You can use either relative or absolute pathnames at any time, as long as you give MS-DOS enough information to find the directory or file at the end of the pathname.

Including Filenames With Pathnames

You can use a pathname when you want to access a file that is not in the current directory. You specify the name of the file you want to access at the end of the pathname, like this:

TYPE \WORDPROC\PERSONAL\JEAN1204.DOC

This command tells MS-DOS to list on screen (TYPE) the contents of the text file JEAN1204.DOC which is stored in the directory \ WORDPROC \ PERSONAL. You separate the name of a file from the name of a directory with a backslash.

Including Drive Letters With Pathnames and Filenames

To access a file stored on a drive other than the current drive, you need to include a drive designator (A :, for example) as well as a filename. If the file you want is not stored in the current directory of that drive, you also need to include a pathname.

For example, if you are logged onto the root directory of drive C and you want to delete the file JEAN1204.DOC stored in the directory \ WORDPROC \ PERSONAL of drive A, type the following and press Enter:

DEL A:\WORDPROC\PERSONAL\JEANl204.DOC

If you change drives and then try to access a file on the previous drive, MS-DOS remembers which directory was the current directory the last time you were logged onto that drive. For example, suppose that the last time you were logged onto

Using MS-DOS with Your Equity 386SX 4-21