PILOT-XFER(1)PILOT-XFER(1)NAMEpilot-xfer - backup and restore databases to and from a
Palm Computing Device, Handspring Visor, TRGPro, or other
Palm Compatible Handheld PDA
SYNOPSISpilot-xfer-p [<port>] [--exclude file] --backup |
--update | --sync directory
or
pilot-xfer-p [<port>] [ --restore directory | --list |
--Listall | --purge | --fetch dbname ... | --delete
dbname ... | --install file ... | --merge file ... ]
...
(Note that some options are not shown above and short
option aliases are excluded for clarity)
DESCRIPTIONpilot-xfer allows the user to install databases contained
in the standard .prc and .pdb formats onto a Palm,
retrieve databases from the Palm, list the databases con
tained in a Palm, and backup or restore all of the
databases at once. Once the user has executed pilot-xfer
the user must invoke HotSync on the target device.
TARGET DEVICE
The default serial device used to communicate with a Palm
is /dev/pilot. If the environment variable $PILOTPORT is
set, its value will override the default. A serial device
specified on the command-line will be used regardless of
any $PILOTPORT setting.
OPTIONS
Several options exist, including...
-a dir,
Archives files which have been removed from the
Palm to dir instead of just deleting (unlinking)
them
-b dir, --backup dir
Backs up the Palm into the specified directory
(which will be created if it does not already
exist). This operation must be specified after any
exclude option.
-c --count
Counts the files as they go by, but shunts the dis
playing of the "Skipping file..." messages
-d dbname [...], --delete dbname [...]
Delete the specified database(s) by name (without
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extension). Obviously, be very careful with this
one.
-e file, --exclude file
Reads a list of databases from file. Prevents
--backup, --sync, or --update from operating on the
listed database(s). This option must be specified
before the --backup, --sync, or --update operation
whose action it modifies.
-f dbname [...], --fetch dbname [...]
Fetch each specified database out of the Palm into
the current directory.
-F Modifies the behavior of --backup, --sync, and
--update to back up non-OS databases which have
been stored in FlashROM
-h, --help
Displays a summary list of pilot-xfer's usage and
exits.
-i file [...], --install file [...]
Install each specified file into the Palm. Wild
cards are valid with this syntax.
-l, --list
List the databases in the Palm, excluding OS-spe
cific databases.
-L, --Listall
List all of the databases on the Palm, including
OS-specific native databases.
-m file [...], --merge file [...]
Adds the records in each specified file into the
corresponding Palm database.
-O Modifies the behavior of --backup, --sync, and
--update to back up OS databases which are stored
in FlashROM
-p, --purge
Purge any deleted data that hasn't been cleaned up
by a sync (this is a safe operation, and will pre
vent your Palm from accumulating crud if you delete
records but aren't syncing with a PIM.) The only
information you can lose is archived but un-synced
records.
-q, --quiet
Causes pilot-xfer to be quiet and not display the
"Skipping file..." messages
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PILOT-XFER(1)PILOT-XFER(1)-r dir, --restore dir
Installs all files contained in a directory into
the Palm. (Use this to restore your Palm after a
hard reset has cleared its memory, using your
backup directory as a baseline.)
-s dir, --sync dir
Backs up the Palm into the specified directory
(which will be created if it does not already
exist). Any Palm databases which have not been mod
ified or created since the versions stored in the
specified directory will not be backed up.
NOTE: Any Palm databases which have been deleted
will have their corresponding backup file removed.
This operation must be specified after any exclude
option.
-u dir, --update dir
Backs up the Palm into the specified directory
(which will be created if it does not already
exist). Any Palm databases which have not been mod
ified or created since the versions stored in the
specified directory will not be backed up. This
operation must be specified after any exclude
option.
-U This will back up the UnsavedPreferences.pdb file
from the Palm. Normally this file is not backed up
by normal means (Palm Computing recommends that you
do not restore this file upon restoration of your
device using --restore
This also modifies the behavior of --backup --sync
and --update
-v, --version
Displays the version of pilot-link from which this
program was installed and exits.
USAGE
The program will connect to a target device and port,
prompt the user to HotSync, and perform the requested
database options specified by the user.
EXAMPLES
To backup a Palm:
pilot-xfer--backup /home/pilot/Backup
or
pilot-xfer-p /dev/irnine -b /home/pilot/Backup
To restore that backup to a non-standard serial port (for
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example, to a xcopilot or POSE session, assuming you have
xcopilot or POSE configured properly for this operation,
see the appropriate man pages for details on configuring
your emulator):
pilot-xfer-p /dev/ttyqe --restore
/home/pilot/Backup
SEE ALSOpilot-link(7).
AUTHORpilot-xfer written by Kenneth Albanowski. This manual
page was originally written by Kenneth Albanowski and
David H. Silber. Completely rewritten by David A.
Desrosiers for pilot-link 0.9.5.
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