Subj : list.com To : Ed Vance From : AKAcastor Date : Wed Apr 17 2024 17:40:54 EV> Before Logging on again, I turned the XP box on to see EV> the L.bat file that I EV> put in a sub-directory actually is: list/w . Oh yeah, "list /w ." is a great way to view a directory and inspect files, I tried it out here and it has a real "power user" feeling (in a good way). EV> At a cmd prompt I typed set and the sub-directory is located in the path= EV> statement. EV> I looked, but I can't find where or when or how XP put EV> my location for l.bat in EV> the path. PC=1. Ed=0. again. You might find that in the 'System Properties' window (If you right click on 'My Computer' and select 'Properties' it will open). In the 'Advanced' tab there is an 'Environment Variables' button. EV> At a cmd prompt I use EDIT.EXE , occasionally. EV> I use WordPad for most of what I write. I don't mind EDIT.EXE, I also use it sometimes - a lot better than using EDLIN! I never did really learn how to use EDLIN but I think I stumbled through a couple edits with it over the years. EV> Often I go to a Admin cmd prompt and make.txt files of EV> all files on the HDD. EV> AT C:\ I type dir /s/-p >> 'place to put the text file' . EV> And a second time I add /b ahead of the /s/-p portion of the command. I find the /b switch useful too, a nice way to make a quick list of files in a directory (or subdirectories). EV> Ages ago I read an article saying .rtf files can contain problem code, but EV> since I am writing text I don't think any .rtf file I ever shared with EV> others would harm their system. I think RTF (and other rich documents) are only a danger if you are opening files that were created by someone malicious. I don't think I've ever heard of any accidental problems. EV> 40 years ago when I bought the Commodore C=64 , 1541 and VIC Modem 300 EV> I also purchased a pack of two 5 1/4" floppy disks for $2.00 USD. This still sounds like an exciting purchase! Did you buy them all the same day? Big box of Commodore goodies. EV> I read in the 1541 manual the Command new was used to format a disk. EV> I tried over and over typing new the disk name Comma two letters. EV> Never could make the floppy drive format one of the disks. EV> The 1541 drive had a Utilities Disk and I saw a PRG (Program) with the EV> title of "Test Disk", so I ran it, was asked to insert a blank disk in EV> the slot and press Return. EV> When the test finished I learned the blank disk had been formatted. This spirit of experimentation is familiar to me, I can't count how many times over the years I didn't know what I was doing and just TRIED THINGS and stumbled onto a solution for a problem. Sometimes the solution is only a side-effect of whatever action I took, but if it works then it works and I consider it a success! EV> Much later in reading, I learned the Command on PAGE 1 of the book called EV> 'open' was suppose to be typed first, then some numbers and then I could EV> type 'new' on the command line and my 1541 would format a disk for me. You gotta know the secret incantations! :) And they HID them on page 1! When we just got new hardware there's too much excitement in the air to just sit down and read carefully. I bet we've all missed the instructions that were right in front of us at least once (I like it so much I do it often). EV> No one needs to make up stories about Me, telling it as EV> You saw me do it is bad enuf. Your telling of the stories is always wonderful, Ed, and I really appreciate you sharing these stories. I always smile when I see a message from you. EV> Late one night I accidentally touched the mouse button as I had Windows EV> Explorer open and saw a sub-directory disappear. EV> It was bed time so I shut the PC off. EV> The next morning at a cmd prompt I typed dir *. /s EV> to look for the missing folder. Hey there's another old DOS trick! Using DIR *. to list directories, in versions of DOS before the /ad switch was supported. I remember reading about this trick in a magazine in the early 90s - maybe DOS Resource Guide. It usually works great because we rarely use extensions on directory names, and almost always use extensions on filenames. I like the trick because "list everything without an extension" isn't exactly the same as "list all directories", but it still works most of the time. EV> I found that I had dragged the sub-directory down to the next one shown in EV> Windows Explorer, so I moved it back where it originally had been. At least you realized you had done it! More than once I've looked through a directory I hadn't been in for a while, and found another directory tucked away inside that was dropped there accidentally at some time in the past and gotten lost. Oops! EV> THEN I told on myself in the FIDO Windows echo. EV> The next day a reply message mentioned all I needed to do after the EV> sub-directory disappeared was to press CTRL z (which I knew was Undo). EV> DUH Maybe doing things "the hard way" sometimes builds character, you do seem to have plenty of that! :) Chris/akacastor --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162) .