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    1 Command line arguments2 Windows command prompt

    2.1 Command line help3 Commands

    3.1 append3.2 assign3.3 attrib3.4 backup and restore3.5 BASIC and BASICA3.6 call3.7 cd or chdir3.8 chcp3.9 chkdsk3.10 choice3.11 cls3.12 copy3.13 ctty

    3.14 defrag3.15 del or erase3.16 deltree3.17 dir3.18 echo3.19 edit3.20 edlin3.21 exe2bin3.22 exit3.23 fastopen3.24 fc or comp3.25 fdisk3.26 find3.27 format3.28 help

    3.29 intersvr & interlnk3.30 join3.31 label3.32 loadfix3.33 loadhigh, lh3.34 md or mkdir3.35 mem3.36 memmaker3.37 mode3.38 more3.39 move3.40 msd3.41 pause3.42 pcpark3.43 print

    3.44 rd or rmdir3.45 rem3.46 ren3.47 scandisk3.48 set3.49 setver3.50 share3.51 smartdrive3.52 sort3.53 subst3.54 sys3.55 time and date3.56 tree3.57 truename3.58 type

    3.59 undelete3.60 ver3.61 verify3.62 xcopy

    4 See also

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    In the personal computer operating systems MS-DOS and PC-DOS, a number of standard system commands were

    provided for common tasks such as listing files on a disk or moving files. Some commands were built-in to the

    command interpreter, others existed as transient commands loaded into memory when required. Over the several

    generations of MS DOS, commands were added for the additional functions of the operating system. In the current

    Microsoft Windows operating system a text-mode command prompt window can still be used. Some DOS commands

    carry out functions equivalent to those in a UNIX system but always with differences in details of the function.

    In the list below, when a command can accept more than one filename, or a filename including wildcards (* and ?),

    it is said to accept a filespec parameter. Commands that can accept only a single filename are said to accept a

    filename parameter.

    For some commands, a UNIX command with similar functions is given. Unix commands typically offer functionality

    and flexibility that are not approached by the equivalent DOS command, so all comparisons are approximate. While

    many commands are the same across many DOS systems (MS-DOS, PC-DOS, DR-DOS, FreeDOS, etc.) some differ

    in command syntax or name.

    In DOS commands, unlike Unix, lower-case and capital letters are equivalent. It is usual for parameters or argumentsalso to be independent of case. Sometimes a hyphen ("-") may be used instead of a slash ("/").

    Commands which are not built into the command interpreter may follow the same conventions.

    Microsoft Windows supports a number of commands which may be invoked by typing them in a command window;

    they are usually similar to their MS-DOS equivalents. Typing help followed by a carriage return at a command

    prompt will list the commands. File and path names used as arguments may be long, unlike MS-DOS 8.3 names, and

    may contain embedded spaces; names with spaces must be enclosed between a pair of double-quote characters (").

    Two command-line interfaces can be used in current versions of Microsoft Windows, providing access to the

    functions of the MS-DOS commands. The old DOS command.com interpreter is similar to that used by the original

    DOS systems. Since this 16-bit executable is based on the DOS command.com, it does not support all the extendedfile name syntax of Windows. Windows applications and other Windows executables can be started. The Windows

    Console Command Interpreter, cmd.exe, is a native Windows Process that provides the functionality built in the old

    DOS command.com and a much extended syntax to run, invoke commands and other tasks.

    Command line help

    In versions 5 of DOS and later, the user can get help by typing help at the shell prompt. To get help on a DOS

    command, the command-line switch /? can be used. For example, to get help for the xcopy command, type the

    following at the DOS prompt:

    xcopy /?

    The operating system will execute the command and the /? parameter instructs the command to display a help page

    about itself, in this case xcopy. To view this help page, see the xcopy entry on this page.

    A partial list of the most common commands for DOS follows.

    append

    Display or sets the search path for data files. DOS will search the specified path(s) if the file is not found in the

    current path. This had some creative uses, such as allowing non-CD based games to be run from the CD, with

    configuration/save files stored on the HD.

    append;

    append [d:]path[;][d:]path[...]

    append [/X:on|off][/E]

    assign

    The command redirects requests for disk operat ions on one drive to a different drive.

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    5 References6 External links

    assign [x[:]=y[:][...]]

    assign /STATUS

    Options:

    x The drive letter to reassign.y The drive letter that x: will be assigned to./STATUS Displays the current drive assignments.

    If typed without parameters then all drive letters are reset to original assignments.

    The command is available in MS-DOS 5.00.

    attrib

    Change or view the attributes of one or more files. It defaults to displaying the attributes of all files in the current directory.

    Options:

    To add an attribute attach a '+' in front of it.To remove an attribute attach a '-' in front of itAttributes include

    R - Read-onlyA - ArchiveS - SystemH - Hidden

    attrib [+|-ahrs] [filespec]

    Directory Attrib Functions: It is also possible to use ATTRIB across directories.

    [drive:][path][filename]

    Specifies a file or files for attrib to process.

    /D - Process folders as well./S - Process matching files in the current folder and all subfolders.

    Roughly equivalent to the Unix commands chattr and lsattr.

    backup and restore

    Programs to back up and restore files from an external disk. These appeared in version 2, and continued to PC-DOS 5 and MS-DOS 6 (PC-DOS 7 had adeversioned check).

    In DOS 6, these were replaced by commercial programs (CPBACKUP, MSBACKUP), which allowed files to be restored to different locations.

    BASIC and BASICA

    An implementation of the BASIC programming language for PCs.

    IBM computers had BASIC 1.1 in ROM, and IBM's versions of BASIC used code in this ROM-BASIC, which allowed for extra memory in the code area.BASICA last appeared in IBMDOS 5.02, and in OS/2 (2.0 and later), the version had ROMBASIC moved into the program code.

    Microsoft released GW-BASIC for machines with no ROM-BASIC. Some OEM releases had basic.com and basica.com as loaders for GW-BASIC.EXE.

    call

    Calls one batch program from another. A new batch file context is created with the specified arguments and control is passed to the statement after thelabel specified.

    Syntax:

    call [filespec][batch file parameters]

    filespec: name and if necessary path of the new batch fileparameters: switches

    cd or chdir

    Change current directory. Displays the current working directory when used without a path parameter.

    cd

    displays the current working directory on the current drive.

    cd f:

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    displays the current working directory on F:.

    cd directory

    changes the working directory on the current drive to directory.

    chdir e:directory

    changes the working directory on E: to directory.

    cd ..

    changes the working directory to the parent directory (up one directory level).

    cd \

    changes the working directory to the root (top level) directory of the current drive.

    Equivalent to the Unix command cd (with a path parameter), or pwd (without a parameter). cd.. changes to the parent directory.

    chcp

    Changes the code page used to display character glyphs in a console window.

    chcp [codepage]

    With a numeric parameter, this command changes the codepage setting to codepage. Without a parameter, the command displays the currently active codepage.

    chkdsk

    Verifies a storage volume (hard disk, partition, floppy disk, flash drive, etc) for file system integrity.

    Options:

    /F : Fixes errors on the volume (without /F , chkdsk only detects errors)/P : Forces a full verification/R : Searches for defective sectors and recovers legible information (applies /F)/X : Unmounts the volume before processing if needed. (Note: Unmounting temporarily invalidates all pointers/handlers to the volume until process is

    completed)

    chkdsk volume letter: [[path]filename] [/F] [/P] [/R] [/X]

    Equivalent to the Unix command fsck

    choice

    Allows for batch files to prompt the user to select one item from a set of single-character choices.

    Introduced in MS-DOS 6;[1] DR-DOS 7.03.[2] Earlier versions of DR-DOS supported this function with the switch command (for numeric choices) or by

    beginning a command with a question mark.[2]

    cls

    Clears the screen.

    cls

    Equivalent to the Unix clear.

    copy

    Copies files from one location to another. The destination defaults to the current directory. If multiple source files are indicated, the destination must be adirectory, or an error will result.

    Syntax:

    copy filespec [destination]

    Files may be copied to devices. For example, copy file lpt1 sends thefile to the printer on LPT1. copy file con outputsfile to the screen("console"), which can also be done using type file. Devices themselves may be copied: copy con file takes the text typed into the console and putsit intofile, stopping when EOF (Ctrl+Z) is typed.

    Files may be concatenated using +. For example, copy file1+file2file_cat will concatenate the files and output them asfile_cat. There are twoswitches to modify the command's behaviour, /a (text mode, the default) and /b (binary mode). In text mode, copy will stop when it reaches the EOF

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    character; in binary mode, the files will be concatenated in their entirety, ignoring EOF characters.

    Examples of usage:

    copy /a alpha.txt + beta.txt gamma.txt

    copy /b alpha.mpg + beta.mpg gamma.mpg

    Equivalent Unix commands are cp (for copying) and cat (for concatenation). Device files may be copied in Unix as well, e.g. cp file /dev/tty willdisplay a file on the screen (but cat file is more commonly used here).Equivalent RT-11/RSX-11/OpenVMS command is copy.

    ctty

    Defines the device to use for input and output.

    Syntax:

    ctty device

    device: The terminal device to be used.

    Example of usage:

    ctty COM1

    defrag

    (in MS/PC-DOS; diskopt in DR-DOS)

    Defragments a disk drive.

    Options:-A Analyses the fragmentation of a disk drive-F Force defragmentation even if disk space is low-V Verbose output mode-H Defrag hidden files

    Example of usage:

    defrag driveletter: -a -v

    No Unix equivalent.

    del or erase

    Deletes one or more files.

    del filename

    erase filename

    Options

    *.* All files in current folder

    *.* /s all files in current folder and sub folders,

    Equivalent to the Unix command rm.Equivalent in RT-11/RSX-11/OpenVMS operating systems line is delete command which can be contracted to del.

    deltree

    Deletes a directory along with all of the files and subdirectories that it contains. Normally, it will ask for confirmation of such a drastic action.

    deltree [/y] directory

    The /y parameter, if present, tells the deltree command to carry out without first prompting for confirmation.

    The deltree command is not included in recent Microsoft Windows operating systems. Deleting a non-empty directory in those versions of Windows where

    the command is not included, can be achieved by using the rmdir command as in the following example:

    rmdir /s [/q] directory

    In Unix, the functionality ofdeltree is provided by the rm command with the parameter -r (or -rf for the /y switch).

    dir

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    Lists the contents of a directory.

    The dircommand typed by itself, displays the disk's volume label and serial number; one directory or filename per line, including the filename extension, the

    file size in bytes, and the date and time the file was last modified; and the total number of files listed, their cumulative size, and the free space (in bytes)

    remaining on the disk. The command is one of the few commands that exist from the first versions of DOS.

    dir [drive:][path][filename] [parameters]

    Most commonly used parameters ofdirinclude:

    /W : Displays the listing in wide format, with as many as five filenames or directory names on each line./P : Pause at every page/S : Also look in subdirectories/Axx: Display files with the specified attributes only/Oxx: Modifies sort order/B : Uses bare format (no heading information or summary)> [drive:][path][filename] : To Store Result in a text file;(c:\dir > c:\fileList.txt) (this is not a parameter, it is output redirection)

    Possible attributes for the A parameter are D (directories), R (read-only files), H (hidden files), A (files/directories with the archive bit on), and S (system files).

    The prefix - negates an attribute; attributes can be combined (e.g. /A:DA means directories with the archive bit on).

    Possible sort orders are N (name), S (size), E (extension), D (date and time), A (last access date), and G (group directories first). The prefix - reverses the order.

    Other less commonly used parameters ofdirinclude:

    /D : Display wide format but sorted by column/L : Display forced into lowercase/N : Display forced into long file name format instead of 8.3/Q : Displays the owner of each file/X : Display shows 8.3 names next to long file names

    The default parameters ofdircan be set using the DIRCMD environment variable.

    Equivalent to the Unix command ls (the option -l is "long" list format, it works the opposite way from /w.)

    Equivalent in RT-11/RSX-11/OpenVMS operating systems line is directory command which can be contracted to dir.

    echo

    Prints its own arguments back out to the DOS equivalent of the standard output stream. Usually, this means directly to the screen, but the output ofechocan be redirected like any other command. Often used in batch files to print text out to the user.

    echo this is text Outputs 'this is text'

    echo. Outputs a blank line

    Another important use of the echo command is to toggle echoing of commands on and off in batch files.

    echo on turns on echoing of commands

    echo off turns off echoing of commands

    Traditionally batch files begin with the @echo off statement. This says to the interpreter that echoing of commands should be off during the wholeexecution of the batch file thus resulting in a "tidier" output. The @ symbol declares that this particular command (echo off) should also be executedwithout echo. For example the following 2 batch files are equivalent:

    Batch1.bat:

    @echo off

    echo The files in your root directory:

    dir /b /a-d c:\

    Batch2.bat:

    @echo The files in your root directory:

    @dir /b /a-d c:\

    Echo can be used to write to files directly from the console, by redirecting the output stream:

    echo text > filename

    Echo can also be used to append to files directly from the console, again by redirecting the output stream:

    echo text >> filename

    To type more than one line from the console into a file, use copy con (above).Equivalent to the Unix command echo.

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    edit

    Full-screen text editor, introduced in MS-DOS 5. DR-DOS used editor up to version 7.

    edlin

    DOS line-editor. It can be used with a script file, like debug, this makes it of some use even today. The absence of a console editor in MS/PC-DOS 1-4created an after-market for third-party editors.

    In DOS 5, an extra command "?" was added to give the user much needed help.

    DOS 6 was the last version to contain EDLIN, for MS-DOS 6, it's on the supplemental disks, PC-DOS 6 had it in the base install. Windows NT 32-bit, and

    OS/2 have Edlin.

    exe2bin

    Converts an executable (.exe) file into a binary file with the extension .com, which is a memory image of the program.The size of the resident code and data sections combined in the input .exe file must be less than 64KB. The file must also have no stack segment.

    exit

    Exits the current command processor. If the exit is used at the primary command, it has no effect unless in a DOS window under Microsoft Windows, inwhich case the window is closed and the user returns to the desktop.

    exit [/B]

    /B When used within a batch script, exits the script without closing the calling DOS window

    Exit also exists in Unix-shells. If an exit command is used in the primary command shell under Unix, however, it will logoff the user, similar to thecontrol-D keystroke.

    fastopen

    Main article: FASTOPEN

    fc or comp

    Compares two files or sets of files and displays the differences between them.

    FC [/A] [/C] [/L] [/LBn] [/N] [/T] [/W] [/nnnn] [drive1:][path1]filename1 [drive2:][path2]filename2

    FC /B [drive1:][path1]filename1 [drive2:][path2]filename2

    /A Displays only first and last lines for each set of differences.

    /B Performs a binary comparison.

    /C Disregards the case of letters./L Compares files as ASCII text.

    /LBn Sets the maximum consecutive mismatches to the specified number of lines.

    /N Displays the line numbers on an ASCII comparison.

    /T Does not expand tabs to spaces.

    /W Compresses white space (tabs and spaces) for comparison.

    /nnnn Specifies the number of consecutive lines that must match after a mismatch.

    [drive1:][path1]filename1 Specifies the first file or set of files to compare.

    [drive2:][path2]filename2 Specifies the second file or set of files to compare.

    Equivalent to the Unix commands comm, cmp and diff.

    fdisk

    Manipulates hard disk partition tables. The name derives from IBM's habit of calling hard drivesfixed disks. When run from the command line, it displaysa menu of various partitioning operations:

    1. Create DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive2. Set active partition

    3. Delete partition or Logical DOS Drive

    4. Display partition information

    5. Change current fixed disk drive (only available if the computer has more than one hard drive)

    FDISK /MBR installs a standard master boot record on the hard drive.

    FDISK /MBR #: where # is other partition on system. Completes above command on indicated partition.

    eg: "C:\FDISK /MBR D:" would install boot record on D:\ partition.

    Fdisk exists under Unix with the same name, but it is an entirely different program. However they share purposes.

    find

    A filter to find lines in the input data stream that contain or don't contain a specified string and send these to the output data stream.

    Findmay also be used as a pipe.

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    find "keyword" < ''inputfilename'' > ''outputfilename''

    Searches for a text string in a file or files.

    FIND [/V] [/C] [/N] [/I] "string" [[drive:][path]filename[ ...]]

    /V Displays all lines NOT containing the specified string.

    /C Displays only the count of lines containing the string.

    /N Displays line numbers with the displayed lines.

    /I Ignores the case of characters when searching for the string.

    "string" Specifies the text string to find.

    [drive:][path]filename Specifies a file or files to search.

    If a pathname is not specified, FIND searches the text typed at the prompt

    or piped from another command.

    Equivalent to the Unix command grep. The Unix command find performs an entirely different function.

    format

    Delete all the files on the disk and reformat it for MS-DOSIn most cases, this should only be used on floppy drives or other removable media. This command can potentially erase everything on a computer's harddisk./autotest and /backup are undocumented features. Both will format the drive without a confirmation prompt.

    format [options] drive

    FORMAT drive: [/V[:label]] [/Q] [/F:size] [/B | /S] [/C]

    FORMAT drive: [/V[:label]] [/Q] [/T:tracks /N:sectors] [/B | /S] [/C]

    FORMAT drive: [/V[:label]] [/Q] [/1] [/4] [/B | /S] [/C]

    FORMAT drive: [/Q] [/1] [/4] [/8] [/B | /S] [/C]

    /V[:label] Specifies the volume label.

    /Q Performs a quick format.

    /F:size Specifies the size of the floppy disk to format (such

    as 160, 180, 320, 360, 720, 1.2, 1.44, 2.88).

    /B Allocates space on the formatted disk for system files./S Copies system files to the formatted disk.

    /T:tracks Specifies the number of tracks per disk side.

    /N:sectors Specifies the number of sectors per track.

    /1 Formats a single side of a floppy disk.

    /4 Formats a 5.25-inch 360K floppy disk in a high-density drive.

    /8 Formats eight sectors per track.

    /C Tests clusters that are currently marked "bad."

    Known as a joke among UNIX users of that time since every user on the machine could easily cause damage with just one command. Therefore, it was known in

    the UNIX community as "The big DOS timesaver".

    There is also an undocumented /u parameter for "unconditional" that will write strings of zeros on every sector.Equivalent to the Unix command mkfs.Equivalent in RT-11/RSX-11/OpenVMS operating systems line is format command which can not create filesystem. After formatting one should useinitialize (contracted to init) command to create filesystem (Equivalent to MS-DOS command format /q or "quick format").

    help

    Gives help about DOS.MS-DOShelp 'command' would give help on a specific command. By itself, it lists the contents of DOSHELP.HLP. Help for a specific command invokes thecommand with the /? option. In MS-DOS 6.x this command exists as FASTHELP.MS-DOS 6.xx help command uses QBASIC to view a quickhelp HELP.HLP file, which contains more extensive information on the commands, withsome hyperlinking etc. The MS-DOS 6.22 help system is included on Windows 9x cdrom versions as well.PC-DOSPC-DOS 7.xx help uses view.exe to open OS/2 style .INF files (cmdref.inf, dosrexx.inf and doserror.inf), opening these to the appropriate pages.DR-DOSIn DR-DOS, help is a batch file that launches DR-DOS' online reference, dosbook.Microsoft WindowsWindows NT, all versions, uses DOS 5 style help, but versions before VISTA have also a Windows help file (NTCMDS.HLP or NTCMDS.INF) in asimilar style to MS-DOS 6.

    FreeDOSFreeDOS uses an HTML help system, which views HTML help files on a specified path. The path is stored in HELPPATH environment variable, if notspecified, default path is \HELP on the drive which HELP is placed.Partially equivalent to the Unix command man.

    intersvr & interlnk

    (in MS-DOS; filelink in DR-DOS)

    Network PCs using a null modem cable or LapLink cable. The server-side version of InterLnk, it also immobilizes the machine it's running on as it is anactive app (As opposed to a TSR) which must be running for any transfer to take place. DR-DOS' filelink is executed on both the client and server.

    New in PC-DOS 5.02, MS-DOS 6.0[3]

    No direct Unix equivalent, though some Unices offer the ability to network computers with TCP/IP through null modem or Laplink cables using PLIP orSLIP.

    join

    Attaches a drive letter to a specified directory on another drive.[3]

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    JOIN d: [d:\path]

    JOIN [/D] (removes drive assignment)

    IfJOIN a: c:\floppy were executed, c:\floppy would display the contents of the a: drive. The opposite can be achieved via the subst command.

    label

    Changes the label on a logical drive, such as a hard disk partition or a floppy disk.In Unix and Unix-like systems, this differs from filesystem to filesystem. e2label can be used for ext2 partitions.

    loadfix

    Loads a program above the first 64K of memory, and runs the program.

    loadfix [drive:][path]filename

    Included only in MS/PC-DOS. DR-DOS used memmax, which opened or closed lower, upper, and video memory access, to block the lower 64K of

    memory.[4]

    loadhigh, lh

    Main article: loadhigh

    hiload in DR-DOS.

    md or mkdir

    Makes a new directory. The parent of the directory specified will be created if it does not already exist.

    md directory

    Equivalent to the Unix command mkdir.

    mem

    Displays memory usage.

    mem

    Options:

    /CLASSIFY or /C - Lists the size of programs, provides a summary of memory in use and lists largest memory block available./DEBUG or /D - Displays status of programs, internal drivers, and other information./PROGRAM or /P Displays status of programs currently loaded in memory.

    Equivalent to the Unix command free.

    memmaker

    Starting from version 6, MS-DOS included the external program MemMaker which was used to free system memory (especially Conventional memory)by automatically reconfiguring the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. This was usually done by moving TSR Programs to the Upper memory. Thewhole process required three system restarts. Before the first restart the user was asked whether he wanted to enable EMS Memory or not.

    The use ofMemMaker was popular among gamers who wanted to enable or disable Expanded memory in order to run a game which required EMS or

    not. Better results could be achieved by an experienced user manually configuring the startup files to achieve greater free memory yield.

    Options:

    /BATCH Runs MemMaker in batch (unattended) mode. In batch mode, MemMaker takes the default action at all prompts./UNDO Instructs MemMaker to undo its most recent changes.

    PC-DOS uses another program RamBoost to optimize memory, either the HIMEM/EMM386 or a third-party memory manager.

    mode

    Configures system devices. Changes graphics modes, adjusts keyboard settings, prepares code pages, and sets up port redirection.[5]

    more

    Pages through the output so that you can view more than one screen of text.

    command| more

    Equivalent to the Unix commands more and less.

    More may also be used as a filter.

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    more < inputfilename

    move

    Moves files or renames directories.

    move filenamenewname

    move driveletter:\olddirdriveletter:\newdir

    Example of usage:

    move c:\old c:\new

    Equivalent to the Unix command mv. DR-DOS used a separate command for renaming directories, rendir.

    msd

    Main article: Microsoft Diagnostics

    Provides detailed technical information about the computer's hardware and software.

    msd

    New in MS-DOS 6;[6] the PC-DOS version of this command is QCONFIG.

    No Unix equivalent, however in GNU/Linux similar type of information may be obtained from various text files in /proc directory.

    pause

    Suspends processing of a batch program and displays the message 'Press any key to continue. . .'.

    pcpark

    Parks the hard disk heads in order to enable safe shutdown; only used on early versions.

    pcpark

    No Unix equivalent.

    MS-DOS 3.2 (and possibly others) used the command HHSET

    print

    Adds a file in the print queue.

    Options:

    /D device : Specifies the name of the print devices. Default value is LPT1/P filename : Add files in the print queue/T : Removes all files from the print queue/C filename : Removes a file from the print queue

    This command was introduced in MS-DOS version 2. Before that there was no built-in support for background printing files. The user would usually use the

    copy command to copy files to LPT1.

    Equivalent to the Unix command lpr

    rd or rmdir

    Remove a directory, which by default must be empty of files for the command to succeed (the /s flag removes this restriction).

    rd directory

    Equivalent to the Unix command rmdir.

    rem

    Remark statement, normally used within a batch file. An alternative way not to run a specific statement in a batch file is creating a label that will never beused, ::.

    rem > newfilename

    In Unix, the # sign can be used to start a comment.

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    ren

    Renames a file. Unlike the move command, this command cannot be used to rename subdirectories, or rename files across drives.

    ren filenamenewname

    You can rename files in another directory by using the PATH parameter:

    ren [path]|[filename] [newfilename]

    An example could be:

    ren c:\Windows filex.txt filey.txt

    On DOS with long filename support, care must be taken when directories have spaces in their names like "Documents and Settings". In these casesdouble-quotes are used to enclose them:

    ren c:\"Documents and Settings"\"All Users"\Desktop filex.txt filey.txt

    Mass renames can be accomplished by the use of wildcards. For example, the following command will change the extension of all files in the currentdirectory which currently have the extension htm to html:

    ren *.htm *.html

    In Unix, this functionality of a simple move is provided by the mv command, while batch renames can be done using the rename command.

    scandisk

    Disk diagnostic utility. Scandisk was a replacement for the chkdsk utility, starting with later versions of MS-DOS. Its primary advantages over chkdsk isthat it is more reliable and has the ability to run a surface scan which finds and marks bad clusters on the disk. chkdsk had surface scan and bad clusterdetection functionality included, and was used again on Windows NT based operat ing systems.

    Equivalent to the Unix command fsck.

    set

    Sets environmental variables. See Environment variable.Since Windows 2000 it can be even used for command line inputs by using Parameter /P

    set /p choice=Type your text.

    echo You typed: "%choice%"

    setver

    TSR designed to return a different value to the version of DOS that is running. This allows programs that look for a specific version of DOS to run under adifferent DOS.

    Setver appeared in version 4, and has been in every version of DOS, OS/2 and Windows NT since.

    share

    Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities.

    share [/F:space] [/L:locks]

    /F:space Allocates file space (in bytes) for file-sharing information.

    /L:locks Sets the number of files that can be locked at one time.

    smartdrive

    Main article: SmartDrive

    sort

    A filter to sort lines in the input data stream and send them to the output data stream.

    sort < inputfilename > outputfilename

    Similar to the Unix command sort. Handles files up to 64k. This sort is always case insensitive. [7]

    subst

    A utility to map a subdirectory to a drive letter.[3]

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    subst

    subst /D (Deletes the substitute drive)

    IfSUBST e: c:\edrive were executed, a new drive letter e: would be created, showing the contents of c:\edrive. The opposite can be achieved via thejoin command.

    sys

    A utility to make a volume bootable.

    time and date

    Display and set the time and date

    time

    date

    When these commands are called from the command line or a batch file, they will display the time or date and wait for the user to type a new time or dateand press RETURN. The command 'time /t' will bypass asking the user to reset the time.

    The Unix command date displays both the time and date, but does not a llow the normal users to change either. Users with superuser privileges may usedate -s to change the time and date.

    The Unix command time performs a different function.

    tree

    Shows the directory tree of the current directory

    Syntax:

    tree [options] [directory]

    Options:

    /F (Displays the names of the files in each folder.)/A (Use ASCII instead of the extended characters.)/? (Shows the help)

    truename

    truename

    or

    truename drivename

    or

    truename filename

    or

    truename directory

    If typed without a parameter then the current active drivepathname is displayed.

    MS-DOS can find files and directories given their names, without full path information, if the search object is on a path specified by the environmentvariable PATH. For example, ifPATH includes C:\PROGRAMS, and file MYPROG.EXE is on this directory, then ifMYPROG is typed at the command prompt, thecommand processor will execute C:\PROGRAMS\MYPROG.EXE

    the TRUENAME command will expand a name in an abbreviated form which the command processor can recognise into its full form, and display the result.It can see through SUBST and JOIN to find the actual directory. In the above example,

    TRUENAME MYPROG

    would displayC:\PROGRAMS\MYPROG.EXE

    and for a substituted drive set up bysubst d: c:\util\test

    the commandtruename d:\test.exe

    will displayc:\util\test\test.exe

    This command also displays the UNC pathnames of mapped network or local CD drives.

    This command is an undocumented DOS command. The help switch "/?" defines it as a "Reserved command name". It is available in MS-DOS 5.00.

    This command is similar to the Unix which command, which, given an executable found in $PATH, would give a full path and name. The C libraryfunction realpath performs this function.

    The Microsoft Windows command processors do not support this command.

    type

    Display a file. The more command is frequently used in conjunction with this command, e.g. type long-text-file | more.

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    type filename

    Equivalent to the Unix command cat.

    undelete

    Restores file previously deleted with del. By default all recoverable files in the working directory are restored. The options are used to change thisbehavior. If the MS-DOSmirror TSR program is used, then deletion tracking files are created and can be used by undelete.

    Syntax:

    undelete [filespec] [/list|/all][/dos|/dt]

    Options:

    /list : lists the files that can be undeleted./all : Recovers all deleted files without prompting. Uses a number sign for missing first character./dos : Recover only MS-DOS aware files, ignore deletion tracking file./dt : Recover only deletion tracking file aware files.

    In Unix and Unix-like systems this differs from filesystem to filesystem. People who use the ext2 filesystem can try the command e2undel.

    ver

    Shows the version of MS-DOS you are using.Some versions of MS-DOS support an undocumented /r switch, which will show the revision as well as the version.

    ver [/r]

    Roughly equivalent to the Unix command uname.

    verify

    Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been correctly written to disk.

    If no parameter is provided, the command will display the current setting.[8]

    verify [on|off]

    xcopy

    Copy entire directory trees.

    xcopy directory[destination-directory]

    Equivalent to the Unix command cp when used with -r parameter.

    Command Line InterfaceDOSList of Unix programs

    ^ http://www.computerhope.com/choicehl.htm1.

    ^ ab http://www.drdos.com/dosdoc/usergeng/07ugch7.htm2.

    ^ abc EasyDOS Command Index (http://www.easydos.com/dosindex.html)3.

    ^DR DOS 6.0 User Guide. Digital Research. 1991.4.

    ^ http://www.computerhope.com/modehlp.htm5.

    ^ http://www.computerhope.com/msdhlp.htm6.^ Microsoft on "sort" (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library

    /cc722869.aspx)

    7.

    ^ http://www.csulb.edu/~murdock/verify.html8.

    Command Reference (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754340.aspx) : Microsoft TechNet Database "Command Reference"The MS-DOS 6 Technical Reference on TechNet (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc805642.aspx) contains the official Microsoft MS-DOS 6command reference documention.

    DR-DOS 7.03 online manual (http://www.drdos.com/dosdoc/)

    There are several guides to DOS commands available that are licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License:

    The FreeDOS Spec (http://fd-doc.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php) at SourceForge is a plaintext specification, written in 1999, for how DOS commandsshould work in FreeDOSMS-DOS commands (http://www.computerhope.com/msdos.htm)A Collection of Undocumented and Obscure Features in Various MS-DOS Versions (http://www.textfiles.com/hacking/MICROSOFT/dosundoc.txt)

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    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_DOS_commands"Categories: DOS on IBM PC compatibles | Microsoft lists

    This page was last modified on 14 October 2009 at 18:05.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

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