .obj

will


exclude all files underneath the directory obj or all files with

the


.obj


extension respectively."

So
/EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt
NOT
/EXCLUDE dontcopy.txt

Since where you put the file resulted in "can't read xxx", I

suggest


putting "dontcopy.txt" in a directory that is listed in the PATH

listing.


RJB wrote:



It's all listed in the screens above

The donotcopy.txt contains a list - one per line - of each

exclded


file.


The long and short is

xcopy \\destinationpath\subdir /EXCLUDE donotcopy.txt
\\receivingpath\subdirectory








Let's see your precise command, and the contents of the
exclude file.





I've tried every permutation I can think of, and the results I

get


are:


Can't read file: XXX

0 File(s) copied

(where XXX is whatever file comes after the "/exclude:" switch.

The "donotcopy.txt" file is in the SOURCE directory, correct?

Also, if I just try to exclude file(s) by name - a la

/EXCLUDE:ABC*.fil,


I
get the same result...
Can't read file: ABC*.fil

0 File(s) copied

What the heck is going on???



:




BINGO! We have a Winner!

RJB wrote:




At the risk of being redundantly monotonous and obtuse:

1) Create a notepad file
2) In the file, type:
ABC Jackson.fil
ABC Smith.fil
ABC Alias.fil
ABC Lost.fil
ABC Polar.fil
3) Save it as "filelist.txt"
4) In the xcopy command,
XCOPY \\PATH\SOURCE_SUBDIRECTORY /EXCLUDE filelist.txt
\\PATH\TARGET_SUBDIRECTORY /d /h /p /r /u /k /y

Close?


:





Inline,

RJB wrote:





Yeah, I gotta say, Pegasus, your solution gives me an ice
cream

headache.



I still don't know if I get the "file listing" info...

From your initial post, it seems as if I am creating a

file -


called


"file1"



- and in that file it includes a list of excluded files.

CORRECT





But I probably just want to do
/EXCLUDE ABC*.fil

Wrong, should be like this

XCOPY /EXCLUDE FILELIST.TXT

FILELIST.TXT contents are ABC*.fil
one entry per line, you may have to experiment with it a bit.





Which is what your most recent post says. Right?

nope.




Anyway, I think I have enough info to experiment with.

Thanks,

 

[RJB]

When I am at a cmd prompt, I am NOT "in" the source directory. I am on the
receiving machine (my laptop) at the default location... Which is in,
apparrently, "My Documents"

When I am using my file, I don't know where it is, implicitly or
explicitly!! But I caught something that in your message that's a little
strange... What I am calling a "batch" file is a file I opened in notepad,
typed out the individual lines of commands, and saved as "Copy.bat". But you
mentioned a ".cmd" file. Which should I use?

I don't think that's the problem; again, when I run it using the cmd prompt,
I am still getting the same error message.

As you can tell, I am stubbornly determined to get the /EXCLUDE to work!!!!!

Thanks. I caught that and fixed it at some point. I have the subdirectory
mapped so it was actually \\RJBDESKTOP\SHAREDDOCS, but the full path is
the G:\LEDBER\blahblahblah.

What do you mean "make sure [I am] explicitly in the directory"? I am
running the batch file FROM the destination laptop...

Are you at a cmd prompt? Is the current directory the source directory? Is
the excludelist.txt file in the same directory? If so then don't use paths
other than the destination in the xcopy command. If you are exectuting
from a .cmd file then use the commands from my last post to make sure the
current directory is correct. If all of the above is not true then make it
so and try again. It works everytime on two seperate computers for me.

Still not it... Because if I delete the /EXCLUDE command, everything
copies OK. It's just hanging on the /EXCLUDE command. Which I have put at
the end of the command line, as well.

Arrrgggghhhh....

Here's the next thing I may try:

ATTRIB +h ABC*.*
xcopy \\SOURCEPATH\etc
ATTRIB -h ABC *.*

 

[Kerry Brown]

When I am at a cmd prompt, I am NOT "in" the source directory. I am on the
receiving machine (my laptop) at the default location... Which is in,
apparrently, "My Documents"

Try it from the source directory with the exclude file in the source
directory. If you want ot get something working read everyone's posts and
try following directions. Once it's working you can build from there.

When I am using my file, I don't know where it is, implicitly or
explicitly!! But I caught something that in your message that's a little
strange... What I am calling a "batch" file is a file I opened in notepad,
typed out the individual lines of commands, and saved as "Copy.bat". But
you mentioned a ".cmd" file. Which should I use?

No difference

I don't think that's the problem; again, when I run it using the cmd
prompt, I am still getting the same error message.

As you can tell, I am stubbornly determined to get the /EXCLUDE to
work!!!!!

Thanks. I caught that and fixed it at some point. I have the
subdirectory mapped so it was actually \\RJBDESKTOP\SHAREDDOCS, but the
full path is the G:\LEDBER\blahblahblah.

What do you mean "make sure [I am] explicitly in the directory"? I am
running the batch file FROM the destination laptop...

Are you at a cmd prompt? Is the current directory the source directory?
Is the excludelist.txt file in the same directory? If so then don't use
paths other than the destination in the xcopy command. If you are
exectuting from a .cmd file then use the commands from my last post to
make sure the current directory is correct. If all of the above is not
true then make it so and try again. It works everytime on two seperate
computers for me.

Still not it... Because if I delete the /EXCLUDE command, everything
copies OK. It's just hanging on the /EXCLUDE command. Which I have put
at the end of the command line, as well.

Arrrgggghhhh....

Here's the next thing I may try:

ATTRIB +h ABC*.*
xcopy \\SOURCEPATH\etc
ATTRIB -h ABC *.*






<SNIP>

The only difference between what I have continually typed and what is
on my command prompt is that \\SOURCEPATH\SHAREDDOCS\ is actually
G:\\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_(My last name)\SHAREDDOCS\ and I didn't
really feel it was necessary to type that over and over again, when I
presumed we could understand \\SOURCEPATH\

Unless this is another typo it is your problem. There is an extra
backslash after G: With a long path it is sometimes easier to make sure
you are explicitly in the directory where the files are located.

e.g.

G:
CD \CURRENT_FOLDER
XCOPY G:*.* H:\copy_files_here\ /EXCLUDE:FILELIST.TXT

Make sure FILELIST.TXT and the files to be copied are in this
directory.

Kerry

 

[RJB]

Is the /EXCLUDE maybe something that's broken? Is XCOPY a "command" or a
"program" that I can reinstall?

I have been running mostly from command instead of batch, for reasons I
posted somewhere else in a fit of confusion.

Your Suggestion 1: Are you suggesting that I should have an entire line in
my DONTCOPY.TXT that is simply

ABC

and that will automatically wildcard it?


Your suggestions 3: Are you suggesting I move my exclude file to say,
"c:\DONTCOPY.TXT"?


I want to be sure I understand the logic of what we're doing:
I have a subdirectory called "MAILROOM".
It is on my desktop machine "RJBDESKTOP".
MAILROOM contains a bunch of files. Several of them change daily (let's call
them the "Penske Files"), and some are specific to and must be resident on
the host machine (the "ABC" files). Sometimes I am working from my laptop,
sometimes at my desktop.
I would like to have access to the Penske files whilst on the road and
gotomypc is unavailable.
So, I want to XCOPY MAILROOM from my desktop to my laptop.
That will copy the entire contents, subdirectories and all, from MAILROOM to
my laptop.
It is OK if desktop Penske Files overwrite laptop Penske Files.
So I put the /y switch in, to say "[Y]es, please overwrite"
But I specifically don't want the ABC files to copy. Because I DON'T want
the desktop ABC files to overwrite the laptop ABC files.
So I launched notepad.exe
And I typed the name of each ABC file, one per line.
And I saved it as NOCOPYLIST.TXT
So I want to EXCLUDE NOCOPYLIST.TXT from the XCOPY
And the command for that is /EXCLUDE:NOCOPYLIST.TXT

So the overriding command is
XCOPY /y "G:\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_doe\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM"
/EXCLUDE:NOCOPYLIST.TXT "C:\RECEIVE\"




Again, I get the error message "Can't read file: "NOCOPYLIST.TXT""
If I run
XCOPY /y "G:\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_doe\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM"
"C:\RECEIVE\"
The ABC and Penske files do indeed copy.

Messing around I discovered that
1. * or "wildcards" are not read as wildcards. Everything in the string is
literal.
2. Was unsuccessful at reproducing the Can't read file" error.

Suggest
1. Using just ABC as the criteria in the DONTCOPY.TXT file.
2. Try running from the command line rather than batch file till it works.
3. Try using shorter path or local drive for the exclude file.

Done that.

Done it three ways:

1) Listing each file on its own line
2) Listing each file, with its full path, on its own line
3) (What I'd prefer) Going back to my original examples, "ABC*.fil".

(Now, granted, they are not literally "ABC Jackson.fil" etc., but the
file names DO include proprietary information, and I can't post the
actual file names here. Suffice to say they all are the same extensions,
and the ones I wish to exclude ALL begin with the same three letters!)

And, to be avoid typos, I am highlighting the file, choosing Properties,
highlighting the file's name, COPYing it, and PASTEing it into the
Notepad file!

If I delete the /EXCLUDE switch, the whole subdirectory copies, so I know
my path is correct.

I continue to get "Can't read file:" \\G:\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_(My
last name)\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM\nocopylist.txt"" <=(I created a new
Notepad file and called it nocopylist.txt) (And for the rock and roll
grammar patrol folks, I KNOW I shouldn't put double-quotes inside double
quotes, but I sure don't want anyone to get bogged down if I used single
quotes!)

"Can't read file"

I believe my commands are correct... It's the "Can't read file"
nonsense....

Plain and simple. The "FILE"(dontcopy.txt) placed after /EXCLUDE MUST BE
A PLAIN TEXT FILE. Open NOTEPAD and put in the contents. The file types
called out or listed in "dontcopy.txt" can be any type of file there ever
was including unknown types because the only thing that is READ is the
"dontcopy.txt" file and it MUST BE plain text and ONE entry per line. If
you are using word or wordpad or wordperfect to make the exclude file,
DON'T. Use NOTEPAD and ONLY NOTEPAD. Remember XCOPY reads the file
containing the list of files to be excluded. If it's NOT PLAIN TEXT, it's
not going to work.

RJB wrote:


OK, I know you're trying to be helpful, but it's getting kind of tough.

Trust me that I have spent hours - in batch file and just typing
commands in at the command prompt - and no matter what I do, I am
getting the "can't read" message.

I am running in command prompt for two reasons: one is, I am tired of
opening the file, typing it, and saving it, when I can just run directly
in cmd.exe. Second, I don't get error messages when I run the batch. It
either works or it doesn't, and then the batch file closes. At least
when I run cmd.exe, I can read each error message as I go.

I HAVE shown you the exact command I am attempting to run, to the best
of my ability. Since I have no way of copying from the command prompt to
my web browser, I must retype the commands. I am sorry for the few typos
in the translation. And, I have discovered that if I post in newsgroups
directly, my spell check has flubbed some things as well.

From what I have found in xcopy /?, it tells me that the /EXCLUDE switch
should work with ANY file, not just text files.

If it could be solved in less than a minute, it would have been. I am
sorry if turning to Microsoft help is not the answer. It was my first
line of defense.

I have tried to answer every single question you have asked as carefuly
and as completely as possible. Again, my apologies for not being able to
anticipate the unasked and give you full open kimono.

The only difference between what I have continually typed and what is on
my command prompt is that \\SOURCEPATH\SHAREDDOCS\ is actually
G:\\LEDBER\USERS\OPERATIONS\RJ_(My last name)\SHAREDDOCS\ and I didn't
really feel it was necessary to type that over and over again, when I
presumed we could understand \\SOURCEPATH\

I do appreciate your trying to help. I have tried everything you have
said, along with every other permutation I could think of.

**** No matter what I do, I get "Can't read file."

It ain't trivial to me.




This is a curious thread in that we keep running into two types
of problems:
- You quote generic commands that have some character
misplaced (first a colon, then a double quote), and then
you say that this was not the real command anyway.
- In spite of several encouragements, you never show us the
real command you're using.

Your latest reply is no exception: Again you do not show us what
you've done - you only report the problems.

I might add that your task is utterly trivial. I can be solved in less
than a minute by someone who pays attention to standard batch
file conventions.

Unless you agree to show us what you have written (i.e. the
verbatim contents of your batch file plus the contents of your
"exclude" file), I will stop responding in this thread. Its length
is badly out of proportion with the triviality of the problem.
There is nothing sophisticated about it!





Thanks. The .bmp attempt was to test if the exclude command was
working,

and


something was wrong with the .txt file setup.

(I thought if I excluded ONE file, then I would prove that /EXCLUDE
was
working... And the .txt file was the problem. I didn't realize EXCLUDE

MUST


be a .txt file... I thought that was only to exclude a series of
files...
For just one file of any kind, I presumed you could exclude that. Do
you
understand what I was trying?)

As you can see from my first line in this reply, I am still getting
the
error... "Can't read file".

And the quotes were quotes meaning, "Hey, everything between the
quotes is
what I typed for a command". I thought I only needed quotation marks
on

the


actual command line if I was using the 'long' file and path names from
Windows rather than the traditional DOS-tastic 8 character path name.

So I am still where I started.

(And I don't want to copy everything and delete. Eventually, there
will be
files in the source and destination directories that are different,
but

will


have the same name! THOSE are the very files I need to exclude from

copying!


I think what I may do is:

MOVE \\SOURCE\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR
Copy \\SOURCE\*.*
MOVE \\SOURCE\NEWSUBDIR\Files_to_exclude.* \\SOURCE

and call it a day!






You need to be a little more careful with your code, especially
if you want to do "Sophisticated copying" (your Subject line).
I wrote this:

/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt"
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp"

There are two obvious problems with your code:
- You shifted the first quote to the beginning of the line. Makes no

sense


whatsoever!
- You quote a .bmp file after the exclude switch. On several previous
occasions in this thread it was pointed out that the file after the
/exclude switch must be a text file containing a list of files to be
excluded. It cannot be a .bmp file!




STILL a "Can't read file

\\SOURCEDRIVE\Shareddocs\Mailroom\dontcopy.txt"


I know the "path" is OK, because if I exclude the "/EXCLUDE:" line,
it
copies everything.

Also, I tried the line with an
"/EXCLUDE:\\Sourcedrive\Shareddocs\Mailroom\grace.bmp" - a picture
of

my


dog - and still got the "Can't read file ...grace.bmp"

So, it appears to be something it's not liking about "Exclude"?

Arggggghhhhh!








With your "path" command you wrecked your existing path! The
correct way would be to type this:

path %path%;\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs.

However . . . adding SourceDrive\ShareDocs to the path makes no
sense, because SourceDrive\ShareDocs contains no executable
programs. The path is used to locate executable programs, not data
files.

Here is what you should type:

xcopy /y "\\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM"
/EXCLUDE:"\\SourceDrive\ShareDocs\dontcopy.txt" "C:\RECEIVE\"

This is all one long line. Note the "/y" switch, the trailing

backslash


after "c:\Receive\", and the sets of double quotes. Depending on
your actual names, they could be essential.




I added
PATH \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS

And now get
'xcopy' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file

I guess I should have added %PATH% \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS?

btw, here is the full command in my batch file:

XCOPY \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM /EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt

C:\RECEIVE


My goal is to take all of the files (save the five listed in
"dontcopy.txt"!) and copy them from a subdirectory called
"Mailroom"
on
my
server to a subdirectory called "Receive" on my laptop.

(The file "dontcopy.txt" is in \\SOURCEDRIVE\SHAREDDOCS\MAILROOM)


Thanks,




From the help

" /EXCLUDE:file1[+file2][+file3]...
Specifies a list of files containing strings. Each string should

be


in


a


separate line in the files. When any of the strings match any

part


of


the


absolute path of the file to be copied, that file will be
excluded

from


being copied. For example, specifying a string like \obj\ or
.obj

will


exclude all files underneath the directory obj or all files with

the


.obj


extension respectively."

So
/EXCLUDE:dontcopy.txt
NOT
/EXCLUDE dontcopy.txt

Since where you put the file resulted in "can't read xxx", I

suggest


putting "dontcopy.txt" in a directory that is listed in the PATH

listing.


RJB wrote:



It's all listed in the screens above

The donotcopy.txt contains a list - one per line - of each

exclded


file.


The long and short is

xcopy \\destinationpath\subdir /EXCLUDE donotcopy.txt
\\receivingpath\subdirectory








Let's see your precise command, and the contents of the
exclude file.





I've tried every permutation I can think of, and the results I

get


are:


Can't read file: XXX

0 File(s) copied

(where XXX is whatever file comes after the "/exclude:"
switch.

The "donotcopy.txt" file is in the SOURCE directory, correct?

Also, if I just try to exclude file(s) by name - a la

/EXCLUDE:ABC*.fil,


I
get the same result...
Can't read file: ABC*.fil

0 File(s) copied

What the heck is going on???



:




BINGO! We have a Winner!

RJB wrote:




At the risk of being redundantly monotonous and obtuse:

1) Create a notepad file
2) In the file, type:
ABC Jackson.fil
ABC Smith.fil
ABC Alias.fil
ABC Lost.fil
ABC Polar.fil
3) Save it as "filelist.txt"
4) In the xcopy command,
XCOPY \\PATH\SOURCE_SUBDIRECTORY /EXCLUDE filelist.txt
\\PATH\TARGET_SUBDIRECTORY /d /h /p /r /u /k /y

Close?


:





Inline,

RJB wrote:





Yeah, I gotta say, Pegasus, your solution gives me an ice
cream

headache.



I still don't know if I get the "file listing" info...

From your initial post, it seems as if I am creating a

file -


called


"file1"



- and in that file it includes a list of excluded files.

CORRECT





But I probably just want to do
/EXCLUDE ABC*.fil

Wrong, should be like this

XCOPY /EXCLUDE FILELIST.TXT

FILELIST.TXT contents are ABC*.fil
one entry per line, you may have to experiment with it a
bit.





Which is what your most recent post says. Right?

nope.




Anyway, I think I have enough info to experiment with.

Thanks,

 

[RJB]

read everyone's posts and try following directions. Once it's working you

can build from there.

Um, I appreciate the advice, but I HAVE been trying to follow directions. In
fact, I will go one step further, and say that I HAVE followed directions.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Um, I appreciate the advice, but I HAVE been trying to follow directions.
In fact, I will go one step further, and say that I HAVE followed
directions.

Then why haven't you tried it from a cmd prompt, while in the source
directory, with the exclude file in the source directory, with no path names
in the command line other than the destination directory? This will help to
diagnose if it is a path related problem. I suggested this and your response
was:

What do you mean "make sure [I am] explicitly in the directory"? I am
running the batch file FROM the destination laptop...

Then you went off on a tangent about the /EXCLUDE parameter.

I then posted again repeating the instructions and you said you don't know
where the file is. If you don't know where it is how do you copy it in the
first place? If it is a network share then just map a drive to that share.
You seem unable or unwilling to understand and follow directions. I'm not
trying to put you down. Diagnosing a problem by newsgroup is frustrating at
the best of times. When you keep repeating that you are following directions
when you clearly aren't it is even more frustrating.

Kerry

 

[RJB]

Dude. Check the hostility.

I have confirmed in damn near every thread that I AM running from the
command prompt.

I didn't understand your "explicit" so I asked for clarification.

My ONLY problem is with the /EXCLUDE switch. So it makes sense to me to
focus on that. It is not a tangent. It IS the problem.

Since the paths are correct when the switch is not in there, I am presuming
the paths are STILL correct when it is. I can copy between directories till
my toes curl, what I can't do is exclude a list of files. Which is all I
want to do.

My comment "I don't know where it is" - I have the batch file. It is on my
desktop. When it runs, I don't know what IT considers its "explicit"
location. If I move it to any directory, I get the same result - nothing.

I have done everything everybody has suggested. I have done my best to
explain what the results were, and if I tried modifying others' suggestions,
I have tried to explain that.

But thanks, for the first time in decades, I actually feel like I'm a moron.

Um, I appreciate the advice, but I HAVE been trying to follow directions.
In fact, I will go one step further, and say that I HAVE followed
directions.

Then why haven't you tried it from a cmd prompt, while in the source
directory, with the exclude file in the source directory, with no path
names in the command line other than the destination directory? This will
help to diagnose if it is a path related problem. I suggested this and
your response was:

What do you mean "make sure [I am] explicitly in the directory"? I am
running the batch file FROM the destination laptop...

Then you went off on a tangent about the /EXCLUDE parameter.

I then posted again repeating the instructions and you said you don't know
where the file is. If you don't know where it is how do you copy it in the
first place? If it is a network share then just map a drive to that
share. You seem unable or unwilling to understand and follow directions.
I'm not trying to put you down. Diagnosing a problem by newsgroup is
frustrating at the best of times. When you keep repeating that you are
following directions when you clearly aren't it is even more frustrating.

Kerry

 

[RJB]

You know what? Everything new ruined something before. GUI's ruined
computing as a profession? Imagine how the abacus guys feel about you.

I feel a little ownership to my problem here.

So allow me to show you the door.

Help me fix my simple /EXCLUDE problem or Go bother someone else.

Because e

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

As I said before: Post your batch file and your exclude file.

Dude. Check the hostility.

I have confirmed in damn near every thread that I AM running from the
command prompt.

I didn't understand your "explicit" so I asked for clarification.

My ONLY problem is with the /EXCLUDE switch. So it makes sense to me to
focus on that. It is not a tangent. It IS the problem.

Since the paths are correct when the switch is not in there, I am presuming
the paths are STILL correct when it is. I can copy between directories till
my toes curl, what I can't do is exclude a list of files. Which is all I
want to do.

My comment "I don't know where it is" - I have the batch file. It is on my
desktop. When it runs, I don't know what IT considers its "explicit"
location. If I move it to any directory, I get the same result - nothing.

I have done everything everybody has suggested. I have done my best to
explain what the results were, and if I tried modifying others' suggestions,
I have tried to explain that.

But thanks, for the first time in decades, I actually feel like I'm a moron.

read everyone's posts and try following directions. Once it's working
you can build from there.

Um, I appreciate the advice, but I HAVE been trying to follow directions.
In fact, I will go one step further, and say that I HAVE followed
directions.

Then why haven't you tried it from a cmd prompt, while in the source
directory, with the exclude file in the source directory, with no path
names in the command line other than the destination directory? This will
help to diagnose if it is a path related problem. I suggested this and
your response was:

What do you mean "make sure [I am] explicitly in the directory"? I am
running the batch file FROM the destination laptop...

Then you went off on a tangent about the /EXCLUDE parameter.

I then posted again repeating the instructions and you said you don't know
where the file is. If you don't know where it is how do you copy it in the
first place? If it is a network share then just map a drive to that
share. You seem unable or unwilling to understand and follow directions.
I'm not trying to put you down. Diagnosing a problem by newsgroup is
frustrating at the best of times. When you keep repeating that you are
following directions when you clearly aren't it is even more frustrating.

Kerry