1pilot-xfer(1) PILOT-LINK pilot-xfer(1)
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6 pilot-xfer - Backup, sync, and restore databases from a Palm handheld
7 device.
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10 pilot-link: Userland conduits
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14 pilot-xfer [-p <port>] [-e <file>] [-b] [-u] [-s] <directory>
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17 or
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20 pilot-xfer [-p <port>] [-r <directory>] [-l] [-L] [-P] [-f <dbname>]
21 [-d <dbname>] [-i <dbname>] [-m <file>] ...
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24 Use exactly one of -brsudfimlI; mix in -aexDPv, --rom and with-os.
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28 This is the swiss-army-knife of the entire pilot-link suite.
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31 pilot-xfer allows the user to install databases contained in the stan‐
32 dard .prc (Palm Resource Database), .pdb (Palm Record Database), and
33 .pqa (Palm Query Application) formats onto a Palm, retrieve databases
34 from the Palm, list the databases contained in a Palm, backup or
35 restore all of the databases at once as well as many other powerful
36 operations performed on a Palm handheld device.
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40 pilot-xfer options
41 Archive files which have been removed from the Palm to <dir> instead of
42 just deleting (unlinking) them.
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45 -a, --archive
46 <dir>
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50 Back up the Palm into the specified directory (which will be created if
51 it does not already exist).
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54 -b, --backup
55 <dir>
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59 Show information on available cards
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62 -C, --cardinfo
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66 Permanently delete the specified database(s) by name (without exten‐
67 sion). Obviously, be very careful with this one.
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70 --delete <dbname>
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74 Modify -l, -i or -f to use VFS dir instead of internal storage (see
75 examples section for usage)
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78 -D,
79 --vfsdir=dir
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83 Reads a list of databases from <file> and prevents --backup, --sync, or
84 --update from operating on the listed database(s). A maximum of 100
85 databases can be excluded. Databases should be specified by name with‐
86 out the extension, as displayed with --list, in any order.
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89 -e, --exclude=
90 <file>
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94 Fetch each specified database out of the Palm into the current direc‐
95 tory.
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98 Obsolete. Replaced by --rom in v0.12.
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101 -F, --Flash
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105 Install each specified file into the Palm. Wildcards are valid with
106 this syntax and multiple files may be listed at once.
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109 -i, --install
110 <file> [...]
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114 Note: the behavior of list has changed in version 0.12 and later
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117 List all the databases in the Palm, including OS-specific native data‐
118 bases.
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121 -l, --list
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125 Unsupported in 0.12 - see -l
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128 -L, --Listall
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132 Adds the records in each specified file into the corresponding Palm
133 database.
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136 -m, --merge
137 <file1> <file2> [...]
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141 Obsolete. Replaced by --with-os in v0.12 and later
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144 -O, --Osflash
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148 Purge any deleted data that haven't been cleaned up by a full synchro‐
149 nization (this is a safe operation, and will prevent your Palm from
150 accumulating unused data if you delete records but aren't syncing with
151 a PIM.) The only information you can lose is archived but un-synchro‐
152 nized records.
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155 -P, --Purge
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159 Installs all files contained in the named directory to the Palm. (Use
160 this to restore your Palm after a hard reset has cleared and wiped its
161 memory, using your backup directory as a baseline).
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164 -r, --restore
165 <dir>
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169 Modifies -b, -u, and s , to back up non-OS dbs from the internal Flash
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173 --rom
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177 Backs up the Palm into the specified directory (which will be created
178 if it does not already exist). Any Palm databases which have not been
179 modified or created since the versions stored in the specified direc‐
180 tory will not be backed up.
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183 NOTE: Any Palm databases which have been deleted will have their cor‐
184 responding backup file removed.
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187 -s, --sync
188 <dir>
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192 Not supported in v0.12. No replacement.
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195 -S, --novsf
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199 Modifies -b, -u, and s , to back up OS databases from internal Flash
200 ROM.
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203 --with-os
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207 Backs up the Palm into the specified directory (which will be created
208 if it does not already exist). Any Palm databases which have not been
209 modified or created since the versions stored in the specified direc‐
210 tory will not be backed up.
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213 -u, --update
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217 This will back up the UnsavedPreferences.prc file from the Palm. Nor‐
218 mally this file is not backed up by normal means (Palm recommends that
219 you do not restore this file upon restoration of your device using
220 --restore.
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223 This also modifies the behavior of --backup, --sync, and --update.
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226 -I, --Illegal
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230 Execute a shell command for intermediate processing. All commands will
231 be done, from left to right on the command-line, before the connection
232 to the Palm device is made.
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235 -x, --exec=command
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239 Conduit Options
240 Use device file <port> to communicate with the Palm handheld. If this
241 is not specified, pilot-xfer will look for the $PILOTPORT environment
242 variable. If neither are found, pilot-xfer will print the usage
243 information.
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246 -p, --port
247 <port>
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251 Display version of pilot-xfer and exit without connecting.
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254 -v, --version
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258 Help Options
259 Display the help synopsis for pilot-xfer and exit without connecting.
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262 -h, --help
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266 Display a brief usage message and exit without connecting.
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269 --usage
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274 The program will attempt to connect to a target Palm handheld device
275 and specified port and perform the requested options specified by the
276 user on the commandline.
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280 To perform a full backup of your Palm handheld:
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283 # using long options
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286 pilot-xfer --port /dev/pilot --backup $HOME/pilot/Backup
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291 # or over IrDA, using short options
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294 pilot-xfer -p /dev/ircomm0 -b $HOME/pilot/Backup
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299 To restore that backup to a non-standard serial port (for example, to a
300 xcopilot or POSE session, assuming you have xcopilot or POSE configured
301 properly for this operation, see the appropriate man pages for details
302 on configuring your emulator):
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305 pilot-xfer -p /dev/ttyqe --restore $HOME/pilot/Backup
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310 To fetch a file that is on your Palm handheld, such as the Palm Address
311 Book database, you could do the following. This will connect to
312 /dev/pilot and retrieve the records found in AddressDB and place them
313 in a local file called AddressDB.pdb (Palm Record Database).
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316 pilot-xfer -p /dev/pilot --fetch AddressDB
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321 This will connect to your Palm device and install the application Foo
322 (in Foo.prc) to your external storage card (typically an SD or MMC
323 card) in the directory /Palm/Launcher on that card, using VFS.
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326 pilot-xfer -p /dev/pilot -i Foo.prc -D /Palm/Launcher
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332 pilot-xfer written by Kenneth Albanowski. This manual page was origi‐
333 nally written by Kenneth Albanowski and David H. Silber. Completely
334 rewritten by David A. Desrosiers. Updated for 0.12 by Neil Williams <
335 linux@codehelp.co.uk > .
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339 Known Bugs
340 --backup will currently truncate/corrupt pdb/prc files if the communi‐
341 cation to the device is interrupted during sync (such as removing the
342 Palm from the cradle, or a temporary network hiccup during a NetSync).
343 Ideally, this should restore the original file, or delete the corrupted
344 version and restore the original version back into place, but
345 presently.. it does not.
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348 Reporting Bugs
349 We have an online bug tracker. Using this is the only way to ensure
350 that your bugs are recorded and that we can track them until they are
351 resolved or closed. Reporting bugs via email, while easy, is not very
352 useful in terms of accountability. Please point your browser to
353 http://bugs.pilot-link.org: http://bugs.pilot-link.org and report your
354 bugs and issues there.
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358 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
359 under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
360 Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
361 option) any later version.
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364 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
365 WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MER‐
366 CHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General
367 Public License for more details.
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370 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
371 with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
372 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
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376 pilot-link(7)
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3810.12.4 Copyright 1996-2007 FSF pilot-xfer(1)