RRRRRR AAAAA RRRRRR User's Manual
RR RR AA AA RR RR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RR RR AA AA RR RR RAR 2.00 DOS and OS/2 versions
RRRRRR AAAAAAA RRRRRR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RR RR AA AA RR RR Multifunctional Integrated Archive Manager
RR RR AA AA RR RR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Welcome to the RAR Archiver!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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|........................... Introduction .............................|
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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 ...
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|............ Chapter 1. Installation and Configuration ..............|
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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
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|................ Chapter 2. Using RAR Interactively ................|
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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<P>[:<STRIKE>] 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' and 'f' will not operate with archive
volumes.
The command 'a' cannot be used to update an archive volume, only
to create one.
The commands 'c' and 'cf' will not operate with archive volumes,
but will work with solid archives.
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.
.. -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
.. -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 they
influence 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.
.. -ri<P>[:<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 <P> (possible values, 0 to 128) is the OS/2
task priority. Values of <P> are grouped as follows:
<P> value OS/2 <priority class>:<priority level>
0 OS/2 default (i.e. 2:0, or <P>=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 <P> 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.
.. -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' or in bytes using the symbol 'b' following
the numerical value. 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
encoded and/or compressed.
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. Volumes must
be extracted starting from first in sequence.