/CONTIGUOUS /NOCONTIGUOUS Specifies that the output file must occupy contiguous physical disk blocks. By default, the COPY command creates an output file in the same format as the corresponding input file. Also, by default, if not enough space exists for a contiguous allocation, the COPY command does not report an error. If you copy multiple input files of different formats, the output file may or may not be contiguous. You can use the /CONTIGUOUS qualifier to ensure that files are copied contiguously. The /CONTIGUOUS qualifier has no effect when you copy files to or from tapes because the size of the file on tape cannot be determined until after it is copied to the disk. If you copy a file from a tape and want the file to be contiguous, use the COPY command twice: once to copy the file from the tape, and a second time to create a contiguous file.