VMS Help  —  COPY  Qualifiers

1    /ALLOCATION

       /ALLOCATION=number-of-blocks

    Forces the initial allocation of the output file to the
    specified number of 512-byte blocks. If you do not specify the
    /ALLOCATION qualifier, or if you specify it without the number-
    of-blocks parameter, the initial allocation of the output file is
    determined by the size of the input file being copied.

2    /BACKUP

    Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the
    /SINCE qualifier. The /BACKUP qualifier selects files according
    to the dates of their most recent backups. This qualifier
    is incompatible with the /CREATED, /EXPIRED, and /MODIFIED
    qualifiers, which also allow you to select files according
    to time attributes. If you specify none of these four time
    qualifiers, the default is the /CREATED qualifier.

3    /BEFORE

       /BEFORE[=time]

    Selects only those files dated prior to the specified time. You
    can specify time as absolute time, as a combination of absolute
    and delta times, or as one of the following keywords: BOOT,
    LOGIN, TODAY (default), TOMORROW, or YESTERDAY. Specify one of
    the following qualifiers with the /BEFORE qualifier to indicate
    the time attribute to be used as the basis for selection:
    /BACKUP, /CREATED (default), /EXPIRED, or /MODIFIED.

    For complete information on specifying time values, see the
    OpenVMS User's Manual or the online help topic Date.

4    /BLOCK_SIZE

       /BLOCK_SIZE=n

    Overrides the default block size (124) used by COPY. You can
    specify a value in the range of 1 through 2**31-1.

5    /BY_OWNER

       /BY_OWNER[=uic]

    Selects only those files whose owner user identification code
    (UIC) matches the specified owner UIC. The default UIC is that of
    the current process.

    Specify the UIC by using standard UIC format as described in the
    VSI OpenVMS Guide to System Security.

6    /CONCATENATE

       /CONCATENATE (default)
       /NOCONCATENATE

    Creates one output file from multiple input files when you do not
    use the asterisk (*)  or percent sign (%) wildcard characters
    in the output file specification. The /NOCONCATENATE qualifier
    generates multiple output files. A wildcard character in an input
    file specification results in a single output file consisting
    of the concatenation of all input files matching the file
    specification.

    Files from Files-11 On-Disk Structure Level 2 and 5 disks
    are concatenated in alphanumeric order. If you specify an
    asterisk (*)  or percent sign (%) wildcard character in the file
    version field, files are copied in descending order by version
    number. Files from Files-11 On-Disk Structure Level 1 disks are
    concatenated in random order.

7    /CONFIRM

       /CONFIRM
       /NOCONFIRM (default)

    Controls whether a request is issued before each copy operation
    to confirm that the operation should be performed on that file.
    The following responses are valid:

    YES      NO       QUIT
    TRUE     FALSE    Ctrl/Z
    1        0        ALL
             <Return>

    You can use any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters
    for word responses. You can abbreviate word responses to one or
    more letters (for example, T, TR, or TRU for TRUE), but these
    abbreviations must be unique. Affirmative answers are YES, TRUE,
    and 1. Negative answers include: NO, FALSE, 0, and pressing
    Return. Entering QUIT or pressing Ctrl/Z indicates that you want
    to stop processing the command at that point. When you respond by
    entering ALL, the command continues to process but no further
    prompts are given. If you type a response other than one of
    those in the list, DCL issues an error message and redisplays
    the prompt.

8    /CONTIGUOUS

       /CONTIGUOUS
       /NOCONTIGUOUS

    Specifies that the output file must occupy contiguous physical
    disk blocks. By default, the COPY command creates an output file
    in the same format as the corresponding input file. Also, by
    default, if not enough space exists for a contiguous allocation,
    the COPY command does not report an error. If you copy multiple
    input files of different formats, the output file may or may not
    be contiguous. You can use the /CONTIGUOUS qualifier to ensure
    that files are copied contiguously.

    The /CONTIGUOUS qualifier has no effect when you copy files to
    or from tapes because the size of the file on tape cannot be
    determined until after it is copied to the disk. If you copy a
    file from a tape and want the file to be contiguous, use the COPY
    command twice: once to copy the file from the tape, and a second
    time to create a contiguous file.

9    /CREATED

       /CREATED (default)

    Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the /SINCE
    qualifier. The /CREATED qualifier selects files based on their
    dates of creation. This qualifier is incompatible with the
    /BACKUP, /EXPIRED, and /MODIFIED qualifiers, which also allow
    you to select files according to time attributes. If you specify
    none of these four time qualifiers, the default is the /CREATED
    qualifier.

10    /EXCLUDE

       /EXCLUDE=(filespec[,...])

    Excludes the specified files from the copy operation. You can
    include a directory but not a device in the file specification.
    The asterisk (*)  and the percent sign (%) wildcard characters
    are allowed in the file specification; however, you cannot use
    relative version numbers to exclude a specific version. If you
    specify only one file, you can omit the parentheses.

11    /EXPIRED

    Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the /SINCE
    qualifier. The /EXPIRED qualifier selects files according to
    their expiration dates. (The expiration date is set with the
    SET FILE/EXPIRATION_DATE command.) The /EXPIRED qualifier
    is incompatible with the /BACKUP, /CREATED, and /MODIFIED
    qualifiers, which also allow you to select files according
    to time attributes. If you specify none of these four time
    qualifiers, the default is the /CREATED qualifier.

12    /EXTENSION

       /EXTENSION=n

    Specifies the number of blocks to be added to the output
    file each time the file is extended. If you do not specify
    the /EXTENSION qualifier, the extension attribute of the
    corresponding input file determines the default extension
    attribute of the output file.

13    /LOG

       /LOG
       /NOLOG (default)

    Controls whether the COPY command displays the file
    specifications of each file copied.

    When you use the /LOG qualifier, the COPY command displays the
    following for each copy operation:

    o  The file specifications of the input and output files

    o  The number of blocks or the number of records copied
       (depending on whether the file is copied on a block-by-block
       or record-by-record basis)

    o  The total number of new files created

14    /MODIFIED

    Modifies the time value specified with the /BEFORE or the /SINCE
    qualifier. The /MODIFIED qualifier selects files according to
    the dates on which they were last modified. This qualifier
    is incompatible with the /BACKUP, /CREATED, and /EXPIRED
    qualifiers, which also allow you to select files according
    to time attributes. If you specify none of these four time
    modifiers, the default is the /CREATED qualifier.

15    /OVERLAY

       /OVERLAY
       /NOOVERLAY (default)

    Requests that data in the input file be copied into the existing
    specified file, overlaying the existing data, rather than
    allocating new space for the file. The physical location of
    the file on disk does not change; however, for RMS indexed and
    relative files, if the output file has fewer blocks allocated
    than the input file, the copy fails giving an RMS-E-EOF error.

    The /OVERLAY qualifier is ignored if the output file is written
    to a non-file-structured device.

16    /PROTECTION

       /PROTECTION=(ownership[:access][,...])

    Specifies protection for the output file.

    o  Specify the ownership parameter as system (S),  owner (O),
       group (G),  or world (W).

    o  Specify the access parameter as read (R),  write (W), execute
       (E),  or delete (D).

    The default protection, including any protection attributes not
    specified, is that of the existing output file. If no output file
    exists, the current default protection applies.

    For more information on specifying protection codes, see the VSI
    OpenVMS Guide to System Security.

17    /READ_CHECK

       /READ_CHECK
       /NOREAD_CHECK (default)

    Reads each record in the input files twice to verify that it has
    been read correctly.

18    /REPLACE

       /REPLACE
       /NOREPLACE (default)

    Requests that, if a file exists with the same file specification
    as that entered for the output file, the existing file is to
    be deleted. The COPY command allocates new space for the output
    file. In general, when you use the /REPLACE qualifier, include
    version numbers with the file specifications. By default, the
    COPY command creates a new version of a file if a file with
    that specification exists, incrementing the version number. The
    /NOREPLACE qualifier signals an error when a conflict in version
    numbers occurs.

19    /SINCE

       /SINCE[=time]

    Selects only those files dated on or after the specified time.
    You can specify time as absolute time, as combination of absolute
    and delta times, or as one of the following keywords: BOOT,
    JOB_LOGIN, LOGIN, TODAY (default), TOMORROW, or YESTERDAY.
    Specify one of the following qualifiers with the /SINCE qualifier
    to indicate the time attribute to be used as the basis for
    selection: /BACKUP, /CREATED (default), /EXPIRED, or /MODIFIED.

    For complete information about specifying time values, see the
    OpenVMS User's Manual or the online help topic Date.

20    /STYLE

       /STYLE=keyword

    Specifies the file name format for display purposes.

    The valid keywords for this qualifier are CONDENSED and EXPANDED.
    Descriptions are as follows:

    Keyword     Explanation

    CONDENSED   Displays the file name representation of what is
    (default)   generated to fit into a 255-length character string.
                This file name may contain a DID or FID abbreviation
                in the file specification.
    EXPANDED    Displays the file name representation of what is
                stored on disk. This file name does not contain any
                DID or FID abbreviations.

    The keywords CONDENSED and EXPANDED are mutually exclusive. This
    qualifier specifies which file name format is displayed in the
    output message, along with the confirmation if requested.

    File errors are displayed with the CONDENSED file specification
    unless the EXPANDED keyword is specified.

    See the OpenVMS User's Manual for more information.

21    /SYMLINK

       /SYMLINK=keyword
       /NOSYMLINK (default)

    If the input file is a symbolic link, the file to which the
    symbolic link refers is the file that is copied.

    The /SYMLINK qualifier indicates that any input symbolic link is
    copied.

    If the file named in the command is a symlink, the command
    operates on the symlink target. The valid keywords for this
    qualifier are [NO]WILDCARD and [NO]ELLIPSIS. Descriptions are
    as follows:

    Keyword     Explanation

    NOWILDCARD  Indicates that symlinks are disabled during directory
                wildcard searches.
    WILDCARD    Indicates that symlinks are enabled during wildcard
                searches.
    NOELLIPSIS  Indicates that symlinks are matched for all wildcard
                fields except for ellipsis.
    ELLIPSIS    Equivalent to WILDCARD (included for command
                symmetry).

22    /TRUNCATE

       /TRUNCATE (default)
       /NOTRUNCATE

    Controls whether the COPY command truncates an output file at
    the end-of-file (EOF) when copying it. This operation can only be
    used with sequential files.

    By default, the actual size of the input file determines the size
    of the output file. If you select /NOTRUNCATE, the allocation of
    the input file determines the size of the output file.

23    /VOLUME

       /VOLUME=n

    Places the output file on the specified relative volume number of
    a multivolume set. By default, the COPY command places the output
    file arbitrarily in a multivolume set.

24    /WRITE_CHECK

       /WRITE_CHECK
       /NOWRITE_CHECK (default)

    Reads each record in the output file after it is written to
    verify that the record copied successfully and that the file
    can be read subsequently without error.

                                   NOTE

       Some hardware devices, such as TK50 tape drives, verify data
       integrity as part of their hardware function. For devices
       such as these, you do not need to use /WRITE_CHECK. For
       information about which devices provide automatic write
       checking, consult your hardware documentation.
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