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HELP.DAT
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1985-09-17
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#C README1ST
#F This is not a command, but an introduction to using the HELP file. Here
is explained generally what you may use DOS commands to do.
If you are not familiar with Command format and notation please read
the COMNINFO, NOTATION, PARAMETER, AND RESERVED entries
You can use DOS commands to:
- Compare, copy, display, erase, rename files, and format fixed disks
and diskettes.
- Execute system programs, such as EDLIN and DEBUG, plus your own programs.
- Set various printer and screen options.
- Request DOS to pause.
- Transfer DOS to another diskette.
- Set options in the Asynchronous Communications Adapter.
- Cause printer output to be directed to the Asynchronous Communication
Adapter.
- Recover files from a damaged disk or diskette.
- Print the contents of a graphics display screen on a printer.
- Print files on a printer while the system is doing other work.
- Backup and restore files on a fixed disk.
#C ASSIGN (Drive) Pg 6-21
#F Route all requests for a drive to a different drive
#X ASSIGN [x=y [...]]
entering ASSIGN with no parameters causes reset to normal
#C BACKUP (Fixed Disk) Pg 6-24
#F Backs up one or more files from a fixed disk to diskettes
#X BACKUP [d:][path][filename][ext] d:[/S][/M][/A][/D:mm-dd-yy]
where /S causes files in all sub-directories to be backed up also
where /M backs up only files that have been modified since last backup
where /A adds backed up files to those already on backup diskette
where /D backs up only files written on or after specified date
#C BASIC Pg 2-6 of BASIC Manual
#F Load the basic interpreter (normal or advanced) into memory
#X BASIC[A] [d:][program[.bas]]
#C BATCH (Commands) Pg 6-28
#F Executes commands contained in the specified file
All batch files must have a filename extension of .BAT. The seven subcommands
which control batch mode processing are listed below.
#X [d:]filename [parameters]
ECHO, FOR, GOTO, IF, SHIFT, PAUSE, AND REM are batch subcommands
If you press Ctrl-Break while in batch mode, the prompt:
Terminate batch job (Y/N)? appears
#C BREAK (Control-Break) Pg 6-50
#F Instructs DOS to check for control break whenever a program requests
DOS to perform any functions (such as disk operations)
#X BREAK [ON|OFF]
where ON causes DOS to begin checking for Ctrl-Break whenever a program
requests any DOS function
where OFF causes DOS to check only during screen, keyboard, printer, or
asynchronous Communications operations
BREAK with no parameters displays the current state (ON or OFF)
#C BROWSE This is a utility program, not a DOS command
#F Displays the specified file of the current directory on the screen in page
sized groups, controls display with Home, PgUp, End, PgDn keys; lines up or
down can be controlled by keying u n or d n where n is a number from 1-20.
Press Esc to terminate BROWSE.
#X BROWSE filename[.ext]
#C CHDIR (Change Directory) Pg 6-52
#F Changes or displays the DOS current directory of the specified or default
drive
#X CHDIR [[d:]path] or CD [[d:]path]
CHDIR with no parameters or d: only displays the current directory path
#C CHKDSK (Check Disk) Pg 6-54
#F Analyzes the Directories and the File Allocaton Table on the designated
or default drive and produces a disk and memory status report
#X CHKDSK [d:][filename][/F][/V]
if filename is specified, CHKDSK will display the number of non-contiguous
areas occupied by the file or files. Note that CHKDSK looks only in
the current dirctory for these files.
where /F specifies that you wish to correct (fix) errors found in the
directories or File Allocation Table
#C CLS (Clear Screen) Pg 6-58
#F Clears the display screen
#X CLS
#C COMNINFO1 Pg 6-17
#F This is not a command, but an explanation of information COMMON to all DOS
commands.
- The normal prompt from the command processor is the default drive plus >,
such as A> unless changed by the PROMPT command.
- When a command completes, the system prompt will reappear on the screen. If
no error messages are displayed before the system prompt reappears, the
command has been successfully completed.
- Commands are usually followed by one or more parameters.
- Commands and parameters may be entered in uppercase or lowercase, or any
combination of both.
- DOS will search the current directory of the specified or default drive to
find a command or batch file whose name you have entered. If not found, DOS
will continue its search in each of the directories listed in the most recent
PATH command.
- Most commands allowing you to enter filenames will also accept a path (dir-
ectory) name ahead of the filename. If you do not plan to create directories
of your own, you may disregard all references to path names.
- Commands and parameters must be separated by delimiters (space, comma, semi-
colon, equal sign, or the tab key).
#C COMNINFO2 Pg 6-17
#F This is not a command, but an explanation of information COMMON to all DOS
commands.
- The three parts of filespec (d:filename.ext) must NOT be separated by
delimiters. The colon(:) and period(.) already serve as delimiters.
- Files are not required to have filename extensions when created or renamed,
but the filename extension is required when referring to a file that has one.
- You can end commands while they are running by pressing Ctrl-Break.
Ctrl-Break is recognized only while the system is reading from the keyboard
or printing characters on the screen, unless you have used BREAK=ON. In
either instance, the command may not end instantly when you press Ctrl-Break.
- Commands become effective only after pressing the Enter key.
- Global filename characters and device names are not allowed in a command
name. You may use them only in command parameters.
- For commands displaying large amounts of output on the screen, you can press
Ctrl-NumLock to suspend the display of the output. Pressing any character key
resumes the display.
- Drives will be referred to as SOURCE drives and TARGET drives. A SOURCE drive
is one you will be transferring information FROM. A TARGET drive is a drive
you will be transferring information TO.
- If the characters <,>, or | appear anywhere in the command line entered, DOS
will act upon them as described in "Redirection of Standard Input and Output"
and "Piping of Standard Input and Output Device in Chapter 10.
#C COMP (Compare Files) Pg 6-60
#F Compares files
#X COMP [d:][path][filename[.ext]] [d:][path][filename[.ext]]
Global filename characters are allowed in both filenames, and will cause
all of the files matching the first filename to be compared with the corres-
ponding files from the second filename.
#E Comp A:*.asm B:*.BAK causes each file that has an extension of .asm from
drive A to be compared with a file of the same name(but with an extension
of .bak) from drive B.
#C COPY Pg 6-65
#F Copies files
The first file specified is the source file, the second file specified is the
target file.
#X COPY [/A][/B][d:][path][filename[.ext][/A][/B][d:][path]
[filename[.ext]][/A][/B][/V]
where /V causes DOS to verify that sectors written on the target file are
properly recorded
where /A and /B indicate the amount of data to be processed by the copy
command. Each applies to the filespec preceding it and to all remaining
filespecs on the command lin until another /A or /B is encountered.
These parameters have the following meaning:
when used with a SOURCE filespec:
/A causes the file to be treated as an ASCII (text) file. The file's data is
copied up to, but not including, the first end-of-file character (Ctrl-Z,
hex A1) found in the file; the remainder of the file is not copied.
/B causes the entire file (based on the directory file size) to be copied.
when used with a TARGET filespec:
/A causes a Ctrl-Z character to be added as the last character of the file.
/B causes no end-of-file character to be added.
#E COPY a:help.dat b:
#C DATE Pg 6-80
#F Enter the current date
#X DATE [mm-dd-yy]
#C DIR (Directory) Pg 6-83
#F List all or specified filenames in a directory
#X DIR [d:][path][filename[.ext]][/P][/W]
where /P will pause the screen when it is full
where /W will provide a wide display
entries that name other directories are identified by <DIR> in the file
size field
#C DISKCOMP (Compare Diskettes) Pg 6-90
#F Compares the contents of the diskette in the first specified drive to the
contents of the diskette in the second specified drive. This command is used
only for comparing diskettes, if a fixed disk drive letter is specified, an
error message is displayed.
#X DISKCOMP [d:][d:][/1][/8]
where /1 forces DISKCOMP to compare only the first side of the diskettes,
even if the diskettes are dual-sided.
where /8 causes DISKCOMP to compare only 8 sectors per track, even if the
first diskette contains 9 sectors per track.
#C DISKCOPY (Copy Diskettes) Pg 6-90
#F Copys the contents of the diskette in the first specified drive to the
contents of the diskette in the second specified drive. This command is used
only for copying diskettes, if a fixed disk drive letter is specified, an
error message is displayed. The target diskette is formatted if necessary.
#X DISKCOPY [d:][d:][/1]
where /1 forces DISKCOPY to copy only the first side of the diskette,
even if the diskette is dual-sided.
#C ECHO (Batch Subcommand) Pg 6-35
#F Allows or inhibits screen display of DOS commands executed
from a batch file
#X ECHO [ON|OFF|message]
where ECHO with no parameters displays current state (on or off)
#C ERASE Pg 6-98
#F Delete files from directories
#X ERASE [d:][path][filename].ext]] or DEL [d:][path][filename].ext]]
#C FOR (Batch Subcommand) Pg 6-37
#F Allows iterative execution of DOS commands
#X FOR %%variable IN (set) DO command
where %%variable is sequentially set to each member of set and then
the command is evaluated and executed
#C FORMAT Pg 6-100
#F Formats a diskette
#X FORMAT [d:][/S][/1][/8][/V][/B]
where /S will place OPERATING SYSTEM files on the target diskette
where /1 formats the diskette as one-sided
where /8 formats the target diskette at 8 sectors per track
where /V causes FORMAT to prompt you for a Volume label
where /B causes FORMAT to create 8 sector diskette with space for
IBMBIO.COM AND IBMDOS.COM
#C GOTO (Batch Subcommand) Pg 6-38
#F Transfers control to the line FOLLOWING the one containing the label
#X GOTO label
where label is a character string up to 8 characters long preceded by a :
#E :LOOP
REM looping... <This produces an indefinite sequence of rem looping>
GOTO LOOP
#C GRAPHICS (Screen Print) Pg 6-106
#F Prints the contents of a graphics display screen on an IBM (EPSON) printer
#X GRAPHICS
Press the Shift-PrtSc keys to print the screen contents on the printer
(The GRAPHICS command must have been issued previously)
#C HELP (A utility program, NOT a DOS command)
This version of Help.dat by R.E. McCallister
#F Provides help with DOS commands
#X HELP [command]
#E HELP HELP
#C IF (Batch Subcommand) Pg 6-40
#F Provides conditional execution of commands within a batch file
#X IF [NOT] condition command
where condition is one of:
ERRORLEVEL number
string1==string2
EXIST filespec
the command is executed if the condition is true
#C MKDIR (Make Directory) Pg 6-107
#F Creates a sub-directory on the specified or default disk
#X MKDIR [d:]path or MD [d:]path
#C MODE Pg 6-109
#F Set the mode of the printer or the display
#X MODE [LPT#:][n][,m][,P]
where # is 1, 2, or 3 (the printer number)
n is 80 or 132 (characters per line)
m is 6 or 8 (lines per inch vertical spacing)
P specifies continuous retry on time-out errors
or MODE n
or MODE [n],m[,T]
where n is 40, 80, BW40, BW80, CO40, OR MONO
m is R or L (shift display right or left)
T request a test pattern to align the display
or MODE COMn:baud[,parity[,databits[,stopbits[,P]]]]
where n is 1 or 2 (Asynchronous Communication Adapter number)
baud is 110, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600
parity is N(none), O(odd), or E(even) (default=E)
databits is 7 or 8 (default = 7)
stopbits is 1 or 2 (default =1 except for baud =110, =2)
or MODE LPT#:=COMn
where # is 1, 2, or 3 (printer number)
n is 1 or 2 (Comm Adapter number)
#C NOTATION Pg 6-8
#F This is not a command, but an explanation of DOS command notation
The following notation is used to indicate how DOS commands should
be entered:
- You must enter any words shown in CAPITAL LETTERS. These must be entered
exactly as shown, except lower case is acceptable.
- You must supply any items shown in lower case letters NOT within square
brackets.
- Items in square brackets [..] are optional. If you include optional
information, do not type the brackets, only the information inside the
brackets.
- Items separated by a bar | mean that you may enter one of the separated
items, but not both. For example ON|OFF means you can enter ON or OFF,
but not both.
- An ellipsis ... indicates you can repeat an item as many times as
you wish.
- You must include all punctuation (except square brackets and vertical
bars) such as commas, equal sighns, questin marks, colons, slashes, or
backslashes where shown.
#C PARAMETER Pg 6-9
#F This is not a command, but an explanation of DOS command parameters
Parameters are items that you can include in your DOS command statements.
They are used to specify additional information to the system. Some are
required in your commands, others are optional. If you do not include some
required parameters, the system supplies a default value. Defaults are
noted in the discussion of each command.
d: This denotes you should specify a drive. Examples, A:, b:
If you omit this parameter, DOS assumes the default drive.
path This denotes a path of directory names. Enter the directory names
separated by backslashes. If a filename is to be appended, it should be
separated from the last directory entry by a backshash. A first backslash
is optional, If used, it tells DOS to begin with the ROOT directory; if
omitted, the directory path begins with the CURRENT directory. Paths may
be up to 63 characters long.
Example, \dir1\dir2\myfile
filename This denotes a 1-8 character filename. Filenames may be followed
by a filename extension.
.ext This denotes an optional fiename extension consisting of a period and
1-3 characters. When used filename extensions immediately follow filenames.
filespec This denotes the file specification of optional drive, filename,
and optional filename extension. Examples, B:myfile.COB, a:yourfile, mine
#C PATH (Set Search Directory) Pg 6-117
#F Causes specified directories to be searched for commands or batch files
that were not found by a search of the current directory
#X PATH [d:]path[[;d:]path]...]
erroneous information in the paths, such as invalid drives, etc will not be
detected until DOS actually needs to search the specified paths
#C PAUSE (Batch Subcommand) Pg 6-47
#F Suspends system processing and displays the message:
Strike a key when ready...
#X PAUSE [remark]
where remark is any character string up to 121 characters long
#C PRINT Pg 6-120
#F Prints a file or list of files on the printer while you are doing other
tasks on the computer. Up to 10 filenames can be queued for printing at
one time. Only files in the current directory can be queued
#X PRINT [[d:][filename[.ext]][/T][/C][/P]...]
where /T sets terminate mode. All queued files are canceled from the que
and any file printing is canceled
/C sets the cancel mode. Allows selection of which files to cancel
/P sets the print mode. (default if not /parameters issued)
#C RECOVER Pg 6-126
#F Recovers files from a disk that has developed a defective sector. You can
recover the file that contains the bad secator (minus the data in the bad
sector), or all the files on the disk can be recovered if the direcatory has been damaged.
#X RECOVER [d:][path]filename[.ext] or RECOVER d:
In the second format shown, RECOVER assumes the directory is damaged, and
recovers all files on the specified disk.
#C REM (Remark Batch Subcommand) Pg 6-49
#F Displays remarks from within a batch file
#X REM [remark]
where remark is any character string up to 123 characters long
#C RENAME Pg 6-129
#F Renames a file
#X REN[AME] filespec
#C RESERVED 6-13
#F This is not a command, but any explanation of RESERVED DEVICE NAMES
CON: Console keyboard/screen. If used as an input device, pressing Ctrl-Z,
followed by Enter generates an end-of-file condition which end CON: as an
input device.
AUX: or COM1: First Asynchronous Communications Adapter port
COM2: Second Asynchronous Communications Adapter port
LPT1: or PRN: First parallel printer (output only)
LPT2: or LPT3: Second or third parallel printer
NUL: Nonexistent (dummy) device for testing applications. If used as input,
immediate end-of-file is generated; if as an output device, write
operations are simulated, but no data is actually written.
When using device names, you should assure that the device atually exists,
using nonexistent device names can cause unpredictable results.
The reserved device names may be used in place of a filename.
Any drive specifier or filename extension entered with these device names
will be ignored. The colon following the reserved device name is optional.
#C RESTORE (Fixed Disk) Pg 6-131
#F Restores one or more files from diskettes to a fixed disk.
#X RESTORE d:[d:][path][filename][.ext][/S][/P]
The files being restore must have been placed on the diskettes by the BACKUP
command. The first parameter you specify is the backup diskette drive. The
second parameter is the fixed disk you want to restore.
where /S causes backed up files in all sub-directories to be restored
where /P will cause RESTORE to prompt you before restoring files that have
been changed since they were last backed up, or that are marked read-only.
You may then choose to restore the file or not.
#C RMDIR (Remove Directory) Pg 6-134
#F Removes a sub-directory from the specified disk
#X RMDIR [d:]path or RD [d:]path
The directory must be empty before it can be removed with the exception of
the "." and ".." entries.
The root directory and the current directory cannot be removed.
#C SHIFT (Batch Subcommand) Pg 6-45
#F Allows command lines to make use of more than 10 (%0 thru %9) replaceable
parameters.
#X SHIFT
Replaceable parameters are ;numbered %0 through %9. If you wish to use more
than 10 parameters on a command line, you can use SHIFT to get at parameters
past the tenth. All parameters are shifted one position to the left, with the
%0 parameter being replaced by the %1 parameter, etc.
#C SYS (System) Pg 6-135
#F Transfers the operating system files from the default drive to the
specified drive.
#X SYS d:
The directory of the disk in the specified drive must be completely empty, or
the disk must have been formatted by a FORMAT d:/S or FORMAT d:/B command to
contain directory entries for the DOS files IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM
#C TIME Pg 6-136
#F Set the time
#X TIME [hh:mm:ss.xx]
#C TREE (Display Directories) Pg 6-138
#F Displays all of the directory paths found on the specified or default drive
and optionally lists the files in each sub-directory
#X TREE [d:][/F]
where /F specifies list the files
#C TYPE Pg 6-141
#F Display the contents of the specified file on the screen
#X TYPE [d:][path]filename[.ext]
#E TYPE a:help.dat
#C VER (Version) Pg 6-143
#F Displays the DOS version number on the screen
#X VER
#C VERIFY Pg 6-144
#F Verifies that the data written on a disk has been correctly recorded
#X VERIFY [ON|OFF]
VERIFY with no parameter displays the current state (ON or OFF)
#C VOL (Volume) Pg 6-145
#F Displays the disk volume identification of the specified or default drive
#X VOL [d:]