Xcopy Command excluding files and folders [duplicate] - command-line

This question already has answers here:
/exclude in xcopy just for a file type
(5 answers)
Closed 8 years ago.
I want to copy files and folders in a directory to another folder excluding a list of files and folders.Is that possible.
I was just trying to copy excluding file :
xcopy c:\t1 c:\t2 /EXCLUDE:exclusion.txt
But it keeps saying read cant read file : exclusion.txt
Can anyone help me on this?
Thanks


Just give full path to exclusion file: eg..
-- no - - - - -xcopy c:\t1 c:\t2 /EXCLUDE:list-of-excluded-files.txt
correct - - - xcopy c:\t1 c:\t2 /EXCLUDE:C:\list-of-excluded-files.txt
In this example the file would be located " C:\list-of-excluded-files.txt "
or...
correct - - - xcopy c:\t1 c:\t2 /EXCLUDE:C:\mybatch\list-of-excluded-files.txt
In this example the file would be located " C:\mybatch\list-of-excluded-files.txt "
Full path fixes syntax error.


Like Andrew said /exclude parameter of xcopy should be existing file that has list of excludes.
Documentation of xcopy says:
Using /exclude
List each string in a separate line in each file. If any of the listed
strings match any part of the absolute path of the file to be copied,
that file is then excluded from the copying process. For example, if
you specify the string "\Obj\", you exclude all files underneath the
Obj directory. If you specify the string ".obj", you exclude all files
with the .obj extension.
Example:
xcopy c:\t1 c:\t2 /EXCLUDE:list-of-excluded-files.txt
and list-of-excluded-files.txt should exist in current folder (otherwise pass full path), with listing of files/folders to exclude - one file/folder per line. In your case that would be:
exclusion.txt


It is same as above answers, but is simple in steps
c:\SRC\folder1
c:\SRC\folder2
c:\SRC\folder3
c:\SRC\folder4
to copy all above folders to c:\DST\ except folder1 and folder2.
Step1:
create a file c:\list.txt with below content, one folder name per one line
folder1\
folder2\
Step2:
Go to command pompt and run as below
xcopy c:\SRC*.* c:\DST*.* /EXCLUDE:c:\list.txt

Related

.gitignore all except one specific file (via a full/fuller file path)

The Goal:
How to use .gitignore to exclude all folders & files except PowerShell $Profile?
The answer should help expand the current exception file list to more files in other subfolders. If possible, reduce wildcards to minimum, and use as specific as possible (full/fuller file path). Why? For instance, Book1.xlsx may exist in multiple subfolders but I want to be able to choose only the specific desired subfolders.
Thanks in advance!
Current status:
On Windows 10 (not Linux Distros):
git init initiated on top level directory C:\. [Please don't suggest to start from other subfolders. Just remain with C:\, as I will include more files to the exception list]
C:\.gitignore containing the below:
# Ignore All
/*
# Exception List [eg. PowerShell's $Profile (please use FULL/FULLER FILE PATH, if possible)]
!.gitignore
!Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
!Users/John/Documents/WindowsPowerShell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
!Users\John\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
!C:/Users/John/Documents/WindowsPowerShell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
!C:\Users\John\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
With the above codes, git status successfully returned only .gitignore as 1 untracked file. Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1 remained missing from untrack listing.
I've tried alternative ways (wildcard, partial subfolder name with pattern, etc) but all failed to return the fuller file path PowerShell $Profile.

How to copy a file from source to a destination and recreate the folder structure

I have some files which needs to be copied through deployment process often to a destination. This is my folder folder structure:
SOURCE:
c:\
folder1
sub1
subsub1
file1
file2
I need something where i can tell my "script" something like this
mycopy c:\folder1\sub1\subsub1\file1 h:\
That means that i dont want to
check if folder structure exist
provide on bot sides the complete structure for each file on destination side
I want to
provide the full path and filename on source side
create folder structure if not exist
overwrite file if exist
How can i achieve this?

See the robocopy help page on MS Technet
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733145%28v=ws.11%29.aspx
In your case you would do something like
robocopy c:\folder1\sub1\subsub1 h:\ file1 <options ...>
Notice that the first two parameters are the source and dest paths only, with no filename at the end
Read the linked help page and test on your desktop ...

Ok it works like this:
You can use Robocopy for this task. Thanks you Rick716 for this direction. I am not marking it as answer cause it is only a direction not the solution.
Lets Assume that we have the following source folder structure:
N:\source\a1\b1\c1\d1\e1\f1
and we want to recreate the hole structure under n:\source within h:\destination. Then we have to use Robocopy in this way:
robocopy N:\source h:\destination /e
The option /e will create the folder structure even create empty folders. Additionally you can append the files which should be copied. For example
file.txt
*.jpg
*.bkp
etc. But these files will be even copied when they exist somewhere within the folder strcuture! For example you have the file n:\source\a1\file.txt and the file n:\source\a1\b1\c1\file.txt then both will be copied by using
robocopy N:\source h:\destination file.txt /e

How to use xcopy to select specific folders(Not Files) within another folder

I am trying to xcopy specific folders from some directory to another folder, problem is i don't want to copy all the folders but i want specific folders. E.g. DirectorySource has folders (folderA,folderB,folderC) but i want to copy folderA and folderB only to DirectoryDestination.

Create a text file, say C:\excludes.txt with the following contents:
DirectorySource\folderC\
then you can copy:
xcopy DirectorySource DirectoryDestination /s /i /exclude:C:\excludes.txt
The file excludes.txt contains a list of strings, one per line. If a file or directory matches that string, then it will not be copied. If you want to exclude folder, it is safer to use the above string instead of simply folderC, which might skip a file called folderC_listing.txt

batch file to copy a folder containing the most recently created file

Hey guys,
I'm looking for a batch file which will copy a folder and all its contents containing the most recently created file.
I need it to preserve the folder name at the destination aswell.
For example:
If 'c:\test\source\inhere' contains the most recent file, then i would like the 'inhere' directory and all of its contents copied to the destination, c:\test\destination\inhere.
The .bat file would ideally sit in the 'source' folder in the example above.
Thanks!

xcopy and if exist not exist would do everything you need eg:-
#echo off
xcopy "C:\test\inhere\*.* " c:\mirror\test\inhere\ /c /s /r /d /y /i > c:\mirror\xcopy.log
this would copy from inhere (*.* means any file extensions could be .pdf or whatever) TO
IN HERE in a parent folder called mirror. The xcopy.log just writes a log file so you can check
all was successful

xcopy file, rename, suppress "Does xxx specify a file name..." message

This seems pretty simple and maybe I'm just overlooking the proper flag, but how would I, in one command, copy a file from one directory to another and rename it in the destination directory? Here's my command:
if exist "bin\development\whee.config.example"
if not exist "TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config"
xcopy "bin\development\whee.config.example"
"TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config"
It prompts me with the following every time:
Does TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config specify a file name
or directory name on the target (F = file, D = directory)?
I want to suppress this prompt; the answer is always F.

I use
echo f | xcopy /f /y srcfile destfile
to get around it.

Don't use the xcopy, use copy instead, it doesn't have this issue.
xcopy is generally used when performing recursive copies of multiple files/folders, or when you need the verification/prompting features it offers. For single file copies, the copy command works just fine.

Another option is to use a destination wildcard. Note that this only works if the source and destination filenames will be the same, so while this doesn't solve the OP's specific example, I thought it was worth sharing.
For example:
xcopy /y "bin\development\whee.config.example" "TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\*"
will create a copy of the file "whee.config.example" in the destination directory without prompting for file or directory.
Update: As mentioned by #chapluck:
You can change "* " to "[newFileName].*". It persists file extension but allows to rename. Or more hacky: "[newFileName].[newExt]*" to change extension

There is some sort of undocumented feature in XCOPY. you can use:
xcopy "bin\development\whee.config.example" "c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config*"
i tested it just today. :-)

Just go to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb491035.aspx
Here's what the MAIN ISSUE is "... If Destination does not contain an existing directory and does not end with a backslash (), the following message appears: ...
Does destination specify a file name
or directory name on the target
(F = file, D = directory)?
You can suppress this message by using the /i command-line option, which causes xcopy to assume that the destination is a directory if the source is more than one file or a directory.
Took me a while, but all it takes is RTFM.

So, there is a simple fix for this. It is admittedly awkward, but it works.
xcopy will not prompt to find out if the destination is a directory or file IF the new file(filename) already exists. If you precede your xcopy command with a simple echo to the new filename, it will overwrite the empty file. Example
echo.>newfile.txt
xcopy oldfile.txt newfile.txt /Y

I met same issue when try to copy file with new name only if file does not exist in destination or exist (with new name), but is older. The solution is to add * char at end of destination file name. Example:
xcopy "C:\src\whee.config.txt" "C:\dest\bee.config.txt*" /D /Y

This is from Bills answer.
Just to be really clear for others.
If you are copying ONE file from one place to another AND you want the full directory structure to be created, use the following command:
xcopy "C:\Data\Images\2013\08\12\85e4a707-2672-481b-92fb-67ecff20c96b.jpg" "C:\Target Data\\Images\2013\08\12\85e4a707-2672-481b-92fb-67ecff20c96b.jpg\"
Yes, put a backslash at the end of the file name and it will NOT ask you if it's a file or directory. Because there is only ONE file in the source, it will assume it's a file.

xcopy src dest /I
REM This assumes dest is a folder and will create it, if it doesnt exists

XCOPY with * at the end of the target to copy files whether they exist or not in destination
XCOPY with \ at the end of the target to copy folders and contents whether exist or not in destination
Alternatively
RoboForm SOURCE DEST FILE for files
RoboForm SOURCE DEST for folders

I had a similar issue and both robocopy and xcopy did not help, as I wanted to suppress the comments and use a different destination filename. I found
type filename.txt > destfolder\destfilename.txt
working as per my requirements.

Back to the original question:
xcopy "bin\development\whee.config.example" "TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config"
could be done with two commands eg:
mkdir "c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config\.."
xcopy "bin\development\whee.config.example" "c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config\"
By simply appending "\.." to the path of the destination file the destination directory is created if it not already exists. In this case
"c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\"
which is the parent directory of
the non-existing directory
"c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config\.."
At least for WIN7 mkdir does not care if the directory
"c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config\"
really exists.

The right thing to do if you wanna copy just file and change it's name at destination is :
xcopy /f /y "bin\development\example.exe"
"TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\NewName.exe*"
And it's Gonna work fine

I suggest robocopy instead of copy or xcopy. Used as command or in GUI on clients or servers. Tolerant of network pauses and you can choose to ignore file attributes when copying of copy by file attributes. Oh, and it supports multi-core machines so files are copied much faster in "parallel" with each other instead of sequentially. robocopy can be found on MS TechNet.

For duplicating large files, xopy with /J switch is a good choice. In this case, simply pipe an F for file or a D for directory. Also, you can save jobs in an array for future references. For example:
$MyScriptBlock = {
Param ($SOURCE, $DESTINATION)
'F' | XCOPY $SOURCE $DESTINATION /J/Y
#DESTINATION IS FILE, COPY WITHOUT PROMPT IN DIRECT BUFFER MODE
}
JOBS +=START-JOB -SCRIPTBLOCK $MyScriptBlock -ARGUMENTLIST $SOURCE,$DESTIBNATION
$JOBS | WAIT-JOB | REMOVE-JOB
Thanks to Chand with a bit modifications:
https://stackoverflow.com/users/3705330/chand

Place an asterisk(*) at the end of the destination path to skip the dispute of D and F.
Example:
xcopy "compressedOutput.xml" "../../Execute
Scripts/APIAutomation/Libraries/rerunlastfailedbuild.xml*"

Use copy instead of xcopy when copying files.
e.g.
copy "bin\development\whee.config.example"
"TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config"

Work Around, use ReName... and Name it some Cryptic Name, then ReName it to its Proper Name
C:
CD "C:\Users\Public\Documents\My Web Sites\AngelFire~Zoe\"
XCopy /D /I /V /Y "C:\Users\Public\Documents\My Web Sites\HostGator ~ ZoeBeans\cop.htm"
Ren "cop.htm" "christ-our-passover.htm"

xcopy will allow you to copy a single file into a specifed folder it just wont allow you to define a destination name. If you require the destination name just rename it before you copy it.
ren "bin\development\whee.config.example" whee.config
xcopy /R/Y "bin\development\whee.config"
"TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\"

When working with single files , I use both commands.
To copy a file to another existing directory, use copy
copy srcPath\srcFile existingDir\newFile
To copy an existing file to and create new directories, use xcopy
xcopy srcPath\srcFile newDirectoryPath\newFile
To suppress the xcopy 'file or directory' prompt, echo in the response. So for a file copy echo in f.
echo f | xcopy srcPath\srcFile newDirectoryPath\newFile
Note flag /y works in both commands to suppress the confirmation to overwrite the existing destination file.
MS Docs: copy, xcopy

Since you're not actually changing the filename, you can take out the filename from the destination and there will be no questions.
xcopy bin\development\whee.config.example TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\ /Y
This approach works well when the destination directory is guaranteed to exist, and when the source may equally be a file or directory.

You cannot specify that it's always a file. If you don't need xcopy's other features, why not just use regular copy?

Does xxxxxxxxxxxx specify a file name
or directory name on the target
(F = file, D = directory)? D
if a File : (echo F)
if a Directory (echo D)