Dos Commands Index

ECHO
(Internal)

ECHO on|off
ECHO (message)

Displays messages or turns on or off the display of commands in a batch file.

EDIT
(External)

EDIT [d:][path]filename [/B][/G][/H][/NOHI]

Starts the MS-DOS editor, a text editor used to create and edit ASCII text files.

EMM386
(External)

EMM386 [on|off|auto] [w=on|off]

Enables or disables EMM386 expanded-memory support on a computer with an 80386 or higher processor.

EXE2BIN
(External)

EXE2BIN [d:][path]filename [d:][path]filename

Converts .EXE (executable) files to binary format.

EXIT
(Internal)

EXIT

Exits a secondary command processor.

EXPAND
(External)

EXPAND [d:][path]filename [[d:][path]filename[ . . .]]

Expands a compressed file.

FASTHELP
(External)

FASTHELP [command][command] /?

Displays a list of DOS commands with a brief explanation of each.

FASTOPEN
(External)

FASTOPEN d:[=n][/X]

Keeps track of the locations of files for fast access.

FC
(External)

FC [/A][/C][/L][/Lb n][/N][/T][/W][number] [d:][path]filename [d:][path]filename

or (for binary comparisons)
FC [/B][/number] [d:][path]filename [d:][path]filename

Displays the differences between two files or sets of files.

FCBS
(Internal)

FCBS=(number)

Used in the CONFIG.SYS file to specify the number of file-control blocks for file sharing.

FDISK
(External)

FDISK [/status]

Prepares a fixed disk to accept DOS files for storage.

FILES
(Internal)

FILES=(number)

Used in the CONFIG.Sys file to specify the maximum number of files that can be open at the same time.

FIND
(External)

FIND [/V][/C][/I][/N] ÒstringÓ [d:][path]filename[...]

Finds and reports the location of a specific string of text characters in one or more files.

FOR
(Internal)

FOR %%(variable) IN (set) DO (command)

or (for interactive processing)
FOR %(variable) IN (set) DO (command)

Performs repeated execution of commands (for both batch processing and interactive processing).

FORMAT
(External)

FORMAT d:[/1][/4][/8][/F:(size)] [/N:(sectors)] [/T:(tracks)][/B|/S][/C][/V:(label)] [/Q][/U][/V]

Formats a disk to accept DOS files.

GOTO
(Internal)

GOTO (label)

Causes unconditional branch to the specified label.

GRAFTABL
(External)

GRAFTABL [(code page)]
GRAFTABL [status]

Loads a table of character data into memory (for use with a color/graphics adapter).

GRAPHICS
(External)

GRAPHICS [printer type][profile] [/B][/R][/LCD][/PB:(id)] [/C][/F][/P(port)]

Provides a way to print contents of a graphics screen display.

HELP
(External)

HELP [command] [/B][/G][/H][/NOHI]

Displays information about a DOS command.

IF
(Internal)

IF [NOT] EXIST filename (command) [parameters]
IF [NOT] (string1)==(string2) (command) [parameters]
IF [NOT] ERRORLEVEL (number) (command) [parameters]

Allows for conditional operations in batch processing.

INCLUDE
(Internal)

INCLUDE= blockname

Used in the CONFIG.SYS file to allow you to use the commands from one CONFIG.SYS block within another.

INSTALL
(Internal)

INSTALL=[d: ][\path]filename [parameters]

Used in the CONFIG.SYS file to load memory-resident programs into conventional memory.

INTERLINK
(External)

INTERLINK [client[:]=[server][:]]

Connects two computers via parallel or serial ports so that the computers can share disks and printer ports.

INTERSVR
(External)

INTERSVR [d:][...][/X=d:][...] [/LPT:[n|address]] [/COM:[n|address]][/baud:rate] [/B][/V]
INTERSVR /RCOPY

Starts the Interlink server.

JOIN
(External)

JOIN d: [d:path]
JOIN d: [/D]

Allows access to the directory structure and files of a drive through a directory on a different drive.

KEYB
(External)

KEYB [xx][,][yyy][,][d:][path]filename [/E][/ID:(number)]

Loads a program that replaces the support program for U. S. keyboards.

LABEL
(External)

LABEL [d:][volume label]

Creates or changes or deletes a volume label for a disk.

LASTDRIVE
(Internal)

LASTDRIVE=(drive letter)

Used in the CONFIG.SYS file to set the maximum number of drives that can be accessed.

LOADFIX
(Internal)

LOADFIX [d:][path]filename [parameters]

Ensures that a program is loaded above the first 64K of conventional memory, and runs the program.

LOADHIGH
(Internal)

LOADHIGH (LH) [d:][path]filename [parameters]

Loads memory resident application into reserved area of memory (between 640K-1M).