Command Prompt: Dir

  • Thread starter Thread starter Howard Kaikow
  • Start date Start date
H

Howard Kaikow

On my system, when I am in a Command Prompt window, using Dir lists all
files, including those that have System and/or Hidden attributes.

My sister's system does not list the System and Hidden files, although she
states she sees them listed in Windows Explorer.
Are there separate settings for Command Prompt mode?
I do not recall ever changing those options, other than in My Computer.
 
Dirs default options are set by the DIRCMD environment variable.

See 'dir /?'

AJ
 
Hello Howard,

You can set that by right-clicking on My
Computer/Properties/Advanced/Environment Variables
There you can set persistent env. variables.
 
Howard Kaikow wrote in
I must have set it some place.

Where would I have done that?

Does Win 2000 ignore autoexec.bat and config.sys?
Those are present in case I want to boot to MS-DOS 7
Click to expand...

Yes they are ignored. For the most part.
autoexec.bat (if present and with contents) may be parsed for PATH
information in which case IIRC those Path elements are appended to
the User environment PATH (which is appended to the System env.
Path).

There is a registry setting to disable this default (in NT4 anyway)
behavior. Search "parseautoexec" which is not present at
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
\Winlogon\
by default.

I've never hear of a DIRCMD env. var. being used from autoexec.bat
nor would that work in MS-DOS/Win9x AFAIK.
 
Gary Smith wrote in
Unless the registry is set to prohibit it, Win2K processes the
PATH and SET statements from autoexec.bat. The content of the
Click to expand...

Thanks Gary. I did not recall that SET statements were, but now that
I wrack the old brain I do remember having a DOS/W98/NT dual boot
system where my PATH and SET were stored in an ancillary file called
from autoexec.bat for just this reason!
PATH variable is appended to the path defined by the Windows
system and user path variables. The SET statements are used to
establish environment variables just as if they had been defined
in the Windows registry.
Click to expand...

[ ]
It certainly will be used if it's there. DIRCMD was part of DOS
6, so it probably works in Win9X as well.
Click to expand...

Now I'm really worried that I didn't recall DIRCMD in MS-DOS 6.x!
;-)

I assume parseautoexec=1 is still the default in XP and W2K3?
How about Win95TruncatedExtensions? That was always (to me) a
particularly stupid default ("on").

Thanks for the expansion/correction.
 
Mark V said:
I assume parseautoexec=1 is still the default in XP and W2K3?
How about Win95TruncatedExtensions? That was always (to me) a
particularly stupid default ("on").
Click to expand...

Yes, ParseAutoexec=1 is the default, as it was in NT. I wrestled with the
situation for quite a while on my dual-boot NT/DOS 6.22 system before I
learned that there was an option. I believe that
Win95TruncatedExtensions=1 is also the default, but I discovered that one
and changed it long ago, before it could trip me up.
 
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