				MTOOLS
			      version 2.0

Mtools is a public domain collection of programs to allow Unix systems
to read, write, and manipulate files on an MSDOS filesystem (typically a
diskette).

The following MSDOS commands are emulated:

Mtool 		MSDOS
name		equivalent	Description
-----		----		-----------
mattrib		ATTRIB		change MSDOS file attribute flags
mcd		CD		change MSDOS directory
mcopy		COPY		copy MSDOS files to/from Unix
mdel		DEL/ERASE	delete an MSDOS file
mdir		DIR		display an MSDOS directory
mformat		FORMAT		add MSDOS filesystem to a low-level format
mlabel		LABEL		make an MSDOS volume label.
mmd		MD/MKDIR	make an MSDOS subdirectory
mrd		RD/RMDIR	remove an MSDOS subdirectory
mread		COPY		low level read (copy) an MSDOS file to Unix
mren		REN/RENAME	rename an existing MSDOS file
mtype		TYPE		display contents of an MSDOS file
mwrite		COPY		low level write (copy) a Unix file to MSDOS

You should be able to just close your eyes and pretend you're on an MSDOS
system.  Everything should work the same... except for the added 'm' at
the beginning of each command.

I really wanted to avoid the use of a 'text' mode and a 'data' mode when
transferring files, but I couldn't find a better way.  It gets rather
confusing and it's quite possible to mess up a file if you apply the
text mode when it is not appropriate (ie:  to a COM or EXE file).

The pattern matching routine more closely resembles Unix than MSDOS.
For example, "*" matches all MSDOS files in lieu of "*.*".

The use of wildcards (or the '\' separator) will require the names to be
enclosed in quotes to protect them from the shell.  For example:

	RIGHT:	mcopy "a:*.c" .

	will copy all files on the A: disk with the extension .C to the
	current Unix directory.

	WRONG:	mcopy a:*.c .

	will cause the shell to expand a:*.c in the current Unix directory
	(which is probably not what you wanted) then copy that list of
	files (if there were any) from A: to the current Unix directory.

	RIGHT:	mcopy *.c a:

	will copy all files with the extension .c in the current Unix
	directory to the A: drive.  (This time you *want* the shell
	the expand the *.c).

The manuals are very terse...  it's assumed that the reader is already
familiar with MSDOS.

Mcopy is really a front-end to the low level Mread and Mwrite commands.

Emmet P. Gray				US Army, HQ III Corps & Fort Hood
...!uunet!uiucuxc!fthood!egray		Attn: AFZF-DE-ENV
fthood!egray@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu		Directorate of Engineering & Housing
					Environmental Management Office
					Fort Hood, TX 76544-5057
