Windows 3.1 Expand Utility -R Switch (85256)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows 3.11
This article was previously published under Q85256

SUMMARY

The Expand utility (EXPAND.EXE) included with the Microsoft Windows version 3.1 contains a command line switch, -R, to automatically rename an expanded Windows 3.1 file after copying it to the destination drive.

MORE INFORMATION

The Expand utility is used to copy and decompress files that are stored on the Windows 3.1 distribution disks. The -R switch automatically renames the destination file.

For example, to expand the WINHELP.EX_ file from Microsoft Windows 3.1 disk 1 and have the file automatically renamed to WINHELP.EXE on the destination drive, do the following:

  1. Copy the EXPAND.EXE file from disk 3 of the 3.1 install disks to the Windows directory if it is not already there.
  2. From the Windows directory, type the following

    expand -r a:winhelp.ex_ c:\windows

    where "a:" is the source disk and "c:\windows" is the destination drive and directory.

    WINHELP.EX_ will be renamed to WINHELP.EXE, and the following message will be displayed:

    Expanding A:WINHELP.EX_ to C:\WINDOWS\WINHELP.EXE.
    A:WINHELP.EX_: 163861 bytes expanded to 256192 bytes, 56% increase.

The -R switch only works on files that were compressed with this feature. If the -R switch is used on a file that is not compatible with this feature, the following may occur:

  • The last character of the filename extension is replaced with a space.
  • The following error message is displayed:
    ERROR - Can't open input file: -r
KBCategory: kbusage kberrmsg
KBSubcategory: win31
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/14/2003
Keywords:KB85256
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.