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██████╗ █████╗ ██████╗ User's Manual ██╔══██╗ ██╔══██╗ ██╔══██╗ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ██████╔╝ ███████║ ██████╔╝ RAR 2.50 DOS and OS/2 versions ██╔══██╗ ██╔══██║ ██╔══██╗ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ██║ ██║ ██║ ██║ ██║ ██║ Multifunctional Integrated Archive Manager ╚═╝ ╚═╝ ╚═╝ ╚═╝ ╚═╝ ╚═╝ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Welcome to the RAR Archiver! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Introduction ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ RAR is an extremely powerful tool which allows you to manage and control archive files. RAR features include:- * Full-screen interactive interface (Optional) * Mouse support and menus * Non-RAR archive support * Common 'standard' command-line interface * Highly sophisticated, original compression algorithm * Special compression algorithm optimized for multimedia data * Better compression than other PC tools using 'solid' archiving * Authenticity verification (registered version only) * Self-extracting archives and volumes (SFX) * Ability to recover physically damaged archives * Programmable installation SFX archives * locking, password, file order list, disk volume labels & more ... ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Chapter 1. Installation and Configuration ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ This chapter describes how to install and configure RAR, as well as giving information on technical requirements. 1.1. Installation procedure RAR is distributed as a self-extracting (SFX) archive named RAR???.EXE for DOS version or RAR???P.EXE for OS/2 version where '???' is the version number. Local language versions may also be available in the format RARnnnxx.exe where "nnn" is the version number and "xx" is the country code. 1.1.1. RAR for DOS installation RAR for DOS installation consists of three basic steps:- .. Start the RAR Self-Extracting archive .. Choose a directory for the RAR files .. Initiate the RAR installation For example, on floppy disk A: you have the file RAR200.EXE, this will be RAR version 2.00. You may install it to your C: disk by typing, at the DOS prompt, the following command (executing the RAR self-extracting archive): C:\> A:RAR200 You will be prompted with the RAR archive comment. Press any key to continue, or press ESC to cancel the extraction. Then you will enter the RAR installation menu. Choose "Read license" to view the RAR license for usage and distribution. Pressing <Esc> to return to the installation menu. Choose "Destination directory" to enter the path for installation. Choose "Install" to extract the RAR files to the destination directory. When the extraction is successfully completed, a number of files will be placed in the destination directory and RAR will be ready for use. 1.1.2. RAR for OS/2 installation RAR for OS/2 installation consists of three basic steps:- .. Create a directory for the RAR files .. Make this directory the current working directory .. Execute the RAR Self-Extracting archive For example, on floppy disk A: you have the file RAR200P.EXE, this will be RAR version 2.00 for OS/2. You may install it to your C: disk by typing, at the OS prompt, the following commands: [C:\] mkdir RAR [C:\] cd RAR [C:\RAR] You have now created a new directory, C:\RAR, and it is the current working directory. Then execute the RAR self-extracting archive: [C:\RAR] A:RAR200P You will be prompted with the RAR archive comment. Press any key to continue, or press ESC to cancel the extraction. When the extraction is successfully completed, a number of files will be placed in the current directory and RAR will be ready for use. 1.1.3. Installation hints The archiver program itself is named RAR.EXE. This module contains all of the archiver's functionality, packing, unpacking, repairing, SFX creation etc. It is recommended that the name of the directory, containing the RAR files, be added to the PATH environment variable. This will enable RAR to be used from any directory. Alternatively the critical modules of RAR may be copied to your "Utilities" directory. These modules are RAR.EXE and RAR.CFG (RAR.EXE, RAR2.CFG and RARARC2.CFG for OS/2 version), although it is not essential, you may copy UNRAR.EXE as well. 1.2. Option menu A number of RAR options may be configured and saved to be used as default options. To access this menu, start RAR without any parameters and then press Function key 9 (F9) to bring up the Options menu: C:\RAR> RAR When RAR has been started, press F9 - the following menu will appear: ┌─────────────────────────────────┐ │ Configuration... │ │ Set password ALT-P │ │ Work directory ALT-W │ │ Default comment file │ │ External viewer │ │ Change disk ALT-D │ │ Registration │ │ Save options ALT-S │ └─────────────────────────────────┘ Press <Enter> for the sub-menu "Configuration". The configuration menu offers a number of basic options which may be changed. In the configuration menu, use the arrow keys to move from item to item. An item value may be changed by hitting the <space> key. When all items are set as desired, move to the "Ok" field and hit <Enter> to save the chosen values. To discard any changes, move to the "Cancel" field and hit <Enter>. If you have a mouse attached, this process is even easier. Simply move the mouse cursor to the desired item and click the left mouse key. When you have completed the configuration, move the mouse cursor to the field " Ok " and click on the left mouse key. To discard changes click the left mouse key on the " Cancel " field. "Configuration/Interface options" Color Selects/Deselects color in full-screen mode Sound Enables RAR's sound effects Stdout mode Forces RAR to run in console (stdout) mode while processing commands from the command line Mouse Enables the use of mouse-support in full-screen mode "Configuration/Archiving options" Always solid Forces RAR to create solid archives which archiving are often very much smaller than "normal" archives. See RAR_FAQ.TXT for more details. Default is ON and all created archives will be made in 'solid' mode. If you are making archives which will be frequently updated, the speed of update will be increased by changing this option, at the expense of compression ratio. Multimedia Enables special compression .a compression designed for digital audio and some types of graphic. See '-mm' description for details. Put recovery record If this option is selected RAR will add recovery record to any new or modified archive. See 'rr' command description for details. {+} Put Authenticity Forces RAR to place -AV (Authenticity verification Verification) into archives when they are created. (This feature is only available in the registered version) "Configuration/Compression" Choose the default compression level from one of the following: Store ...... Do not compress file when adding to archive Fastest .... Use fastest method (least compressive) Fast ....... Use fast compression method Normal ..... Use normal (default) compression method Good ....... Use good compression method (more compressive) Best ....... Use best compression method (most compressive) Default is 'Normal' and is chosen as the best compromise between time taken and compression ratio achieved. Marginally higher (0.1% - 1.5%) compression may be achieved with 'Good' or 'Best', at the expense of 10% - 100% longer processing time. "Configuration/Include file mask" Choose the categories of files to be included when adding to an archive from the following: Read only files ..... Add files with 'Read-only' attribute System files ........ Add files with 'System' attribute Archive files ....... Add files with 'Archive' attribute Hidden files ........ Add files with 'Hidden' attribute Default is 'Read-Only, System, Archive or Hidden' and is used such that ALL files in a directory will be archived if the general wildcard (*.*) is used. For more information on file attributes, please refer to your DOS manual. "Configuration/Sort order" Choose the sort mode for viewing the archive contents in full-screen mode from one of the following: Unsorted ......... Do not sort files By name .......... Sort files by name By extension ..... Sort files by extension By size .......... Sort files by size Default is 'Sort files by names'. "Configuration/Other options" Use 386 instructions Forces RAR to detect the CPU type and use 386 CPU 32-bit instructions if an appropriate processor (386 or higher) is available. This option is present only in the DOS version as RAR for OS/2 always uses 32-bit instructions. Use expanded memory Allows the use of expanded memory (EMS 4.0). Present only in the DOS version. Save extended Enables the saving of OS/2 extended attributes attributes. Present only in OS/2 version. {+} Log errors to file Enables the logging of critical errors to a file RAR.LOG. (This feature is only available in the registered version) "Set password" Assign a password which will used when you add/extract files to/from an archive. You may define the password using <Alt-P>. Note, the password will not be saved to the configuration file. "Work directory" The path where RAR will place temporary files. This may be changed at any time by pressing <Alt-W>. "Default comment file" If you would like a common comment added to every archive you are creating, enter the full path and name here. "External viewer" You may assign an external viewer program to run for viewing file in archives (by pressing <F3>). While viewing a file of the archive in full-screen mode RAR uses the internal viewer if an external viewer has not been configured. The internal viewer provides for dynamic extraction of the file. This means the viewer extracts only those parts which are currently needed for viewing. As more is needed, more is read, etc. While using the external viewer the entire file is extracted before actual view. "Change disk" You may change the current disk displayed in the work window. "Registration" To register RAR you must have a registration code. This code may be obtained by sending the completed registration form to your local registration site or the world-wide distribution center. You will receive the latest version of RAR along with your registration key and will then be able to create archives containing Authenticity verification. "Save setup" Pressing <Enter> or clicking the left mouse key on this item will pop up a small confirmation window in which the user is invited to " Save " or " Cancel " the saving of the new configuration for future default usage in RAR. RAR stores the default configuration in the file RAR.CFG, which is held in the same directory as RAR.EXE. The configuration may also be saved by pressing ALT-S keys, (pressing the "S" key while simultaneously holding down the "ALT" key). These options may also be set by using the left mouse key in the window "Settings": DOS version: ┌────────────── Settings ─────────────┐ │ Password Absent │ │ Compression level Normal │ │ Multimedia compression Disabled │ │ Add recovery record Disabled │ │ Add AV to archives Disabled │ │ Make solid archives Optional │ │ Log errors to file Enabled │ │ Default comment file Absent │ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ OS/2 version: ┌────────────── Settings ─────────────┐ │ Priority and sleep time 0 : 0 │ │ Save extended attrib. Enabled │ │ Password Absent │ │ Compression level Normal │ │ Dictionary size 256 Kb │ │ Multimedia compression Disabled │ │ Add recovery record Disabled │ │ Add AV to archives Disabled │ │ Make solid archives Always │ │ Log errors to file Disabled │ │ Default comment file Absent │ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ For example, click the left mouse key on the word 'Absent' in the setting 'Password', you will be prompted to enter a new password. Clicking the left mouse key on the word 'Optional' in the setting 'Make solid archives' would cause toggle to 'Always' - that will force RAR to create solid archives. 1.3. RAR environment variable Default parameters may be added to the RAR command line by establishing an environment variable, using the DOS "SET" command. Examples: C:\> SET RAR=-std -s RAR will use this string as default parameters in the command line. RAR handles options with the following priority: command line switches highest priority switches in the RAR variable lower priority options saved in RAR.CFG lowest priority The switches -sfx, -v, -s and -std from the RAR variable have no effect in full-screen mode. 1.4. Technical requirements (DOS version only) Minimum DOS version to run RAR: 3.0 Minimum memory requirements to perform commands and corresponding operations (in Kbytes) are:- Commands: ╔══════════════════╤══════════════════╗ A,F,M,U ║Command line mode │ Full-screen mode ║ ╟─────────┬────────┼─────────┬────────╢ ║Not solid│ Update │Not solid│ Update ║ ║or adding│ solid │or adding│ solid ║ ║to solid │ archive│to solid │ archive║ ╔════════════╫─────────┼────────┼─────────┼────────╢ ║EMS enabled ║ 337 │ 409 │ 409 │ 481 ║ ║EMS disabled║ 401 │ 473 │ 473 │ 545 ║ ╚════════════╩═════════╧════════╧═════════╧════════╝ Commands: CW,E,P,T,X Command: C ╔════════════╦═════════╗ ╔════════════╦═════════╗ ║EMS enabled ║ 217 ║ ║EMS enabled ║ 409 ║ ║EMS disabled║ 281 ║ ║EMS disabled║ 473 ║ ╚════════════╩═════════╝ ╚════════════╩═════════╝ Command: D ╔══════════╦══════════════════════════╗ ║ Not solid║ Solid archive ║ ║ archive ╟────────────┬─────────────╢ ║ ║Command line│ Full-screen ║ ╔════════════╫──────────╫────────────┼─────────────╢ ║EMS enabled ║ 217 ║ 409 │ 481 ║ ║EMS disabled║ 217 ║ 473 │ 545 ║ ╚════════════╩══════════╩════════════╧═════════════╝ Update AV to non-solid archive will require some extra memory. Commands: CF,EN,K,L, ╔═════════╤════════╗ R,RR,S,V ║ No AV │ Add AV ║ ╔════════════╫─────────┼────────╢ ║EMS enabled ║ 217 │ 409 ║ ║EMS disabled║ 217 │ 473 ║ ╚════════════╩═════════╧════════╝ If available memory is increased, by 32 Kb or more, over the minimum requirements, compression speed will increase. Compression ratio may also slightly increase. Generally the use of wildcards ('*' and '?') in an archive name or argument list from an external file (also with '-x' feature) will require extra memory. For extracting from and updating non-RAR archives add the memory requirements of the external archiver. 1.5. The external archiver configuration file - RARARC2.CFG (OS/2 version only) The configuration file RARARC2.CFG is intended to define external programs which RAR should call to process ZIP, ARJ and LZH archives. Actually it contains three sections for these archivers. This file is fully explained with comment line. 1.6. Errorlevels When RAR.EXE quits to DOS it sets the environment variable ERRORLEVEL to a value representing the termination status (last operation status and reason for exit). 255 USER BREAK Ctrl/Break pressed by user 8 MEMORY ERROR Not enough memory for operation 7 USER ERROR Command line option error 6 OPEN ERROR Open file error 5 WRITE ERROR Write to disk error 4 LOCKED ARCHIVE Attempt to modify an archive previously locked by the 'k' command 3 CRC ERROR A CRC error occurred when unpacking 2 FATAL ERROR A fatal error occurred 1 WARNING Non fatal error(s) occurred 0 SUCCESS Successful operation (User exit) The self-extracting (SFX) module quits with following codes: 1 PROBLEMS Error(s) occurred during extraction 0 SUCCESS Successful operation ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Chapter 2. Using RAR Interactively ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ When you execute the command "RAR" at the Dos prompt, you are presented with the full-screen interface - this is known as RAR's interactive full-screen mode. For example, you enter: C:\> RAR On the right hand side of the opening screen, you will be presented with a dialogue box containing the memory status and settings window. This information includes: current compression method, password status (present or absent), multimedia compression (enabled/disabled), add recovery record (enabled/disabled), authenticity verification status (enabled/disabled), default comment file .. present or not. OS/2 version settings also include priority and sleep time, save extended attributes (enabled/disabled) and dictionary size. On the left-hand side of the screen you are presented with a list of files in the current directory. You can move the cursor through the files on the screen by using cursor keys or clicking the left mouse button. Pressing <Enter> when the cursor is positioned on a directory, up- directory ("..") or archive file name, will cause entry to be made to that item. The following archive types are recognized by RAR: .RAR, .ARJ, .ZIP and .LZH. Entering an archive, causes the files within the archive to be displayed in a similar manner to a directory listing. It is therefore possible to "walk through" directories and archive files, managing files both in archives and normal directories. In "directory" mode, the bottom like of the screen contains a menu of functions provided by the function keys. 1-Help 2-Add 3-View 4-Fresh 5-Volume 6-Move 7-Update 8-Delete 9-Option 0-Quit The line indicates that you may obtain help by pressing <F1>, add files to an archive by pressing <F2>, view files by pressing <F3> etc. Press <F10> to quit. These functions are the main command set when you are in a directory (not in archive). Alternatively, pressing and holding down the <ALT> key will cause the display of additional functions: 1- 2-Solid 3-View.. 4-SFX 5-SFXVol 6-SolVol 7-SolSVl 8-Repair 9-SolSFX 0- This indicates that Pressing <ALT-F2> may be used to create a SOLID archive, <ALT-F3> to view an archive using the internal viewer, etc. Also shown, by holding down the <ALT> key, will be the options list: Alt-C ... Toggle between color and monochrome mode Alt-D ... Select drive Alt-J ... DOS shell Alt-M ... Select compression method Alt-P ... Set password Alt-S ... Save setup Alt-W ... Set work directory to store temporary files The OS/2 version contains two additional options: Alt-A ... Select dictionary size (see -md<size> description for details) Alt-R ... Set task priority and sleep time (see ri[:<S>] description for details) Pressing keys, other than those which indicate options and functions, will put RAR into speed search mode for file names. This feature can save a lot of keystrokes when looking for specific file names. Changing from a directory to an archive will automatically change the set of available functions to those which are more suitable to those circumstances. In "archive" mode the available functions line looks like: 1-Help 2-Test 3-View 4-Extr 5-Comment 6-ExCurD 7-SFX 8-Delete 9-Option 0-Quit This line indicates you may obtain help by pressing <F1>, test files in archive by pressing <F2>, view file by <F3> etc. Press <F10> to quit. These functions are the main set when you are inside (Entered- to) an archive. Alternatively, when holding down the <Alt> key, the following would be displayed: 1- 2- 3-View.. 4-ExtrTo 5-FilCmt 6-AddRec 7-Lock 8 9 0 Files may be marked/unmarked by using the [Space], [Ins], or right mouse key. You may also mark/unmark file groups by wildcards (file mask) using the [Gray +] and [Gray -] keys on the numeric keypad. Marking a directory, automatically marks all the sub-directories and files within it. The marked/unmarked status of a group of files may be reversed by using the [Gray *] key. Marking or unmarking a file, or group of files, updates a highlighted status display line at the bottom of the screen. This status line indicates the number of files marked and the total size in bytes (the file size of marked directories is not included in the summary file size). In full-screen mode, the use of the mouse is fully supported. Use the left mouse key to move through a directory. Click the left key twice to <Enter>. Use the right key to mark files. When entering text (archive name, password etc.) the left mouse key cancels the data entry operation and right mouse key confirms entered text. Use the left mouse key to choose function commands (F1-F10) of menu items and options. 2.1. In a directory F1 Help information F2 Add file(s) to an archive, if the archive does not exist, it will be created F3 View a file (if no external viewer is set, the internal viewer will be used) F4 Freshen files in an archive - only recently changed files will be added instead of their old copies in archive F5 Create archive volumes (Span diskettes) F6 Add files not already in the archive and update those files changed since they were packed to the archive F7 Move file(s) to archive F8 Repair a damaged archive F9 Set up / Save options F10 Quit RAR. Pressing the ESC key has the same effect. Alt-F2 Create a solid archive. Alt-F3 View a file (with internal viewer). Alt-F4 Create a SFX archive. Alt-F5 Create Self-Extracting (SFX) volumes. Alt-F6 Create solid archive volumes. Alt-F7 Create solid SFX-volumes. Alt-F8 Repair a broken archive. Alt-F9 Create a solid SFX archive 2.2. In an archive Press [Enter] with the cursor on the archive name to expand the archive contents. The same effect may be achieved with the command- line option "en". (See Chapter 3, 'en' command) Once inside an archive, the list of files is displayed on the left side of the screen. These files may be marked, just as files in a directory. An asterisk (*) to the left of a file name, indicates that the file is password encrypted. Below the list of files the status line is displayed. Status line contains information about size and number of selected files and directories or if no files are selected about the current marked file: name, and at the end of status line - compression method, dictionary size and ratio. The right-hand portion of the screen is given over to a dialogue box, which includes information on: archive name and status, presence of comments, encrypted files, recovery record, authenticity verification, dictionary size, total number of files in the archive, file sizes, compression ratio, the minimum RAR version required to extract files and the host Operating System used to create the archive. For example: Dialogue Box: Meaning: Archive EXAMPLE.RAR archive name Archive type Normal not a 'solid' archive Main comment Present archive comment present File comments Absent no individual file comments Passwords Absent no password encrypted files Recovery data Present recovery record present Lock Absent archive is not locked Auth. verif. Present authenticity verification is present Dictionary 64Kb dictionary size Files 1 number of files (1) Total length 14917 total length in bytes Packed length 3938 length in archive Ratio 26% compression ratio. Now 26% of original size. Version to extr. 2.00 minimum RAR version required to extract Host OS DOS OS used to create this archive Function keys actions: F1 Help information F2 Test archive (validate integrity) F3 View a file (if an external viewer is not set, the internal viewer will be used) F4 Extract files from an archive with directory structure F5 Add a comment to the archive F6 Extract file(s) to the current directory F7 Make a Self-Extracting (SFX) archive F8 Delete file(s) from an archive F9 Set up / Save options F10 Quit RAR ESC Return from the archive Alt-F3 View a file (using the internal viewer) Alt-F4 Extract file(s) to an alternate path Alt-F5 Add individual file comment(s) Alt-F6 Add archive recovery record Alt-F7 Lock the archive preventing modifications When working with archive volumes in full-screen mode you must begin the process with the first volume, you will be prompted with a menu: "Proceed with all volumes from current" "Proceed with selected files only" Choose the method you wish to use to work with the volumes. When files are displayed which were split between archive volumes, the compressed size displayed refers to the compressed size on the current volume. The symbol '<-' indicates that part of the file exists on a previous volume. The symbol '->' indicates that part of the file exist on the next volume. You can change to the previous or next volume by pressing corresponding arrow keys (left or right). 2.3. In a non-RAR archive In full-screen mode RAR offers the management of non-RAR archives. Supported non-RAR archive types are ZIP, ARJ and LZH. RAR provides the following operations for non-RAR archives: - extract files, creating the directory structure; - extract to the current directory; - extract to a specified directory; - test files in the archive; - delete files from the archive; - view contents of the archive in full-screen mode; - make SFX-archives; - add archive comment (ZIP and ARJ only); - add file comment (ZIP and ARJ only). Also the user may set a password for the archive (pressing Alt-P) and the path for temporary files (Alt-W). For viewing the archive contents the user will need only RAR. However for operations with non-RAR archives the user should have the corresponding programs (PKUNZIP, PKZIP, ZIP2EXE, ARJ, LHA, or as specified in RARARC2.CFG for OS/2 version), also the path to these programs must be included in the PATH environment variable. You can use RAR as the archive manager for archives of all the above-mentioned types in shell programs such as Norton Commander. Note, RAR does not provide facilities for the management of non-RAR SFX archives. Only the standard LZH archive header is supported. Archives created by LHA using the switch '/h2' are not supported. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Chapter 3. RAR Command Line Options ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Command line mode is an alternative to the full-screen interactive mode. This mode is best used in batch files and requires no interaction. Usage: RAR <command> -<switch1> -<switchN> <archive> <files...> <@listfiles...> <path_to_extract\> All parameters must exist on the same, single command line. command .. The function to be performed by RAR, add, extract, move etc. switch .. Switches used to define a specific type of operation, compression strength, type of archive etc. archive .. The name of the archive to be operated upon. files .. The files to be processed. listfiles .. The name of a file containing the names of the files to be operated upon. path_to_extract Used only with commands 'e' and 'x', indicating the directory in which to place extracted files. If this directory does not exist, it will be created. NOTE: The use of the terminating backslash character, on this parameter, is MANDATORY. 3.1. Commands (Alphabetic sequence) .. a: add files to archive .. c: add archive comment Pressing [F10] will save the entered comment and exit. Pressing [Esc] will cancel the comment. Pressing [F10] without entering a comment will remove any existing comment. Comments are displayed while the archive is being processed. The maximum comment length is 16384 bytes. Support for ANSI esc-sequences is provided in RAR which allows the use of color and cursor movements. No ANSI driver is required to display such comments. Redefinition of the keyboard using ANSI esc-sequences is NOT supported and thus the so-called ANSI-bombs cannot be delivered using RAR. Example: RAR c distrib.rar Comments may be entered from a file by using the '-z<file>' switch before the name of the file containing the comment. RAR c -zinfo.txt dummy .. cf: add file comments (not to entire archive) Pressing [F10] will save the entered comment and exit. Pressing [Esc] will cancel the comment. Pressing [F10] without entering a comment will remove any existing comment. Comments are displayed when the 'v' command is given. Comment length is limited to 16384 bytes. Example: RAR cf bigarch *.txt .. cw: write the archive comment to a file Example: RAR cw oldarch comment.txt The comment from the archive oldarch.rar will be written to the file comment.txt .. d: delete files from archive Note: If the processing of this command resulted in removing all the files from the archive, the empty archive would itself be removed. .. e: extract files from archive to current directory .. en: start RAR in full-screen mode and enter an archive Usually this command is included in the extension file of a shell processor such as Norton Commander: RAR: RAR en !.! Examples: RAR en disk1.rar RAR en puppy.zip The 'en' may also be omitted, simply start RAR with the archive name. Example: RAR baby.arj .. f: freshen files in archive Updates those files changed since they were packed to the archive. This command will not add new files to the archive. .. k: lock archive Any commands that could change the archive will be ignored. Example: RAR k final.rar .. l: list archive contents (brief listing) Files are listed as with the 'v' command with the exception of the file path. i.e. only the file name is displayed. .. m: move files and directories to archive Moving files and directories results in the files and directories being erased upon successful completion of the packing operation. Directories will not be removed if '-ed' switch is used. .. mf: move files to archive Moving files results in the files being erased upon successful completion of the packing operation. .. p: print file(s) to screen (STDOUT) .. r: repair a damaged archive Archive repairing consists of two stages. Firstly, the damaged archive is scanned for a recovery record (see the 'rr' command). If the archive contains a previously added recovery record and if the portion of the damaged data is continuous and less than N*512 bytes, where N is number of recovery sectors placed into the archive, the chance of a successful archive reconstruction is very high. When this stage has been completed, a new archive will be created, called _RECOVER.RAR If a damaged archive does not contain a recovery record or if the archive cannot be completely recovered due to too severe damage, a second stage is begun. During this stage only the archive structure is reconstructed and it is impossible to recover files which fail CRC validation, but it is still possible to recover undamaged files which were inaccessible due to a broken archive structure. Generally this is useful for non- solid archives. When this stage has been completed, a new archive will be created, called _RECONST.RAR While the recovery process is in operation, RAR may prompt the user for assistance when suspicious files are located. Suspicious entry Name: <possibly filename> Size: <size> Packed: <compressed size> Add it: Yes/No/All Answer 'Y' to add this entry to the file $RECOVER.RAR. Example: RAR r buggy.rar .. rr[N]: add data recovery record Optionally, redundant information (recovery record) may be added to an archive, incurring a small penalty in archive size, which will help to recover archived files in the case of floppy disk failure or other data losses. A recovery record may contain up to 8 recovery sectors. The number of sectors may be specified directly in the 'rr' command (N = 1 .. 8) or selected automatically according to the archive size: Archive size Number of sectors < 50Kb 2 50Kb-500Kb 4 > 500Kb 8 If damaged data is continuous then each sector is able to recover 512 bytes of damaged information, although this value may decrease for multiple areas of damage. The size of the recovery record may be calculated (approximately) as <archive size>/256 + <number of recovery sectors>*512 bytes. .. s: convert archive to a Self-Extracting (SFX) type. In the Dos environment, this will create a *.EXE file which, when executed, will extract the files contained within it. It is also possible to make an SFX archive as the first of a multi-volume sequence, but it should be noted that the size will be larger by the amount of the SFX-module. Please ensure that the first volume in the sequence is created with the correct size. Should SFX volumes be created using the command 'a' with the switches: '-v[<size>] -sfx', then you do not need to ensure the volume size - first volume will be automatically created with the proper size. Example: RAR s diamant .. s<file.sfx>: convert archive to a Self-Extracting (SFX) type using alternate SFX module You may indicate an alternate SFX module (pathname) to build the SFX archive. For instance the Installation SFX: RAR sidos.sfx myinst RAR c -zscript.s myinst See the Installation SFX documentation, SFX.DOC, for details of the command language of the installation SFX. .. t: test archive files This command performs a dummy file extraction, writing nothing to the output stream, in order to validate the specified file(s). .. u: update files in archive Adds files not already in the archive and updates those files changed since they were packed to the archive. .. v: verbosely list archive content (full listing) Files are listed using the format: full pathname, file comment, original and compressed size, compression ratio, last update date and time, attributes, CRC, compression method with the code of sliding dictionary size and minimum RAR version required to extract. The dictionary size is coded as following: 'a' means 64 Kb, 'b' - 128 Kb, 'c' - 256 Kb, 'd' - 512 Kb, 'e' - 1024 Kb. To list the contents of all archive volumes, use and asterisk (*) in place of the archive file extension. Example: RAR v multivol.* .. x: extract files from archive to original (relative) directory if pathnames exist in the archive Command limitations: The commands 'd', 'u', 'f', 'c', 'cf' will not operate with archive volumes. The command 'a' cannot be used to update an archive volume, only to create one. 3.2. Switches (Alphabetic sequence) .. -? display help on commands and switches .. -$[drive] provide volume label support When adding to an archive the switch causes the adding of the volume label of the current or specified disk drive to the archive. When extracting from the archive the switch instructs RAR to set the volume label from the archive to the specified disk drive or, if not specified, to the drive on which extraction has been processed. Volume labels are ignored in SFX and the UNRAR utility. .. -ac clear Archive attribute after compression or extraction .. -ao add files with Archive attribute set Example: add all disk C: files with Archive attribute set to the 'f:backup' and clear files Archive attribute rar a -r -ac -ao f:backup c:\*.* .. -ap set path inside archive this path is merged to file names when adding files to an archive and removed from file names when extracting. For example, if you wish to add the file 'readme.txt' to the directory 'DOCS\ENG' of archive 'release', you may run: rar a -apDOCS\ENG release readme.txt or to extract 'ENG' to the current directory: rar x -apDOCS release DOCS\ENG\*.* .. -av apply authenticity verification (registered versions only) RAR will put, in every new and updated archive, information concerning the creator, last update time and archive name. If an archive, containing authenticity verification, is being modified and this switch is not specified, the authenticity verification information will be removed. When extracting, testing, listing or updating and archive with the '-av' switch, RAR will perform integrity validation and display the message: Verifying authenticity information ... In the case of successful authenticity verification, the message 'Ok', creator name and last update information will be displayed. In the case of authenticity verification failure, the message 'FAILED' will be displayed. When creating archive volumes with the '-av' switch, Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) information will be added to each volume. The Authenticity Verification feature, '-av,' is recommended for use with archives in a software distribution environment. In order to enable the Authenticity verification feature, the program MUST be registered. Please contact your local distribution site or the world-wide distribution center. .. -av- disable checking or adding authenticity verification .. -b enable backup archives This switch will create a backup before an archive is modified. The backup file will have the same name as the original archive but with the .BAK extension. Should this file already exist, the backup file will be named with a .$BK extension. .. -bw black & white (monochrome) mode .. -c- disable comment display .. -cfg- disable read configuration and environment .. -col color mode .. -dh disable sharing files This helps when accessing files open by other applications on networks or multi-tasking environment. .. -ds do not sort files while adding to a solid archive Note: see the RARFILES.LST description - solid archiving file order list. .. -e<s,h,a,r> set file exclusion attributes The switches 's', 'h', 'a' or 'r' signify that files having the System, Hidden, Archive or Read only attributes should be excluded. The order in which the attributes are given is not significant. Example: RAR a -ehs purity *.exe Do NOT add files with Hidden or System attributes. .. -ed do not add empty directories This switch indicates that empty directories are not to be stored in the created archive. .. -ems- disable EMS usage (DOS version only) .. -ee disable extended attributes saving (OS/2 version only) .. -ep exclude paths from names This switch enables files to be added to an archive without including the path information. This could, of course, result in multiple files existing in the archive with the same name. .. -ep1 exclude base dir from names Do not store the path from the command line. Example: RAR a -ep1 -r pasta tmp\*.* All files and directories from the directory TMP will be added to the archive 'pasta', but the path will not include 'TMP\'. This is equivalent to the commands: cd tmp RAR a -ep1 -r pasta cd .. .. -f freshen files May be used with archive extraction or creation. The command string "a -f" is equivalent to the command 'f', you could also use the switch '-f' with the commands 'm' or 'mf'. If the switch '-f' is used with the commands 'x' or 'e', then only old files would be replaced with new versions extracted from the archive. .. -ialt Disables the changing, by pressing the left Alt key, the context function key information in the bottom line of the screen (in full-screen mode). This helps some users who wished to use certain TSRs while in RAR. The action of the left and right function keys are in other respects, unchanged. This may be permanently configured by adding the switch to the RAR environment variable (SET in autoexec.bat) with SET RAR=-ialt .. -kb keep broken extracted files RAR, by default, deletes files with CRC errors after extraction. The switch -kb specifies that files with CRC errors should not be deleted. .. -m<0..5> set compression method -m0 store do not compress file when adding to archive -m1 fastest use fastest method (less compressive) -m2 fast use fast compression method -m3 normal use normal (default) compression method -m4 good use good compression method (more compressive, but slower) -m5 best use best compression method (sightly more compressive, but slowest) By default RAR uses -m3 method (Normal compression). .. -md<size>: select dictionary size in Kb (OS/2 version only) size must be equal to 64, 128, 256, 512 or 1024 or a letter 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd' or 'e' accordingly. The sliding dictionary is a special memory area used by the compression algorithm. If the size of the file being compressed (or the total files size in the case of a solid archive) is greater than the dictionary size, then increasing the dictionary size will generally increase compression ratio, decrease packing speed and increase memory requirements. RAR for DOS has a fixed dictionary size of 64 Kb. RAR for OS/2 (and other 32-bit platforms) has a default dictionary size of 256Kb, but this may be changed by the user to be 64 Kb, 128 Kb, 256 Kb, 512 Kb or 1024 Kb. Unlike compression, extraction speed is unaffected by dictionary size. The amount of memory required to create large dictionary archives may be calculated as 5*<dictionary size>+150Kb. About 1 Mb is required for extraction and 5*<dictionary size>+1150Kb to update solid archives. RAR for DOS can extract from large dictionary archives using conventional, EMS and disk memory. If no EMS or disk cache is available, the operation may slow down significantly. RAR for DOS cannot convert large dictionary archives to SFX with the default SFX module and cannot update such solid archives. Example: RAR a -s -mdd sources *.asm or RAR a -s -md512 sources *.asm Will create a solid archive using a 512 Kb dictionary. .. -mm multimedia compression Enables a special multimedia compression algorithm. This is intended to be used primarily when compressing raw digital audio data such as WAV's up to four 8-bit or two 16-bit channels but also show good results with true color (24-bit) bitmaps. An improvement in the compression ratio, of up to 30%, may be expected over normal compression. During archiving of a file, in multimedia mode, RAR performs intelligent data analysis and may use the general or multimedia compression algorithm for different parts of the file depending upon which algorithm is the more suitable. Such analysis allows optimum performance when different data types exist in the same file (This is typical for STM and MOD files). The switches -m<N> "Set compression method" and -s "Create solid archive" also may be used with multimedia compression but -m<N> influences only those parts compressed with the general algorithm. If -mm is used with data which is not multimedia, the compression ratio, generally, will not be changed but, due to the multimedia analysis overhead, speed is always decreased. So it is not recommended to use -mm with data other than multimedia data. Note: multimedia compression is designed only for a certain file types. E.g. it works well with WAV, STM, MOD and true color bitmaps, but will gain nothing for MID, GIF, JPG or 8-bit bitmaps. Example: RAR a -m5 -s -mm songs *.wav .. -mmf force multimedia compression This switch works as the -mm with one exception: it always compress files as multimedia independent of the multimedia analysis results. Usually this leads to a worse compression ratio but may be useful in the hypothetical case when RAR cannot correctly detect a multimedia file. .. -o+ overwrite existing files .. -o- do not overwrite existing files (default) .. -p<password> set password .. -p set password The password is case-sensitive. If you omit the password on the command line, you will be prompted with: Enter password: Example: RAR a -pmyhoney secret *.txt Newly added files will be encrypted with the password 'myhoney'. .. -r recurse subdirectories May be used with commands: 'a', 'u', 'f', 'm', 'x', 'e', 't', 'p', 'v', 'l', 'c', 'cf' and 's'. When used with the commands, 'a', 'u', 'f' or 'm', will process files in all sub-directories as well as the current working directory. When used with the commands, 'x', 'e', 't', 'p', 'v', 'l', 'c', 'cf' or 's', will process all archives in sub-directories as well as the current working directory. .. -r0 recurse subdirectories (wildcards only) Similar to -r, but when used with the commands 'a', 'u', 'f', 'm' will recurse subdirectories only for wildcard names. .. -ri[:<S>] set priority and sleep time (OS/2 version only) This option is used to regulate system load by RAR in a multitasking environment. The task priority (possible values, 0 to 128) is the OS/2 task priority. Values of are grouped as follows: value OS/2 <priority class>:<priority level> 0 OS/2 default (i.e. 2:0, or =33) 1-32 1:0-1:31 33-64 2:0-2:31 65-96 3:0-3:31 97-128 4:0-4:31 When is equal to 0, the default OS/2 task priority is used. The sleep time <S> is a value from 0 to 1000 (milliseconds). This is the period of time that RAR will give back to OS/2 after every read or write during the packing or unpacking operation. The sleep time setting is useful when several tasks with the same priority are running in the system. Example: RAR a -r -sfx -ri0:100 backup *.* Execute RAR with default priority and 100 ms of sleep after each read or write. .. -rr[N]: add data recovery record If this switch is used when creating or modifying an archive, a data recovery record will be added to the resulting archive. See command 'rr[N]' description for details. .. -s create a solid archive Solid is a special archive type. Please refer to the appendix "Glossary" for further information. Example: RAR a -s -v1440 -sfx maddy *.* Will create solid Self-Extracting (SFX) volumes of size 1440000 bytes. Note: see the RARFILES.LST description - solid archiving file order list. .. -s<N> create solid groups using file count Similar to -s, but reset solid statistics after compressing <N> files. Usually decreases compression, but also decreases losses in case of solid archive damages. .. -se create solid groups using extension Similar to -s, but reset solid statistics if file extension is changed. Usually decreases compression, but also decreases losses in case of solid archive damages. .. -sv create independent solid volumes Similar to -s, but reset solid statistics as soon as possible when starting a new volume. Ignored, if used to create non-volume archive. Usually slightly decreases compression, but also seriously decreases data losses, when one volume in volume set is damaged. In such case you may try to start extraction from the next volume after damaged. Note that because of internal buffering, sometimes RAR cannot reset dictionary immediately after creating a new volume and one or more small files in the beginning of new volume may still use data from the previous volume. .. -s- disable solid archiving .. -sfx create Self-Extracting (SFX) archive If this switch is used when creating a new archive, a Self- Extracting archive would be created. Example: RAR a -sfx sources *.asm This command would create a Self-Extracting archive named SOURCES.EXE. To extract files from such an archive, you would simply execute it. Self-Extracting archives may be processed normally using RAR. .. -sfx<file.sfx> create Self-Extracting (SFX) archive using an alternate SFX module. Example: RAR a -sfxidos.sfx -zscript.s myinst See the Installation SFX documentation, SFX.DOC for details. .. -std stdout mode All output text is sent to the stdout stream. This allows redirection of RAR output to a file, for example: RAR v -std bambam >bambam.lst or in 'silent' mode without any output: RAR x -std dime 10cents.txt >nul Note: In stdout mode, if an archive comment exists, no delay will be implemented when the comment is displayed. .. -tk do not modify archive date Prevents RAR from modifying the archive date when changing an archive. .. -tl set archive date as the date of newest file Forces RAR to set the date of a changed archive to the date of the newest file in the archive. .. -u update files May be used with archive extraction or creation. The command string "a -u" is equivalent to the command 'u', you could also use the switch '-u' with the commands 'm' or 'mf'. If the switch '-u' is used with the commands 'x' or 'e', then files not present on the disk and files newer than their copies on the disk would extracted from the archive. .. -v create volumes with autodetected size Note: when the switch is used with 'v' or 'l' command RAR lists all volumes starting from specified. .. -v<size> create archive volumes By default this switch uses <size> as thousands (1000) of bytes (not 1024 x bytes). You may also enter the size in kilobytes using the symbol 'k', in bytes using the symbol 'b' or select one from several predefined values using the symbol 'f' following the numerical value. Predefined values can be 360, 720, 1200, 1440 or 2880 and replaced with corresponding floppy disk size. If the size is omitted, autodetection will be used. If volumes are created on the same drive as the temporary files (current drive by default, but may be changed with the switch '- w'), the autodetected size becomes meaningless. In this case the volume size must be explicitly defined. If volumes are created on a drive OTHER than the drive containing the temporary files, then after the first volume has been created, the user will be prompted with: Create next volume: Yes/No/All/Quit At this moment in time, you should change the disks. Answering 'A' will cause all volumes to be created without a pause. The first volume file in a multi-volume set has the extension .RAR, following volumes are numbered from .R00 to .R99. When extracting or testing a multi-volume archive you must use only the first volume name (*.RAR). If there is no next volume on the drive (and volumes are not placed in the same directory as the temporary files), the user will be prompted with: Insert disk with <next volume name> Insert the disk with the correct volume and press any key. If while extracting, the next volume is not found and volumes are placed in the same directory as the temporary files, RAR will abort with the error message: Cannot find <volume name> Cannot change disk with temporary files Archive volumes may not be modified. The commands 'd', 'f', 'u', 's' can not be used with Multi-volume sets. The command 'a' may be used only for the creation of a new multi-volume sequence. It is possible, although unlikely, that the file size, of a file in a multi-volume set, could be greater than it's uncompressed size. This is due to the fact that 'storing' (no compression if size increases) cannot be enabled for multi-volume sets. Archive volumes may be Self-Extracting (SFX). Such an archive should be created using both the '-v' and '-sfx' switches. Example: 1. Archive drive C: on floppy drive A: RAR a -r -v a:allhard c:\*.* (current disk MUST NOT be a:) 2. Create archive volumes with 1440000 byte size in current directory. RAR a -v1440 4flopp or RAR a -v1440 4flopp *.* .. -vd erase disk contents before creating volume All files and directories on the target disk will be erased when '-vd' is used. The switch applies only to removable media, the hard disk cannot be erased using this switch. .. -w<path> assign work directory This switch may be used to assign the directory for temporary files to another drive. For example a RAM drive or high performance disc. Example: RAR a -we:\tmp bmps *.bmp Temporary files would be created in directory E:\TMP .. -x<mask> exclude files specified by mask Example: RAR a -x*.bak purearch.rar You may specify the switch '-x' several times: RAR a -r -x*.arj -x*.rar rawfiles .. -x@<list> exclude files using specified list file Example: RAR a -x@exlist.txt arch *.exe .. -y assume Yes on all queries .. -z<file> add comment to archive 3.3. SFX switches An SFX archive module may be handled by the switches: .. -e Extract from the SFX archive The switch is used by default similar to 'x' command in RAR. .. -t Test the SFX archive This is similar to 't' command in RAR. .. -v View the archive content This is similar to 'v' command in RAR. 3.4. The file order list for solid archiving - RARFILES.LST. RARFILES.LST contains user-defined file list which tells RAR the order to add files to a solid archive. It may contain file names, wildcards and special entry - $default. The default entry defines the place in order list for files not matched with other entries in this file. The comment character is ';'. This file should be placed in the same directory as RAR. Tips to provide improved compression and speed of operation: - similar files should be grouped together in the archive; - frequently accessed files should be placed at the beginning. ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Glossary ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Archive Special file containing one or more files optionally compressed and/or encrypted. Compression A method of encoding data to reduce it's size. CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check. Mathematical method calculating special checking information for data validity. Dictionary The length of a buffer used to search similarities size (the stage of a compression process) in a file been added to the archive. SFX Archive module used to extract files from when executed. (SelF-eXtracting module), usually in the form of a .EXE file. Sliding See the 'Dictionary size' description. dictionary Solid An archive packed using a special compression method which sees all files as one continuous data stream. Particularly advantageous when packing a large number of small files. Volume Part of a split archive. Splitting an archive to volumes allows storing them on diskettes. Solid volumes must be extracted starting from first in sequence.