>>Your command line will be shortened to
>>

>>lcommand = 'xcopy *.pdf ..\..\quitelongdir2\permits\*.PDF /S /Y'
>>

>
>... or to:
>
>

>lcommand = 'xcopy *.pdf ...\quitelongdir2\permits\*.PDF /S /Y'
>

>
>... means the same as ..\..
>.... means the same as ..\..\..
>etc.
>
>Starting with Windows 95, I believe.

I don't think that works for the NT based systems like NT, W2K, or XP.