Changing Directories(MS-DOS)

Look at the list on your screen. All the names that have <DIR> beside them are

directories. You can see a list of the files in another directory by changing to that

directory, and then using the dir command again. In this case, you will change

to the DOS directory.

Before you begin this section, make sure you have a directory named DOS by

carrying out the following procedure. 

o To make sure you have a directory named Windows

1.If you do not see a line in the directory list indicating that you have a directory

named Windows, type the following at the command prompt:

                                        dir /s Windows

You will see a message that includes a line such as the following:

                             Directory of C:\DIRNAME

o To change from the root directory to the WINDOWS directory

To change directories, you will use the cd command. The cd command stands for

"change directory."

1. Type the following at the command prompt:

                                          cd windows

The command prompt changes. It should now look like the following:

                                       C:\WINDOWS>

Next, you will use the dir command to view a list of the files in the DOS directory.

o To view a list of the files in the WINDOWS directory

1. Type the following at the command prompt:

                                               dir

A list of the files in the WINDOWS directory appears, but scrolls by too quickly to read.

You can modify the dir command so that it displays only one screen of information at a

time

.

o To view the contents of a directory one screen at a time

1. Type the following at the command prompt:

                                                dir /p

One screen of information appears. At the bottom of the screen, you will see the

following message:

                                Press any key to continue . . .

2. To view the next screen of information, press any key on your keyboard.

Repeat this step until the command prompt appears at the bottom of your screen.

When you typed the dir command this time, you included the /p switch after the

command. A switch modifies the way MS-DOS carries out a command. Generally, a

switch consists of a forward slash (/) that is followed by one or more letters or numbers.

When you used the /p switch with the dir command, you specified that MS-DOS should

pause after it displays each screen of directory list information. The p actually stands for

"page"

Another helpful switch you can use with the dir command is the /w switch. The /w

switch indicates that MS-DOS should show a wide version of the directory list.

o To view the contents of a directory in wide format

1. Type the following at the command prompt:

                                                 dir /w

The directory list appears, with the filenames listed in wide format. Note that only

filenames are listed. No information about the files' size or date and time of creation

appears.

2. If the directory contains more files than will fit on one screen, you can combine the /p

and /w switches as follows:

                                                dir /w /p