The MS-DOS 7 Internal Commands

Every Windows™ 95/98 "Boot" Floppy Disk or Command prompt in a DOS-Window gives you access (through Command.com) to all of the following commands...
This first command isn't really an "internal" command at all. It describes all the switches that can be used when executing the COMMAND.COM program itself (and secondary copies):command COMMAND.COM-------Starts a new copy of the Windows Command Interpreter.COMMAND [[drive:]path] [device] [/E:nnnnn] [/L:nnnn] [/U:nnn] [/P] [/MSG] [/LOW] [/Y [/[CK] command]][drive:]path Specifies the directory containing COMMAND.COM. device Specifies the device to use for command input and output. /E:nnnnn Sets the initial environment size to nnnnn bytes. (nnnnn should be between 256 and 32,768). /L:nnnn Specifies internal buffers length (requires /P as well). (nnnn should be between 128 and 1,024). /U:nnn Specifies the input buffer length (requires /P as well). (nnn should be between 128 and 255). /P Makes the new Command Interpreter permanent (can't exit). /MSG Stores all error messages in memory (requires /P as well). /LOW Forces COMMAND to keep its resident data in low memory. /Y Steps through the batch program specified by /C or /K. /C command Executes the specified command and returns. /K command Executes the specified command and continues running.Back to TOC cd Change Directory-------Displays the name of or changes the current directory.CHDIR [drive:][path]CHDIR[..]CD [drive:][path]CD[..] .. Specifies that you want to change to the parent directory (in other words: Move up one folder in the directory tree). DOS 7, WHEN using a DOS-window, allows you to use extra dots here! If you were in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\shellext, you could enter cd... to go up to C:\WINDOWS or even cd.... to get to the root.Type CD drive: to display the current directory in the specified drive.Type CD without parameters to display the current drive and directory.Back to TOC chcp Change Code Page-------Displays or sets the active code page number.CHCP [nnn] nnn Specifies a code page number.Type CHCP without a parameter to display the active code page number.Back to TOC cls Clear Screen-------Clears the screen.CLSBack to TOC copy Copy or Concatenate Files-------Copies one or more files to another location.COPY [/A /B] source [/A /B] [+ source [/A /B] [+ ...]] [destination [/A /B]] [/V] [/Y /-Y] source Specifies the file or files to be copied. /A Indicates an ASCII text file. /B Indicates a binary file. destination Specifies the directory and/or filename for the new file(s). /V Verifies that new files are written correctly. /Y Suppresses prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an existing destination file. /-Y Causes prompting to confirm you want to overwrite an existing destination file.The switch /Y may be preset in the COPYCMD environment variable.This may be overridden with /-Y on the command lineTo append files, specify a single file for destination, but multiple filesfor source (using wildcards or file1+file2+file3 format).Note this special case of the COPY command: copy con output.txt Copy from Console to ...After you type this command and press ENTER, MS-DOS copies everything youtype to the file OUTPUT.TXT. When you are finished typing, press CTRL+Z toindicate that you want to end the file. The Control-Z character willappear on the screen as " ^Z ". You can also end a COPY CON command bypressing the F6 key. Pressing F6 also generates the Control-Z character;a " ^Z " still appears on the screen.The following example copies information from the keyboard to a printerconnected to LPT1: copy con lpt1Back to TOC ctty Change Termial Type-------Changes the terminal device used to control your system.CTTY device device The terminal device you want to use, such as COM1.Back to TOC date-------Displays or sets the date.DATE [date]Type DATE without parameters to display the current date setting anda prompt for a new one. Press ENTER to keep the same date.Back to TOC del Delete (Erase) Files-------Deletes one or more files.DEL [drive:][path]filename [/P]ERASE [drive:][path]filename [/P] [drive:][path]filename Specifies the file(s) to delete. Specify multiple files by using wildcards. /P Prompts for confirmation before deleting each file.Note: In most cases the file is NOT actually "erased"; the space it usedis simply noted as being available for new files to write over it. If youreally want to erase every word of a sensitive file, you should get a'security program' designed to overwrite all erased files!Back to TOC dir Directory Listing-------Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.DIR [drive:][path][filename] [/P] [/W] [/A[[:]attributes]] [/O[[:]sortorder]] [/S] [/B] [/L] [/V] [drive:][path][filename] Specifies drive, directory, and/or files to list. (Could be enhanced file specification or multiple filespecs.)/P Pauses after each screenful of information./W Uses wide list format./A Displays files with specified attributes. attributes D Directories R Read-only files H Hidden files A Files ready for archiving S System files - Prefix meaning not/O List by files in sorted order. sortorder N By name (alphabetic) S By size (smallest first) E By extension (alphabetic) D By date & time (earliest first) G Group directories first - Prefix to reverse order A By Last Access Date (earliest first)/S Displays files in specified directory and all subdirectories./B Uses bare format (no heading information or summary)./L Uses lowercase./V Verbose mode.Switches may be preset in the DIRCMD environment variable. Overridepreset switches by prefixing any switch with - (hyphen)--for example, /-W.Back to TOC exit-------Quits the COMMAND.COM program (command interpreter).EXITIf you're in a DOS-Window in Windows, this will close the window!Back to TOC lock-------Locks a drive, enabling direct disk access for an application. LOCK [drive:]Note: If you use this command in a DOS-Window, it will only affect thefloppy disk drives; Windows™ 95/98 does not allow you to lock a drivedirectly while it is operating. If you try lock C: , you'll get the errormessage: " Locking operation failed."Back to TOC md Make Directory-------Creates a directory.MKDIR [drive:]pathMD [drive:]pathBack to TOC path-------Displays or sets a search path for executable files.PATH [[drive:]path[;...]]PATH ;Type PATH (without any parameters) to display the current path.Type PATH ; (PATH space semi-colon) to CLEAR all search-path settings; this means that DOS will only be able search the current directory.NOTE: When used in a DOS-Window, these commands ONLY apply tothat particular DOS-Window! (The PATH will not be changed globally.)See the SET command for a similar effect in DOS-Windows, and alsofor a utility (W95envar.zip) that will make global changes!Back to TOC prompt-------Changes the Windows command prompt.PROMPT [text] text Specifies a new command prompt.Prompt can be made up of normal characters and the following special codes: $Q = (equal sign) $$ $ (dollar sign) $T Current time $D Current date $P Current drive and path $V Windows version number $N Current drive $G > (greater-than sign) $L < (less-than sign) $B (pipe) $H Backspace (erases previous character) $E Escape code (ASCII code 27) $_ Carriage return and linefeedType PROMPT without parameters to reset the prompt to the default setting.Back to TOC rd Remove (Delete) Directory-------Removes (deletes) a directory.RMDIR [drive:]pathRD [drive:]pathBack to TOC ren Rename File or Directory-------Renames a file/directory or files/directories.RENAME [drive:][path][directoryname1 filename1] [dirname2 filename2]REN [drive:][path][directoryname1 filename1] [dirname2 filename2]Note that you cannot specify a new drive or path for your destination.Back to TOC set-------Displays, sets, or removes Windows environment variables.SET [variable=[string]] variable Specifies the environment-variable name. string Specifies a series of characters to assign to the variable.Type SET without parameters to display the current environment variables.Note: If you use SET in a DOS-Window to add a variable and string, itwill only affect commands run in that particular window! Unlinke Win NT(which has a DOS 'Environment' Tab), Windows™ 95/98 normally willnot allow you to set global Environment strings while the OS is running:You have to set them in AUTOEXEC.BAT and reboot the system!However, I recently found that Microsoft made a utility for settingEnvironment strings from a DOS-window with a 'global' effect... thisutility is called WINSET.EXE ( it's archived with another util calledSHORTCUT.EXE and labeled as W95ENVARS.EXE ). You can downloadthis now as: W95envar.zip.Back to TOC time-------Displays or sets the system time.TIME [time]Type TIME with no parameters to display the current time setting and aprompt for a new one. Press ENTER to keep the same time.Back to TOC type-------Displays the contents of text files.TYPE [drive:][path]filenameNOTE: If there are more than 25 lines in the file, you'll need to pipethe screen output through the DOS External Command MORE in orderto keep all but the last screen from flashing past you! EXAMPLE: C:\>type tips.txt moreBack to TOC unlock-------Unlocks a drive, disabling direct disk access for an application. UNLOCK [drive:] See LOCKBack to TOC ver Version-------Displays the Windows version.VERBack to TOC vol Volume Label/SN-------Displays the disk volume label and serial number, if they exist.VOL [drive:]Note: The DOS command to change a Volume Label is an "External Command"(the program is: LABEL.EXE).Back to TOC
The following commands are rarely used outside of a BATCH file (such as AUTOEXEC.BAT): break-------Sets or clears extended CTRL+C checking.BREAK [ON OFF]Type BREAK without a parameter to display the current BREAK setting.Back to TOC call-------Calls one batch program from another.CALL [drive:][path]filename [batch-parameters] batch-parameters Specifies any command-line information required by the batch program.Back to TOC echo-------Displays messages, or turns command-echoing on or off. ECHO [ON OFF] ECHO [message]Type ECHO without parameters to display the current echo setting.Back to TOC for-------Runs a specified command for each file in a set of files.FOR %variable IN (set) DO command [command-parameters] %variable Specifies a replaceable parameter. (set) Specifies a set of one or more files. Wildcards may be used. command Specifies the command to carry out for each file. command-parameters Specifies parameters or switches for the specified command.To use the FOR command in a batch program, specify %%variable instead of%variable.Back to TOC goto-------Directs Windows to a labelled line in a batch program.GOTO label label Specifies a text string used in the batch program as a label.You type a label on a line by itself, beginning with a colon.Example:The following batch program formats a disk in drive A as a system disk. Ifthe operation is successful, the GOTO command simply directs MS-DOS to thelabel named "end"; if not, an error message is displayed: echo off format a: /s if not errorlevel 1 goto end echo An error occurred during formatting. :end echo Successfully formatted the disk in drive A.Back to TOC if-------Performs conditional processing in batch programs.IF [NOT] ERRORLEVEL number commandIF [NOT] string1==string2 commandIF [NOT] EXIST filename commandNOT Specifies that Windows should carry out the command only if the condition is false.ERRORLEVEL number Specifies a true condition if the last program run returned an exit code equal to or greater than the number specified.command Specifies the command to carry out if the condition is met.string1==string2 Specifies a true condition if the specified text strings match.EXIST filename Specifies a true condition if the specified filename exists.Note: Although you can only check directly for the existence of a file, you canalso check for directories (folders) by using the NUL operator as a filename.Example: if exist C:\TEMP\NUL goto done will route program flow tothe label "done" only if the folder C:\TEMP exists!Back to TOC lfnfor Long File Name FOR-------Enables/Disables Long file names when processing FOR commands.LFNFOR [ON OFF]Type LFNFOR without a parameter to display the current setting.Back to TOC lh Load High-------Loads a program into the upper memory area.LH [drive:][path]filename [parameters]LOADHIGH [drive:][path]filename [parameters]LOADHIGH [/L:region1[,minsize1][;region2[,minsize2]...] [/S]] [drive:][path]filename [parameters]/L:region1[,minsize1][;region2[,minsize2]]... Specifies the region(s) of memory into which to load the program. Region1 specifies the number of the first memory region; minsize1 specifies the minimum size, if any, for region1. Region2 and minsize2 specify the number and minimum size of the second region, if any. You can specify as many regions as you want./S Shrinks a UMB to its minimum size while the program is loading.[drive:][path]filename Specifies the location and name of the program.Back to TOC pause-------Suspends processing of a batch program and displays the message:Press any key to continue....PAUSEBack to TOC rem-------Records comments (remarks) in a batch file or CONFIG.SYS.REM [comment]Back to TOC shift-------Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch file.SHIFTBack to TOC verify-------Tells Windows whether to verify that your files are written correctly to adisk.VERIFY [ON OFF]Type VERIFY without a parameter to display the current VERIFY setting.