PILOT-XFER(1)

NAME
pilot-xfer - backup and restore databases to and from a Palm Computing Device, Handspring Visor, TRGPro, or other Palm Compatible Handheld PDA

SYNOPSIS
pilot-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)

DESCRIPTION
pilot-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 contained 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 displaying of the "Skipping file..." messages

-d dbname [...], --delete dbname [...]
    Delete the specified database(s) by name (without 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. Wildcards are valid with this syntax.

-l, --list
    List the databases in the Palm, excluding OS-specific 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 prevent 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

-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 modified 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 modified 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 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 ALSO
pilot-link(7).

AUTHOR
pilot-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.