VMS Help EXCHANGE, COPY, Qualifiers, /VOLUME_FORMAT  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

       /VOLUME_FORMAT=option

    Defines the physical format of the volume to be processed. The
    default format qualifier is dependent on the device type.

    If used, volume format qualifiers must be attached to one or
    both of the file specification parameters; you cannot attach them
    directly to the command. A volume format qualifier determines the
    format of the file name and directory specifications, and often
    implies certain defaults.