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,
