When using Xcopy with the above switches, you may be asked to specify whether the target is a directory or a file before the Xcopy command executes, but if the command is executed from a batch file, no user interaction is required. e = Copies subdirectories, including any empty ones t = Copies the subdirectory structure, but not the files To use Xcopy to clone a directory without files, use the following syntax: xcopy /t /e "C:\Your Folder" "C:\New Folder"
Note that although Xcopy is included with most versions of Windows, it has been deprecated in favor of RoboCopy. It’s a more powerful version of copy with additional features that can copy files, directories, and whole drives.
#Emcopy exclude directory windows#
Xcopy is included in systems up to Windows 8. Although others, such as the FOR command could also be used, Xcopy and Robocopy are by far the most popular tools used for this purpose. This guide describes three methods to easily copy directory structures (without files) in Windows: (1) with the command line, (2) with GUI tools dedicated for that purpose, and (3) by configuring a freeware file manager, FreeCommander, to enable this function.Ĭopying Directory Structures from the Command-lineįor those comfortable with the command-line, two commands that can be used for this purpose are the Xcopy and Robocopy, both of which have tons of options.
Recreating directory structures can be a tedious and error-prone chore, especially if using the right-click method to create multiple structures and folders.