The PREVIEW option of the RESTORE command allows you to identify the backups required to complete a specific restore operation. The output generated by the command is in the same format as the LIST command. In addition the PREVIEW SUMMARY command can be used to produce a summary report with the same format as the LIST SUMMARY command. The following examples show how these commands are used:

# Spool output to a log file
SPOOL LOG TO c:\oracle\rmancmd\restorepreview.lst;

# Show what files will be used to restore the SYSTEM tablespace’s datafile
RESTORE DATAFILE 2 PREVIEW;

# Show what files will be used to restore a specific tablespace
RESTORE TABLESPACE users PREVIEW;

# Show a summary for a full database restore
RESTORE DATABASE PREVIEW SUMMARY;

# Close the log file
SPOOL LOG OFF;