exporting databases

I know this is a silly question but I support a client remotely who is using 7.30 and I want to use HPL to export databases but they have created a monster with tables in multiple dbspaces and they didnt install any X software for the ipload. How can I populate the database manually and can I use the onpload with the correct flags to get the result seeing as how it overrides the settings anyway. Also onunload is intelligent enough to put indexes in other dbspaces why not the tables. I wrote a simple perl script to modify object ownership which works well but it sticks all the tables in the same place and yet the indexes go where there supposed to. Lastly you can copy databases in oracle with a simple cp command and just by changing the control file bring it up as a different instance eg a copy of a production database to test when will we get the same functionality. Its so easy to snap up a clone and copy the file system in 10 minutes you have a new database fully populated as opposed to hours for dbimport/dbexport. Greg E