qref
QREF This program.

Q-REF is a Quick REFerence program designed to help you
remember DOS COMMANDS and useful programs.

~
  THIS AREA IS THE DESCRIPTION OF THE HIGHLIGHTED COMMAND

<-- AND THIS IS A PARTIAL LIST OF THE COMMANDS
    ( more commands will scroll into view ). 

This information is held in the file QREFDATA.DAT and can
be modified to suit your needs. Examine the format of the
file then modify it ( REMEMBER keep a copy as a backup ).   

A quick reminder of useful keys is displayed at the top
so you may remove this entry if you wish.

OTHER KEYS TO TRY :-
~
 PG UP,  PG DWN,  Any first letter.      
****
append
APPEND - Set a search path for data files.

~
APPEND d:\path;d:\path....

NOTES

  Each path must start from a root directory.

  The directories are searched one by one in order given.

  Not all programs can make use of APPEND.

~
example :-

APPEND C:\EBASE;D:\MYBASE

If data is not in current directory then look in C:\EBASE

if files still not found look in D:\MYBASE
****
attrib
ATTRIB - Set file attributes.

~
ATTRIB +R -R +A -A d:\path\filename.ext

Options

   +R   Make the file Read-Only.

   -R   Make the file Read-Write.

   +A   Force the file to be backed up.

   -A   Stop the file from being backed up.


~
example :-

ATTRIB +R \DATA\FILE1.TXT

Make the file FILE1.TXT Read-Only.
****
chkdsk
CHKDSK - Check disk for errors and files for
         non-contiguous storage areas.

~
CHKDSK d:\path\filename.ext /F /V

Options

   /F - Fix errors as the disk is processed.

   /V - Display messages as the disk is processed.

~
example :-

CHKDSK B: /F

Check Drive B and fix errors if possible.

N.B. chkdsk also reports on disk space and computer RAM.
****
chdir
CHDIR -  Change the current directory.
or CD

~
CHDIR d:\path
~
or CD 

NOTES

  You may use CD.. to change to parent directory of 
  current directory.

  The directory of a non-current drive may be changed but 
  the original drive and path will stay current. 

~
example :-

CD \WORDPROC\LETTERS

Change current directory to \WORDPROC\LETTERS
****
cls
~
CLS - Clear the screen.


CLS leaves the cursor in the top lefthand corner
    
    of the screen after the screen is cleared. 
****
comp
COMP - Compare two files.

~
COMP options d:\path\filename.ext d:\path\filename.ext

Options

   /A - Display last line of match and first line of 
        re-match.
   /C - Treat all letters as upper case.
   /L - Force a line by line comparison.
   /LB - Set the buffer size to n lines. Default n = 100.
   /N - Add line numbers when reporting differences.
   /T - Don't expand tab characters to spaces.
   /W - Tabs & multiple spaces treated as one space.
   /n - Set No. of lines for resynchronisation. Def n=2.

NOTE

Options can vary from one PC's version to another.
Amstrad PC listed above.
****
copy
COPY - Copy files.

~
COPY d:\path\filenames /A /B d:\path\filenams /A /B /V 
             source files            destination files

Options - Source

 /A - The file is treated as ASCII text file. The contents
      are copied up to but excluding the first Ctrl-Z.  

 /B - The entire file is copied regardless of any Ctrl-Z.

Options - Destination

   /A - The file is treated as an ASCII text file. A
        Ctrl-Z is added to the end of the file.

   /B - No Ctrl-Z is added to the end of the file.

   /V - Files are compared to verify accuracy of copy. 
****
date
DATE - Set or read the date.

~
DATE dd-mm-yy

Options

   dd - represents the day ( 01...31 ).

   mm - the month ( 01...12 ).

   yy - last digits of the year ( 00...99 ).

NOTE

DATE with no settings will display date and prompt for
a new date. Press ENTER to keep existing date.
****
del
DEL - Delete one or more files.
or ERASE

~
DEL d:\path\filename.ext

DEL or ERASE maybe used to remove one or more files.
Wildcards * and ? can be used for multiple file selection.

~
example :-

DEL *.*

Delete all files in current directory.
This is a special case and will prompt for confirmation :-

~
    Are you sure (Y/N)?

Type Y to delete all files N to abort.  
****
dir
DIR - Display contents of a directory.

~
DIR d:\path\filename.ext /P /W

Options

   /P - Pause the display after a screenful of data.
        Press any key for next screenful.

   /W - List files width ways ie five names on a line.

~
example :-

DIR A:\*.PIC /W

List all files on the A drive that have the extension PIC
and display them width ways.
****
diskcomp
DISKCOMP - Compare the contents of target drive 
           against contents of source drive.

~
DISKCOMP source-drive: target-drive: /1 /8

Options

 /1 - Compare just the first side of the disks.

 /8 - Compare just the first eight sectors of each track.
 
NOTES
If no source drive specified current drive is default.
If source drive is the same as target drive then a prompt
will ask for source and target disks when required. 

~
example:-

DISKCOMP A: B:
Compare disk in drive A with disk in drive B.
****
diskcopy
DISKCOPY -Copy contents of one disk to another.

~
DISCOPY source-drive: target-drive:

NOTES

If only one drive specified then current drive is taken
as source.
If no drive specified then a single-drive copy that
uses the current drive as both source and target will
be preformed.
The target disk will be formatted during copying if 
required.

~
example :-

DISKCOPY A: B:
Copy disk in drive A to disk in drive b.
****
edlin
EDLIN - Text editor.

~
EDLIN d:\path\filename.ext /B

Option

   /B - Ignore Ctrl-Z characters as End of File markers.

sample of commands within editor :-
 n           - edit line n where n = line number. 
 nA          - append n lines into the workspace.
 n,m,l,cC    - copy lines between n-m before l, c times.
 n,mD        - delete range n-m lines.
 E           - end edit and save file.
 nI          - insert following lines before line n.
 n,mL        - list range n-m lines. 
 n,m,lM      - move lines n-m to before l.
 n,mP        - display lines n-m a pageful at a time.
 Q           - quit and abandon changes.
see manual for more.
****
find
FIND - Look for a string in a file.

~
FIND /V /C /N "string" d:\path\filename.ext

Options

  /V - Display all lines excude lines containing "string".
  
  /C - Display a count of lines containing "string"

  /N - Number the lines according to position in file.

~
example :-

FIND "mouse driver" MYFILE.TXT

find the words 'mouse driver' in the file MYFILE.TXT.
****
format
FORMAT - Format a disk.

~
FORMAT d: options

Options

   /1 - Format as a single-sided disk.
   /8 - Format with 8 usable sectors per track.
   /B - Reserve space for hidden system files.
   /N:n - Format with n sectors per track ( n = 8 or 9). 
   /T:t - Format with t tracks ( t = 40 or 80 ).
   /V - Prompt for disk label.
   /S - Add system files for use as a "booting" disk.

~
example :-

FORMAT A: /S

Format the disk in drive A and add IO.SYS,MSDOS & 
COMMAND.COM files.
****
graphics
GRAPHICS - Prepare your PC for graphics printing.

~
GRAPHICS printer-type /R /B /F /C

Options

   /R - Print foregound light, bacground dark.
   /B - Print background colour.
   /F - Turn screen dump round through 90 degrees.
   /C - Center the screen dump on the page. 

Printer types

COLOR1 - IBM Color Printer with black ribbon.
COLOR4 - IBM Color Printer with Red Green Blue Black.  
COLOR8 - IBM Color Printer with cyan magenta yellow black
COMPACT - IBM Compact Printer.
GRAPHICS - IBM Graphics Printer default if non specified.
COLORJET - IBM Color Jet Printer.
           ( or compatables )
****
mkdir
MKDIR - Make a new directory.
or MD

~
MKDIR b:\path

NOTE

The optional backslash starts the path at the root
directory.
Exclude backslash to start path from current directory.

~
example :-

MD \DATABASE

make a directory from root with the name DATABASE.
****   
mode
MODE - Sets mode of operation of input and
       output devices.

~
MODE device:setting,setting..... 

NOTES

Mode can be used to set parrallel printer ports, serial
ports and screen display.

Mode can be used to set baud, parity, databits and
stopbits for serial communications.

The settings very much depend on the devices and
requirements. See manual for details.
****
more
MORE - Causes a pause after displaying a screenful.

~
command | MORE

NOTES

More filters the output to screen so that a screenful
is displayed at a time.  The next screenful will be
displayed after pressing the RETURN key. 

The output from one program is 'piped' into the
program MORE ( the '|' is used to pipe the output ).

~
example :-

TYPE \DOSDATA.DAT | MORE

Display the file DOSDATA.DAT one page at a time.
****
path
PATH - Define a search path.

~
PATH d:\path;d:\path...

NOTES

Each path must start from a root directory.

The paths will be searched in order listed.

Non existant paths will not be detected but
this will not cause an error.

~
example :-

PATH C:\MSDOS;C:\UTILS;D:\COMILER\LIB

Set search paths to C:\MSDOS, C:\UTILS & D:\COMPILER\LIB
****
print
PRINT - Print text files in background.

~
PRINT d:\path\filename.ext d:\path\filename... /P /C /T

Options

   /C - Remove this and following files from the print
        queue.
   /P - Add this and the following files to the print 
        queue.
   /T - Abandon all printing including current printing.

NOTES

The print command can be used to set up print devices
see manual.

PRINT with no filenames will list files in print queue.
****
prompt
PROMPT - Set up a new system prompt.

~
PROMPT prompt-text

Useful meta-strings
   $$ - The $ symbol.
   $t - The time.
   $d - The date.
   $p - The current directory and drive.
   $v - DOS version number.
   $n - The default drive letter.
   $g - The > character.
   $l - The < character.
   $b - The | character.
   $q - The = character.
   $h - A backspace; the previous character is erased.
   $e - The ESCape character.
   $_ - The CR LF sequence.
example :-
~
PROMPT $p$g   result  C:\WSDATA>
****
rename
RENAME - Rename a file.
or REN

~
RENAME d:\path\OLD-NAME.EXT NEW-NAME.EXT

NOTES

 If the new filename exists then renaming is abandoned.

 Wildcard characters * and ? may be used for multiple
 files.

~
example :-

REN C:\FILES\NEWDATA.DAT OLDDATA.DAT

Rename the file NEWDATA.DAT to the name OLDDATA.DAT
No reference to NEWDATA.DAT will exist after renaming.
****
replace
REPLACE - Insert new files and update old versions.

~
REPLACE drive:\path\filename.ext drive:\path options
        source                   target

Options
   /A - Add new files to target directory.
   /D - Replace only if the source file is more recent.
   /P - Prompt for confirmation before replacing files.
   /R - Replace both Read-Write and Read-Only files.
   /S - Search both the target directory and its
        subdirectories for old versions.
   /W - Wait for a key press before replacing files
        ( ie allows you to swap disks ).
~
example :-

REPLACE A:\*.TXT C:\WORDPROC

Replace the files *.TXT to C:\WORDPROC
****
rmdir
RMDIR - Remove a directory
or RD

~
RMDIR d:\PATH

NOTE

The subdirectory will not be removed if it contains any
files.

~
example :-

RD \HOME\ACCOUNTS

Remove the directory ACCOUNTS.

****
sort
SORT - Sort data.

~
SORT /R /+ n

Options

   /R - Sort in reverse order.

   /+n - Start sort from line number 'n'.

~
example :-

SORT /R <UNSORT.TXT >SORTED.TXT

Sort the file UNSORT.TXT in reverse order and put 
the result in file SORTED.TXT 
****
sys
SYS - Copy system files to a disk.

~
SYS drive:

Transfer the operating system files to drive d:
ie. make drive d: a 'bootable' disk.

NOTE

SYS does not transfer the file COMMAND.COM. You
must copy this file into the root directory of
the disk.

~
example :-

SYS A:
Transfer system files to disk in A drive. 
****
time
TIME - Set or read the time.

~
TIME hh:mm:ss.xx

Options

   HH - Set hours ( 0 - 23 )
   MM - Set minutes ( 0 - 59 )
   SS - Set seconds ( 0 - 59 )
   XX - Set hundreths of a second ( 0 - 99 )

NOTE

TIME with no parameters will display current time
and will prompt for time change. Press RETURN to leave
the time unchanged.  
****
tree
TREE - Display the directory structure of a drive.

~
TREE drive: /F

Option

   /F - List filenames as well.

NOTE

If no drive is specifyed the current drive is used.

~
example :-

TREE C:
Display directory structure of drive C.
****
type
TYPE - List a simple ASCII text file.

~
TYPE d:\path\filename.ext

NOTES

You can pause the listing with Ctrl-S.
Press Ctrl-Q to continue listing.

To abort listing press Ctrl-Q or Ctrl-Break.

~
example :-

TYPE C:\DATA\MYFILE.TXT | MORE

List the file MYFILE.TXT a screen at a time.
See MORE. 
****
verify
VERIFY - Turn on or off verification of disk writes.

~
VERIFY ON|OFF

VERIFY ON - Verify each file written to a disk.

VERIFY OFF - Turn off verify.

VERIFY - Show current setting of verify.
****
xcopy
XCOPY - Copy files and directories.

~
XCOPY d:\path\filename.ext d:\path\filename.ext options
      source               destination

Options

   /A - Copy only files with the Archive attribute set.
        Archive attribute isn't reset after copy.
   /D:dd-mm-yy - Only copy files that have changed on or
                 after the date given.
   /E - Copy empty subdirectories (must use /S as well).
   /M - As for /A but Archive attrib is reset after copy.
   /P - Confirm each copy.
   /S - Include files in subdirectories.
   /V - Verify each copy.
   /W - Wait for key press before copy to allow disk
        change.
****