The fixlost utility

Fixing lost files

The fixlost utility

The fixlost utility searches a directory - and all directories beneath it - checking each production file for references to lost files starting with a given prefix. It changes these references to use a new prefix - but only if the new reference exists, so there is no longer a lost file.

Its syntax is:

fixlost [-n] [-f] directory old_prefix new_prefix

If you use the optional -n parameter, no changes are made; but the utility reports the changes it would otherwise have made. This is useful to check what the utility will do.

If you use the optional -f parameter, references which are not lost are also modified. (The new reference must still exist, as usual). You should use this option with caution

You must specify the parameters in Windows NT UNC (Universal Naming Convention) format, even on SGI computers.

For example, say a directory of images is moved from \\tick\BGs to \\homer\BGs. To update all the files beneath \\akira\Prod1\Ep3 that refer to these backgrounds, type:

fixlost '\\akira\Prod1\Ep3' '\\tick\BGs' '\\homer\BGs'

Once you've done this, you can check if there are any other missing files:

showlost '\\akira\Prod1\Ep3'

(We recommend you always use the showlost utility after this one, to ensure that you have fixed all lost files.)

This utility also creates a backup file, or label. This is named using the current date and time: for example, .240698-1209 for 12:09 on 24/06/98. You can use these label(s) with the undofixlost utility to undo the changes made by fixlost.

Fixing lost files

The fixlost utility