When copying or moving file-system objects (&link_datafiles; or &link_folders;) between different drives, you should be aware of restrictions if the drives use different file systems.
  1. Other operating systems other (such as DOS or Windows) will not be aware of &os2;'s extended attributes. This is probably only a problem with the FAT file system since DOS or Windows cannot see HPFS or JFS volumes in the first place. But if you work on &os2; files with those operating systems, their extended attributes might get lost.

  2. If you copy or move a file from a drive formatted with HPFS or JFS to a drive formatted with the FAT file system, the system might truncate the file name according to the FAT 8+3 naming restriction. The original long file name is then saved as an extended attribute of the file. However, if you look at the disk with a different operating system, you will only be able to see the file's short name.

    Be aware that diskettes are always formatted with the FAT file system.

  3. The automatic file name conversion described above only works when you use the &os2; Workplace Shell to copy or move files. If you use command prompts (for example, the COPY and XCOPY commands) to copy or move files that do not conform to the FAT 8+3 naming restriction, the operation will simply fail.