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Xcopy provides an excellent tool for backing up selected folders. With appropriate switches, a variety of backup scenarios can be created. One possible backup configuration would be to copy only those files that have been changed. Here is an example command: xcopy C:\somefolder E:\backupfolder /D /E /C /R /H /I /K /Y This command will copy all files, including those in sub-folders, that are newer in the source folder. It will copy hidden as well as read-only files and will create the destination folder and/or sub-folders if they do not already exist.

The next example shows the use of a wildcard; it collects all files of a given type and copies them into one place. The command xcopy C:\*.mp3 E:\mp3folder /S /I /C > E:\mp3List.txt will collect all MP3 files on the C: drive and copy them to a folder on the E: drive. It also creates a list of the files copied and places the list on the E: drive. This simple command preserves the sub-folder structure. If desired, a more advanced script could be written that places all MP3 files in one folder with no sub-folders.

A useful feature of Xcopy is the ability to exclude certain files and/or folders from being copied by means of the "/Exclude" switch. All names containing a given string of characters can be excluded. Unfortunately, Microsoft's description of the switch is not a model of clarity. In fact, postings on the Internet indicate considerable confusion exists about how to implement this handy feature. Perhaps the list below will help clarify how to use it.

1. The strings contained in the names of the files and/or folders to be excluded from being copied are not entered directly in the command switch itself.
2. The entry in the command switch is one or more text files that list the strings to be excluded.
3. The format of the switch is /Exclude:{path}list_of_exclusions.txt Note the colon between Exclude and the name of the file that lists the exclusions. Although more than one exclusion file can be used, stick with one if you can.
4. The name of the file that lists exclusions cannot have spaces. Quoting does not help.
5. Be careful with pathnames. Remember that operations are relative to the working directory for the command prompt. I suggest placing the exclusion list in the top directory of the directories being copied and opening the command prompt in the directory just above the directory and sub-directories to be copied. (Go here if you don't know how to open the command prompt wherever you want.) The various relative paths will then be simple. If you open the command prompt in the default location, things can get complicated.
6. The structure of the exclusions list is one exclusion string per line. Wildcards are not used and do not work. If you want to exclude all files whose names contain ABC, simply place ABC on one line of the exclusion file. If it is being used together with the switch "/S", the exclusion file will apply to sub-directories as well as the main directory.
7. To exclude a particular sub-directory, place its name in the exclusion file with backward slashes before and after its name, viz., \excluded_directory\
8. Use a text editor to create exclusion files. Do not use Microsoft Word or other word processor unless you are careful to create text files. Use ANSI encoding. When I tried UTF-8 encoding, the file did not work.

Many commands issue integer exit codes to indicate the status of the command after it is run. The exit codes for Xcopy are given in Table II. When placed in "If" statements, these error codes can be useful in batch files .

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