Listing the contents of a directory

To list the files in the current directory, type DIR and press Enter. MS-DOS lists the names of the files in the current directory on the current drive. If you are logged on to drive C but want to see a directory of the files on the diskette in drive A, type DIR A: and press Enter.

There are two special notations that identify the current directory and the next directory. These two notations are the single period and the double period, the first entries in each directory other than the root directory.

A single period represents the current directory. Typing DIR. is the same as typing DIR without the period. The double period represents the current directory’s parent directory So, for example, if SALES is your current directory, typing DIR. . displays the contents of its parent directory, the LEDGER directory.

Using pathnames

Whenever you want to access a file that is not in the current directory, you must specify the file’s pathname. A full path name consists of one or more directory names separated by backslashes and followed by the filename. The path name tells MS-DOS where your file is stored.

For example, in the example directory shown on the last page, the full

path name for the file ROGER is \ WORDPROC \ PERSONAL\ ROGER. ROGER is the name of the file located in the PERSONAL directory, which is a subdirectory of the WORDPROC directory. The WORDPROC directory is, in turn, a subdirectory of the root directory.

The filename is always last and is always preceded by a backslash. The backslash at the beginning of the path name represents the root directory, and subsequent backslashes separate the directory levels.

If you want to access a file on a different drive, include the drive letter in the pathname, as in this example:

B : \ WORDPROC \ PERSONAL\ ROGER

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Using MS-DOS with Your Equity Ie