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Microsoft Operating System/2 - Command Reference ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Microsoft(R) Operating System/2 - Command Reference Version 1.2 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Microsoft Corporation. The software and/or databases described in this document are furnished under a license agreement or nondisclosure agreement. The software and/or databases may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The purchaser may make one copy of the software for backup purposes. No part of this manual and/or database may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval systems, for any purpose other than the purchaser's personal use, without the written permission of Microsoft Corporation. (C) Copyright Microsoft Corporation, 1990. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Patent #4,825,358 Patent #4,779,187 Microsoft(R), MS(R), MS-DOS(R), the Microsoft logo, and InPort(R) are registered trademarks, and Windows(tm) is a trademark, of Microsoft Corporation. SideKick(R) is a registered trademark of Borland International, Inc. IBM(R), PC/AT(R), and PS/2(R) are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. LN07754-1189, OEMO786-1Z Welcome ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── This reference describes, in alphabetical order, the commands, utilities, and other programs you can use from the command prompt with Microsoft(R) Operating System/2. The entries include the following: ■ MS(R) OS/2 commands and utilities ■ DOS commands and utilities ■ Batch commands ■ Configuration commands ■ MS OS/2 device drivers In this manual, the term "DOS" refers to the MS-DOS(R) and IBM Personal Computer DOS operating systems. This manual is intended to be a reference for experienced users. For additional information about MS OS/2 and the Presentation Manager environment, see the following manuals: ■ To learn how to install MS OS/2 and quickly get started with Presentation Manager and MS OS/2, see Microsoft Operating System/2 Getting Started. ■ For a comprehensive description of the Presentation Manager environment, the MS OS/2 and DOS command interpreters, batch programs, configuration commands, and device drivers, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Note All examples of filenames and directory names in this reference are for the file allocation table (FAT) file system. To use high-performance file system (HPFS) file and directory names with the MS OS/2 commands and utilities, you must enclose the names in quotation marks, to ensure that MS OS/2 correctly interprets any spaces or special characters in the names. For example, without the quotation marks, MS OS/2 would interpret a plus sign (+) in an HPFS filename in a copy command as an instruction to combine two files. For more information about HPFS, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Commands and Utilities The following section lists MS OS/2 command-line commands and utilities by type. Included are MS OS/2 commands and utilities, DOS commands and utilities, batch commands, and configuration commands. Commands A command-line command is any word or phrase that you can type at a prompt in order to carry out an action. MS OS/2 command-line commands are built into one or both of two programs: cmd (the MS OS/2 command interpreter) and command (the DOS command interpreter). The command-line commands include special sets of commands for configuring your system and for running batch files. MS OS/2 Commands chcp move chdir path cls prompt copy rename date rmdir del set detach start dir time dpath type exit ver keys verify mkdir vol DOS Commands break path chcp prompt chdir rename cls rmdir copy set date time del type dir ver exit verify mkdir vol Configuration Commands autofail memman break (DOS only) pauseonerror buffers priority call protectonly codepage protshell country rem device rmsize (DOS only) devinfo run diskcache set fcbs (DOS only) shell (DOS only) ifs swappath iopl threads libpath timeslice log trace maxwait tracebuf Batch Commands call if echo pause endlocal (OS/2 only) rem extproc (OS/2 only) setlocal (OS/2 only) for shift goto Utilities A utility is a program that is included as part of MS OS/2 but is separate from the MS OS/2 and DOS command interpreters. You start a utility by typing its name. MS OS/2 Utilities ansi label attrib mode backup more boot patch cache print chkdsk pstat cmd recover comp replace createdd restore ddinstal sort diskcomp spool diskcopy syslog eautil trace fdisk /d tracefmt find tree format unpack help xcopy keyb DOS Utilities append label assign mode attrib more chkdsk patch command print comp recover diskcomp replace diskcopy setcom40 edlin sort find subst format tree graftabl unpack help xcopy join Device Drivers A device driver tells MS OS/2 how to handle a device that is installed on your system. This manual contains descriptions of the following drivers, which are included on your MS OS/2 installation disks: ANSI.SYS COM0x.SYS EXTDSKDD.SYS MOUSE.SYS MSxxxx0x.SYS POINTDD.SYS VDISK.SYS Presentation-Manager Applications The following section lists the Presentation Manager applications that come with MS OS/2, with a short description of each application. Each description is followed by a list of the application's menus and their commands. Control Panel Sets options for your system, such as the date and time, the appearance of the screen, and the way the mouse works. You can also add device drivers to your system from Control Panel. Options Menu Help Menu Screen Colors Help for Help Border Width Extended Help Warning Beep Keys Help Mouse Help Index Logo Display About Country Communications Port Exit Installation Menu Add Font Delete Font Add Printer Driver Delete Printer Driver Add Queue Driver Delete Queue Driver Convert Picture File Converts files from picture-interchange format to metafile format, or converts files with font information to a Presentation Manager format. File Menu Help Menu Convert Help for Help Exit Extended Help Keys Help Help Index About Desktop Manager Opens new program groups so that you can start applications. Two groups are already set up when you start your system: the Main group and the Utilities group. You can add program names to the program groups so that you can start the programs without searching through the directory structure for them. You can also arrange windows and icons on your screen and shut down your system from Desktop Manager. Group Menu Desktop Menu Open Tile All New Cascade All Delete Arrange Icons Rename Save Minimize on Use Close All Shutdown View Menu Icon Help Menu Text Help for Help Extended Help Keys Help Help Index About Menus in Group windows: Program Menu Help Menu Open Help for Help New Extended Help Copy Keys Help Delete Help Index Properties Minimize on Use View Menu Icon Text Display Picture Displays graphics documents in Presentation Manager. These documents can be in either picture-interchange format (with a .PIF filename extension) or metafile format (with a .MET filename extension). File Menu Help Menu Display Help for Help Exit Extended Help Keys Help Control Menu Help Index Show Next Picture About Quit Sequence File Manager Displays the names of the files on each drive, by directory; moves, copies, deletes, and renames files; and changes file flags and extended attributes. You can display a separate window for each directory. You can also start programs from File Manager. File Menu View Menu Open Name Run File Details Print Icon Associate Other Search By Name Move By Type Copy Sort By Delete Include Rename Replace on Open Change Flags Properties Options Menu Create Directory Confirmation Select All Fonts Deselect All Minimize on Run Undo Selection Exit Window Menu Tile Tree Menu Cascade Expand One Level Refresh Expand Branch Close All Directories Expand All 1. Directory Tree Collapse Branch Help Menu Help for Help Extended Help Keys Help Help Index About Fixed Disk Utility Prepares a hard disk for formatting. You can create primary and extended partitions and logical drives, display information about the existing partitions and logical drives, and, if your system has multiple hard disks, select the next hard disk for partitioning. (To delete the primary MS OS/2 partition from the hard disk that you start your system from, you must use the fdisk /d utility, which you run from the MS OS/2 Install disk.) Options Menu Help Menu Create Primary Partition Help for Help Create Extended Partition Extended Help Create Logical Drive Keys Help Delete Help Index Make Startable About Exit Displays information about the task you are performing, or about any topic you choose from the Help index or Help contents. You can print the Help index or part or all of the Help text. Services Menu Options Menu Search Expand One Level Print Expand Branch Copy Expand All Copy to File Collapse Branch Append to File Collapse All Contents Help Menu Viewed Pages Help for Help Previous Extended Help Keys Help Help Index OS/2 Command Reference Displays descriptions of the commands you type at the OS/2 or DOS command prompt, with an explanation of the command arguments and how the command works. You can print one or more of these command descriptions. Services Menu Options Menu Search Expand One Level Print Expand Branch Bookmark Expand All Copy Collapse Branch Copy to File Collapse All Append to File Contents Exit Index Viewed Pages Help Menu Previous Help for Help Extended Help Keys Help Help Index About Printer Installer Installs printers. Print Manager Controls how files are printed and how they are sent to the printer. Queue Menu Setup Menu Hold Queue Spooler Path Release Queue Printers Cancel All Jobs Queues Application Defaults Job Menu Refresh Menu Job Details Refresh Now Cancel Job Print Job Next Help Menu Start Job Again Help for Help Hold Job Extended Help Release Job Keys Help Help Index About Print Picture Prints graphics documents. These documents can be in either picture-interchange format (with a .PIF filename extension) or metafile format (with a .MET filename extension). File Menu Help Menu Select Help for Help Print Extended Help Exit Keys Help Help Index Control Menu About Change Printer Printer Options Paper Printing Area Picture System Editor Makes changes to the contents of text files. You can use System Editor to edit your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, as well as any text files you create. File Menu Options Menu New Set Font Open Set Colors Save Word Wrap Save As Autosave Help Menu Exit Help for Help Extended Help Edit Menu Keys Help Undo Help Index Cut About Copy Paste Clear Find Select All Notational Conventions To help you locate and interpret information easily, this manual uses icons, a standard syntax format and terminology, and specific typographic conventions. The following sections describe these elements. Icons The following icons appear in the left margin and indicate where you can use the command or utility described in the adjacent text. MS OS/2 DOS Configuration file Syntax Syntax represents the order in which you must type a command-line command or utility name and any arguments and options that follow it. Elements that appear in bold type must be typed exactly as they appear in the syntax line; elements that appear in italic are placeholders representing specific information that you will need to supply. Unless specified otherwise, you can type commands, arguments, and options in either uppercase or lowercase letters. The following is a sample syntax line: sample [+r|-r] [drive:][path]\^filename [...] [options] The meaning of each of these elements is as follows: Number Element Meaning ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1 sample Specifies the name of the command or utility. 2 [ ] Indicates items that are optional. To include the optional information described within the brackets, type only the information, not the brackets themselves. 3 | Separates two mutually exclusive choices in a syntax line; for example: break[on|off] Type only one of these choices (that is, break on or break off); do not type the symbol itself. 4 drive: Specifies a drive. You need to specify a drive with a filename only if you are using a file that is not on the current drive. 5 path Specifies a complete directory path, using the following syntax: [\edirectory][\edirectory]\e directory You need to specify a path with a filename only if the file is not in the current directory. Number Element Meaning ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 6 filename Specifies a file. In the file allocation table (FAT) file system, a filename can be up to eight characters long, followed by a period ( .) and an extension of up to three characters (for example, YOURFILEhighperformance file system (HPFS), a filename can be up to 254 characters long and can include periods and spaces in more than one place (for example, the filename YOURbetween a filename and an extension. An HPFS filename can also include certain characters not allowed in the FAT file system. The filename argument cannot be a device name or a drive letter. 7 ... Indicates that an argument can be repeated several times in a command line. Type only the information, not the ellipsis (...) itself. 8 options Specifies one or more command options. An option begins with a slash─for example, /p. Other placeholders used in syntax lines in this manual include the following: Placeholder Meaning ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── source Specifies the drive, directory, file, or device that will be transferred to a specified destination or used as input to a command. destination Specifies the drive, directory, file, or device that source will be transferred to. string Specifies a group of characters to be treated as a unit. A string can include letters, numbers, spaces, or any other characters and is usually enclosed in double quotation marks. Some commands, such as find, work with strings of text. Typographic Conventions The following typographic conventions are used in this reference: Convention Use ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── bold Command-line commands, utilities, options, and portions of syntax that must be typed exactly as shown. italic Variables and placeholders that represent information you must provide. monospace Sample command lines, program code, program output, and examples. ALL CAPITALS Filenames, directory names, and acronyms. SMALL CAPITALS Names of keys on your keyboard. Key combinations and key sequences appear in the following formats: Notation Meaning ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEY+KEY A plus sign (+) between keynames means you must press the keys at the same time; for example, "Press ALT+ESC" means that you press the ALT key and hold it down while you press and release the ESC key. KEY, KEY A comma (,) between keynames means you must press the keys in sequence; for example, "Press ALT, SPACEBAR" means that you press the ALT key and release it, and then you press the SPACEBAR and release it. DIRECTION keys Arrow keys on your computer keypad are called DIRECTION keys. The individual name refers to the direction the arrow on the key points: UP, DOWN, RIGHT, LEFT. Ansi «OS2» ansi [on|off] Turns the support on or off for ANSI escape sequences in an OS/2 session. The default setting is on. If you type ansi by itself, the utility displays the current setting. ANSI.SYS «CONFIG» device=[drive:][path]ansi.sys Directs MS OS/2 to load the ANSI.SYS device driver. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. When the ANSI.SYS device driver is loaded, you can use ANSI escape sequences in a DOS session to move the cursor, set the color for characters, and set the number of character rows and columns for the screen. Support for ANSI escape sequences is automatically available in an OS/2 session. For a list of the escape sequences used in the ANSI.SYS device driver, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. Append «DOS» append [/e|;|[drive:]path[;...]] [/path[:on|:off]] Specifies which directories besides the current directory MS OS/2 should search in order to find an application's data files. /e Stores the appended paths in the environment. You should use the /e option by itself, without any drive or path. MS OS/2 accepts this option only the first time you use the append utility after starting MS OS/2. If you use the /e option a second time, you receive an error message. ; When used by itself (append ;), cancels the existing appended path. Semicolons are also used to separate multiple paths. [drive:]path Specifies the directory path MS OS/2 searches for an application's data files. You can specify more than one path, separating them with semicolons. /path[:on Specifies whether MS OS/2 should search the appended directories when the filename that an application is looking for already includes a drive letter and/or path. If you specify /path:off, MS OS/2 does not search the appended directories; if you specify /path:on or simply /path by itself, MS OS/2 searches the directories. The default setting is /path:on. Each time you use the append utility, the new path you specify takes the place of the previous path. If you use the /e option the first time you use append, each new path is stored in the MS OS/2 environment. If you type append by itself, the utility displays the current data path. The append utility achieves the same results in the DOS session as the "dpath" command does in an OS/2 session. Example To instruct an application to search the REPORTS and NOTES subdirectories of the DATA directory on the current drive and the REPORTS directory on drive B, type the following: append \data\reports;\data\notes;b:\reports Assign «DOS» assign [drive1=drive2] [...] Assigns the drive letter of one drive to a different drive, so that if you request the first drive you get the second. drive1 Specifies the drive letter you want to reassign. drive2 Specifies the drive letter you want to substitute for drive1.] Do not type a colon (:) after the drive letters. You can make more than one drive assignment in a single command line. If you type assign by itself, the utility resets all drive letters to their original drives. Do not use the assign utility unless you need to. You can easily forget that you have reassigned a drive letter and end up changing files on an unexpected drive. Also, many programs require information about a drive's characteristics in order to work properly. If you have reassigned drive letters, these programs may not work as you expect. The assign utility affects only the DOS session. Example Suppose you want to run an application on your hard disk (drive C) and the application requires you to put your program disk in drive A and your data disk in drive B. To send all references to drives A and B to drive C, type the following: assign a=c b=c Attrib (Attributes) «OS2» attrib [+r|-r] [+a|-a] [drive:][path]filename [/s] Changes or displays the flags of the file you specify. The flags determine whether the file is read-only and whether it is affected when you use the "backup" , "restore" , and "xcopy" utilities. For more information, see the individual utility descriptions. +r Makes the file read-only. -r Allows the file to be changed or deleted. +a Sets the archive flag of the file. -a Clears the archive flag of the file. filename Specifies the file for which you want to change the flags. You can use wildcard characters to affect more than one file. /s Changes the flags of all files named filename in subdirectories as well as in directories. To see the flag settings of a particular file, type only attrib and the filename. If the letter A appears in the listing, the archive flag is set for the file; if R appears in the listing, the read-only flag is set. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To make all the files read-only in the directory \eSCHEDULE\eMEETINGS on drive C, and in all its subdirectories, type the following: attrib +r c:\eschedule\emeetings\e* /s Autofail «CONFIG» autofail=yes|no Turns on or off the mechanism by which MS OS/2 displays a full-screen error message that requires a choice of actions whenever the system encounters a hard error or an exception condition. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. yes Turns on the autofail mechanism, preventing MS OS/2 from displaying a full-screen error message for a hard error or exception condition. MS OS/2 returns an error code to the program instead. You may still see a command-line error message. no Turns off the autofail mechanism, allowing MS OS/2 to display a full-screen error message for a hard error or exception condition. This is the default setting. A hard error is caused by something external to the software, such as an open disk-drive door or an incorrectly formatted floppy disk. An exception condition is caused by an instruction that the central processing unit (CPU) cannot execute, such as dividing by zero. When the autofail mechanism is turned off, the system stops and displays a full-screen error message when a hard error or exception condition occurs; you must choose an action from a list in the error screen before the system will resume processing commands. When the autofail mechanism is turned on, the system continues processing the command that caused the error. Backup «OS2» backup drive1:[path][filename] drive2: [/s] [/m] [/a] [/f[:size]] [/d:date [/t:time]] [/l:[path]logfile] Makes backup copies of files from one disk and stores them on another. You can then use the "restore" utility to copy these files back to their original location. drive1: Specifies the drive that contains the files you want to make backup copies of. filename Specifies a single file you want to make a backup copy of. You can use wildcard characters to make backup copies of a group of files with similar names. drive2: Specifies the drive that contains the disk on which you want to store the backup files. The backup utility places the files in the root directory of this disk. If you choose to put the backup copies onto a hard disk, backup automatically creates a directory named BACKUP as a subdirectory of the root directory and places the files there. /s Makes backup copies of the contents of all the subdirectories. /m Makes backup copies of only the files that have been changed since the last backup operation and turns off the archive flag of the original file. This option also makes backup copies of directories if their extended attributes have changed. Previous backup copies are deleted unless you also specify the /a option. /a Adds the backup files being created to the backup files on the destination disk without deleting the files that are already there. This option does not work if any of the files on the destination disk are backup copies made by using the backup utility from MS-DOS version 3.21 or earlier. /f[:size] Formats the destination disk if it is unformatted. This option does not format a nonremovable disk, nor does it format a disk that is already formatted. You can specify the memory capacity of the disk, in kilobytes (or, for a 1.2-megabyte or 1.44-megabyte disk, in megabytes), by specifying size. The easiest way to specify size is as the number of kilobytes of memory on the disk (360, 720, 1200, or 1440), but you can include the unit of measurement (for example, 360K, 360KB, 1.2M, 1.2MB) if you prefer. The backup utility formats an unformatted destination disk even if you do not specify the /f option. /d:date Makes backup copies of only the files that were changed on or after the date specified. /t:time Makes backup copies of only the files that were changed at or after the time specified. Do not use this option without the /d:date option. /l[:logfile] Creates a log file in the root directory of the source disk or drive and puts a log of the backup operation in that file. You can specify a different drive or directory for the log file. If you do not specify logfile, the backup utility names the file BACKUP.LOG. The backup files are stored in the BACKUP.nnn and CONTROL.nnn files; nnn is the number of the disk (starting from 001). As each disk is filled, the backup utility prompts you for the next disk. The source and destination disks do not have to be of the same type; you can back up files from a hard disk to a floppy disk, or from one kind of floppy disk to another. If you do not specify the /a option, the backup utility erases all the files that are already on the destination disk. The backup utility preserves the extended attributes of the files and directories that it copies. The backup utility does not make backup copies of the following files: OS2LDR, OS2KRNL, IBMBIOCMDyour start-up drive; to make a complete backup of your start-up drive, you must run backup from the MS OS/2 Install disk. Example If you want to make backup copies of all the files in the \eFILM\eCRITIQUE directory on drive C and store them on an unformatted disk in drive A, type the following: backup c:\efilm\ecritique a: /f To make backup copies of the files on drive C, which is your start-up drive, and store them on an unformatted disk in drive B, insert the MS OS/2 Install disk in drive A, press CTRL+ALT+DEL, press ESC when the logo appears, and type the following at the command prompt: backup c: b: /f Boot [drive:][path]boot [/dos | /os2 | /q] Specifies the operating system (DOS or MS OS/2) your computer is to use the next time you restart it. You must have dual boot installed on your computer before you can use the boot utility. /dos Specifies DOS as the operating system to be used the next time you restart your computer. /os2 Specifies MS OS/2 as the operating system to be used the next time you restart your computer. /q Displays the current boot setting. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Warning It is not a good idea to use dual boot if you have files or directories on your system that use extended attributes. Using DOS utilities or applications to manipulate such files or directories may delete their extended attributes. Example To instruct your system, when you are running DOS, to use MS OS/2 the next time you restart the computer, type the following: ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── c:\os2\boot /os2 Break «DOS» break [on|off] Specifies when MS OS/2 is to check for the key combination CTRL+C (or CTRL+BREAK) in the DOS session. MS OS/2 stops the program or batch file that is running when it encounters the combination. Depending on the program you are running, you may press CTRL+C in the DOS session to stop an activity (for example, to stop sorting a file). Ordinarily, MS OS/2 checks for CTRL+C only when it is reading from the keyboard or writing to the screen or the printer. If you type break on, you extend CTRL+C checking to other activities, such as reading from or writing to a disk. The default setting in the DOS session is off (unless otherwise set in your CONFIG.SYS file by the break configuration command). The break command has no effect on an OS/2 session; MS OS/2 always checks for CTRL+C in this session. If you type break by itself, MS OS/2 displays the command's current setting. Some programs are designed to respond to CTRL+C at any time; the break command does not affect them. In the DOS session, when you use CTRL+C to stop the processing of a batch file, MS OS/2 displays a message that asks you to confirm that you want to stop the batch process. In an OS/2 session, however, you receive no message; as soon as you press CTRL+C, the batch file stops. Break «CONFIG» break=on|off Specifies when MS OS/2 is to check for the CTRL+C (or CTRL+BREAK) key combination in the DOS session. MS OS/2 stops the program or batch file that is running when it encounters the combination. To use the break configuration command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. If break is off, MS OS/2 checks for CTRL+C only when it is reading from the keyboard or writing to the screen or the printer. When break is on, MS OS/2 also checks for CTRL+C every time it reads from or writes to a disk. The default setting for break in the DOS session is off. The break configuration command has no effect on an OS/2 session; MS OS/2 always checks for CTRL+C in this session. Buffers «CONFIG» buffers=number Sets the number of buffers in memory, for use by the FAT file system. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. number Specifies the number of buffers available. This must be a number in the range 1 through 100. During system installation, the value of the buffers command is set to 30. If you remove the buffers command from your CONFIG.SYS file, the system sets the value to 3. Buffers are work areas MS OS/2 uses to hold data when it is reading from or writing to a disk. You can speed up your system's performance by increasing the number of buffers available, but when you do so you also reduce the amount of memory available. Example To create 20 disk buffers, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: buffers=20 Cache «OS2» cache [/MaxAge:time] [/DiskIdle:time] [/BufferIdle:time] or cache [/lazy:on|/lazy:off] Directs MS OS/2 to load the cache driver for the high-performance file system (HPFS), turn lazy writing on or off, and set or display the lazy-writing parameters. You must have HPFS installed on your computer before you can use the cache utility. (For more information about installing HPFS, see the "ifs" configuration command.) /MaxAge:time Sets the maximum amount of time (in milliseconds) that a cache block can store information before MS OS/2 writes that information to the disk. The default time is 5000 milliseconds. /DiskIdle:time Sets the maximum amount of time (in milliseconds) that the disk can be idle before MS OS/2 writes unsaved information in the cache blocks to the disk. The default time is 1000 milliseconds. This option affects only cache blocks that have had unsaved information in them for the amount of time specified by /BufferIdle. /BufferIdle:time Sets the maximum amount of time (in milliseconds) that a cache block can store information before it becomes subject to the effect of the /DiskIdle option. The default time is 500 milliseconds. /lazy:on|/lazy:off Turns lazy writing on or off for all disks or partitions that are formatted for HPFS. The default setting is /lazy:on. For more information about lazy writing, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. On disks or partitions formatted for HPFS, MS OS/2 can store information in temporary 2-kilobyte cache blocks─where the system can locate it faster─rather than writing the information directly to the disk. The cache options determine when the information in the cache block is written to the disk. If lazy writing is not turned on, MS OS/2 writes information directly to the disk, rather than storing it in cache blocks. If you use the cache utility to turn lazy writing on, the prompt disappears in the session in which you are running the utility. To avoid this, use the "start" command to create a new OS/2 session to be used only for running the cache utility. If you type cache by itself, the utility displays its current setting. Example To start a new session and run the cache utility, turning lazy writing on, type the following: start cache /lazy:on Call «OS2» call [drive:][path]batchfile [arg] Calls one batch file from another. You use call in a batch file in order to run another batch file and then return to the first one. Although call can be used from the command prompt, it is designed to be placed in a batch file. batchfile Specifies the name of the batch file (without extension) that you want to call from within another batch file. arg Specifies an argument to the batch file being called. When you use the call command, MS OS/2 treats everything in the batch file you call as though it were a single command; once that command has been carried out (that is, once the second batch file has been run), MS OS/2 resumes running the first batch file where it left off. Do not use pipes or redirection symbols with the call command. You cannot call DOS batch files (files with the extension .BAT) from an MS OS/2 batch file (a file with the extension "cmd" , the MS OS/2 command interpreter. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that you cannot call MS OS/2 batch files (files with the extension from a DOS batch file (a file with the extension .BAT) or from "command" , the DOS command interpreter. Example To run the file CHECKNEW/t option, include the following line in the first batch file: call checknew /t Call «CONFIG» call=[drive:][path]filename [arguments] Starts and runs a program in the foreground when you start your system. If you want to run a program that requires input from you, use this command rather than the "run" command. To use the call command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. filename Specifies the program you want to start. You must include the extension (located in the root directory of your start-up drive. The file cannot be a batch file. arguments Specifies any valid options or other variables for the program you are calling. When you use the call configuration command to run a program, MS OS/2 treats everything the program does as a single command; once that command has been carried out (that is, once the program has started, received any input needed from you, done whatever it does, and ended), MS OS/2 resumes processing the CONFIG.SYS file where it left off. You can include more than one call command in your CONFIG.SYS file. MS OS/2 processes all "device" commands in your CONFIG.SYS file before it starts processing call commands. You can use the call configuration command to start monitor programs for other sessions, but not for the session from which you are using call. Example To run the "chkdsk" utility for drive D each time you start your system, when CHKDSKyour CONFIG.SYS file: call=c:\os2\chkdsk.com d: Chcp (Change Code Page) «OS2» chcp [nnn] Switches to the specified system code page, which must have been defined previously in your CONFIG.SYS file. nnn Specifies the code page to be used. This argument must be a three-digit number from the list under the "codepage" command. If you type chcp by itself, MS OS/2 displays the number of the active code page and the numbers of the prepared code pages for that session. You can use this command only if code pages have been previously prepared by using the "codepage" command. Any program that you run after starting a new code page uses the new code page. Programs that started running before you started the new code page still use the original code page. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that when you type chcp by itself, MS OS/2 displays only the number of the active code page. Example To switch the code page to 860 (Portuguese), type the following: chcp 860 Chdir (Change Directory) «OS2» chdir [drive:][path] Changes the current directory. You can abbreviate chdir as cd. If you type chdir by itself, MS OS/2 displays the name of the current directory of the current drive. You cannot use chdir to change drives, but you can use it to change the current directory of another drive. If you then switch to that drive, you will be in the directory you specified. Typing chdir plus the letter of another drive displays the name of the current directory on that drive. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Examples To change from your current directory to the ENTREE subdirectory, type the following: cd entree To change from your current directory to its parent directory, type the following: cd .. To return to the root directory, type the following: cd \ If your current directory is POETRY and its parent directory is BOOKS, and you want to change to the FICTION directory, which is also under BOOKS, type the following: cd ..\fiction Chkdsk (Check Disk) «OS2» chkdsk [drive:][path][filename] [/c] [/f[:n]] [/v] Checks a disk or partition for errors and displays a summary of how space is used on that disk or partition. The chkdsk utility also displays the volume label, the volume serial number, and the type of file system being used by the disk or partition. drive: Specifies the disk drive to check. If you do not specify drive, the chkdsk utility checks the current drive. filename (FAT file system only) Specifies the file to check. You can use wildcard characters to specify a group of files. The chkdsk utility reports how many of the specified files are stored in noncontiguous sectors. /c (HPFS only) Specifies that the chkdsk utility is to correct errors only if the file system was in an inconsistent state when you restarted your computer; if the file system was in a consistent state, chkdsk simply terminates, regardless of what other options you have specified. (The file system may be left in an inconsistent state if the system crashes or is restarted while there are open files or while the directory structure is being updated.) You can specify the level of data recovery by using the /f\: n option. /f [:n] Specifies that the chkdsk utility is to correct errors it finds on the disk. If you do not specify this option, chkdsk does not correct any errors. The n argument is available only for HPFS. It specifies the level of data recovery and must be a number in the range 0 through 3; the default level is 2. Level 0 is the same as not specifying /f at all. At level 1, chkdsk corrects inconsistencies, moves data in reserved sectors to the file-system data sectors, and updates all references to the sectors in file-system structures. These actions may create orphaned disk space─that is, space that was once occupied by corrupt files that have been removed by chkdsk but that is still marked "in use" in the disk-usage map. At level 2, chkdsk does everything included at level 1 and also recovers any recognizable structures from orphaned disk space. At level 3, chkdsk does everything included at level 2 and also recovers any recognizable structures from anywhere in the disk partition. The higher the level of recovery you specify, the more thorough the recovery will be, but the longer it will take. /v Displays the name of each file in each directory as it is checked. If you type chkdsk by itself, the utility displays the status of the disk in the current drive. If you specify a filename but no drive (FAT file system only), chkdsk displays the status of the disk in the current drive and of the individual file. If you specify the /f option, the chkdsk utility reports an error if there are any open files on the disk. If you do not specify /f and there are open files, chkdsk may report that there are lost clusters on the disk. This happens when the disk's file-system table has not been updated regarding open files. When the chkdsk utility finds lost clusters on a disk, it displays a message asking you whether you want the lost clusters recovered. If you did not specify /f, answering Yes only shows what chkdsk would have done if you had specified /f, and answering No does nothing. If you did specify /f, however, answering Yes causes chkdsk to recover the lost clusters and store them in files named FILEnnnn.CHK, where nnnn is a consecutive number beginning from 0001; answering No causes chkdsk to erase the lost clusters. If there are extended attributes in the lost clusters, chkdsk does not erase the lost clusters when you specify /f and answer No. If chkdsk finds errors in extended attributes, it places the recovered attributes in files named EAnnnn.CHK, where nnnn is a sequential number assigned by MS OS/2. You can look at these files by using the type command. If you can identify which of your files the extended attributes belong to, you can join the extended attributes to the file by using the eautil utility. Do not try to fix errors while you are using the multitasking features of MS OS/2, such as background printing or spooling. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Warning Do not run an older version of the chkdsk utility (earlier than MS OS/2 version 1.2) on a disk or partition that contains extended attributes. You will lose the extended attributes, and you may corrupt the files on the partition. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Although you can use the chkdsk utility to get information about any drive, you cannot use it to fix errors on the drive from which you started your system or the drive from which you are running chkdsk. To check your start-up drive, you must run chkdsk from the MS OS/2 Install disk. You can do the same thing to check the drive from which you would normally run chkdsk, or you can copy the chkdsk utility to another drive and run it from there. For more information about interpreting chkdsk messages and about fixing errors on your start-up disk, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session that uses the FAT file system, except that the DOS version of the chkdsk utility displays the amount of memory used in the DOS session and you cannot run chkdsk on an HPFS partition from the DOS session. You cannot use the chkdsk utility on drives that you have assigned, joined, or substituted by using the "assign" , "join" , or "subst" utility. Example To check and fix errors on drive C, which is your start-up drive, insert the MS OS/2 Install disk in drive A, press CTL+ALT+DEL, press ESC when the logo appears, and type the following at the command prompt: chkdsk c: /f Cls (Clear Screen) «OS2» cls Clears the screen, leaving only the prompt and the cursor. If you are running "cmd" in a window, cls clears the contents of the window, including any information that is not currently visible. «DOS» Works the same in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Cmd (MS OS/2 Command Interpreter) «OS2» cmd [drive:][path] [/s] [/c command(s)|/k command(s)] Starts a new MS OS/2 command interpreter. drive:path Specifies the location of CMDpath, MS OS/2 uses the path specified in your environment. /s Instructs the new command interpreter not to set up the signal handler. /ccommand(s) Instructs the new command interpreter to perform the command or commands specified and then return control to the command interpreter that called it. If you specify multiple commands, separate them with an ampersand (&). /kcommand(s) Instructs the new command interpreter to perform the command or commands specified and then continue to run. If you specify multiple commands, separate them with an ampersand (&). If you type cmd by itself, MS OS/2 starts the new command interpreter in the current session. When you start a command interpreter, you also create a command environment. This environment is a copy of the environment from which you started the command interpreter. You can change this new environment without affecting the old environment. For an alternative way to run cmd and have it start other commands, see the "start" command. Example To start cmd and have it check the disk in drive B and then end, type the following: cmd /c chkdsk b: Codepage «CONFIG» codepage=xxx[,yyy] Selects the code pages that the system will use. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. xxx Specifies the first code page. This must be a three-digit number from the list that follows. yyy Specifies the optional second code page. This must be a three-digit number from the list that follows. If you specify two code pages, you can switch between them by using the "chcp" command. Code page, keyboard, and country are interrelated. A code page is a set of characters that are available to your system for use on the screen, for printing, and for sending to any other sort of output device. Your keyboard layout tells your system which characters from the character set correspond to which keystrokes; this can be different from country to country. The country you are working in (or for which you want to set up your system) determines which two code pages you should use. (For a list of country codes and their corresponding code pages, see the "country" command.) You can change keyboard layouts without having to change code pages. MS OS/2 supports the following four code pages: Code page Character set ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 437 United States 850 Multilingual 860 Portuguese 863 Canadian French The United States code page (437) includes most of the characters needed for most Western European languages, but the Multilingual code page (850), which is also used by systems other than personal computers, is more versatile and more complete. You would usually want to specify code page 850 as the second code page, no matter what national code page you specified first. For tables of the character sets in the four code pages, see the Appendix, "Code Pages and Keyboard Layouts." If you are setting up a keyboard, screen, or printer to use code pages, you must also use the "devinfo" command to specify the code pages the outside device is to use. For more information, see the "devinfo" command. Example To set up your system to use code pages 437 and 850, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: codepage=437,850 COM0x.SYS «CONFIG» device=[drive:][path]com0x.sys Directs MS OS/2 to load the COM0x.SYS device driver, which allows you to use your system's serial communications port. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. x Specifies the communications-port device driver to load. For an IBM PC/AT or compatible computer, x must be 1. For an IBM PS/2 or compatible computer, x must be 2. Example To direct MS OS/2 to load the communications-port driver for your IBM PC/AT or compatible computer, add the following line to your CONFIG.SYS file: device=c:\os2\com01.sys ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Note To use a serial Microsoft Mouse on an IBM PC/AT or compat- ible computer, you must list the mouse drivers in your CONFIG.SYS file before any COM01.SYS device driver, as follows: ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── device=c:\eos2\emsser01.sys device=c:\eos2\emouse.sys type=msser$ device=c:\eos2\ecom01.sys Command «DOS» command [drive:][path] [/c command|/p] [/e:size] Starts a secondary DOS command interpreter in the DOS session. drive:path Specifies the location of COMMANDpath, MS OS/2 uses the path specified in your environment. /ccommand Instructs the secondary command interpreter to perform the command specified and then return control to the primary command interpreter. /p Instructs the secondary command interpreter to stay in memory. This disables the "exit"command; you must restart your system in order to remove the secondary command interpreter. Each secondary command interpreter uses a portion of your system's available memory, so running a secondary command interpreter leaves less memory available for running other programs in the DOS session. /e:size Specifies the size of the DOS environment, in bytes. This number must be in the range 160 through 32,768; the system rounds it up to a multiple of 16. The default value is 160. When you start a command interpreter, you also create a command environment. This environment is a copy of the environment from which you started the command interpreter. You can change the new environment without affecting the old environment. To quit the secondary command interpreter, use the exit command. Example To start a secondary DOS command interpreter and have it check the disk in drive B and then return to the primary command interpreter, type the following: command /c chkdsk b: Comp (Compare) «OS2» comp [drive:][path][filename1] [drive:][path][filename2] Compares two files or sets of files to see whether they are the same. filename1 Specifies the name of the first file. filename2 Specifies the name of the second file. If filename2 is the same as filename1 except that the file is on a different drive, you can type only the drive letter of the second file. If you specify only a path or a drive, without any filename, the comp utility assumes that you want to compare all the files in that directory or on that drive. If you type comp by itself, the utility prompts you for the filenames. You can use wildcard characters to specify a group of files. If the files found in one directory differ in size from the files found in the other directory, comp displays a message asking if you want to continue. If the files are the same size but their contents differ, comp automatically displays the location and contents of each nonmatching byte. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Examples To compare each file with the extension .DOC in the current directory on drive C with each file of the same name with the extension .BAK on drive B, type the following: comp c:*.doc b:*.bak To compare the files in the root directory on drive A with the contents of the TEMP directory on drive C, type the following: comp a: c:\temp To compare the contents of the SALES directory with the current directory, type the following: comp \sales . Copy «OS2» copy source [/a|/b] [+ source [/a|/b] [...]] destination [/a|/b] [/v] [/f] Copies information from a source to a destination. The source is usually a file or files, but it can also be a drive or directory or the output of a device (such as the keyboard); the destination can be one or more files or a device. source Specifies where the information will be copied from. If the source is a file, MS OS/2 assumes that the file is in the current directory on the current drive, unless you tell it otherwise by specifying a drive and path. The source can also be a drive or a directory. You can copy multiple files by using wildcard characters. You can copy multiple source files to one destination file by specifying multiple source-file names separated by plus signs (+). If the source is a device, MS OS/2 takes the input from that device and copies it to the destination. destination Specifies where the information will be copied to. The destination can be a single file, or you can use wildcard characters to specify a group of files. The destination can also be a directory or a device. If you specify only a drive as the destination, MS OS/2 copies to the current directory on that drive; if you do not specify a drive, MS OS/2 uses the current drive. If the destination is a file that does not already exist, MS OS/2 creates a new file; if the file already exists, MS OS/2 writes over the old file. /a Treats the source or destination as ASCII text. This option applies to the filename preceding it and to all remaining filenames in the command until MS OS/2 encounters a /b option, in which case the /b option applies to the filename that precedes it. When /a comes after the source, MS OS/2 copies everything up to the first CTRL+Z character, which it interprets as an end-of-file mark, and does not copy anything after that. When /a comes after the destination, MS OS/2 adds an end-of-file character as the last character of the destination file. When you are copying multiple files to one destination, the default option is always /a. /b Treats the source or destination as a binary file. This option applies to the filename preceding it and to all remaining filenames in the command until MS OS/2 encounters a /a option, in which case the /a option applies to the filename that precedes it. When /b comes after the source, MS OS/2 copies everything and does not interpret any CTRL+Z characters as end-of-file marks. When /b comes after the destination filename, MS OS/2 does not add an end-of-file character to the new file. /v Checks whether the sectors the information was copied to can be read. /f Specifies that MS OS/2 should not discard the extended attributes of a file if the destination file system does not support extended attributes. In this case, MS OS/2 does not copy the file. When you use the copy command to append files to an existing file without changing the existing filename (including its extension), you must specify that filename as the first source file, followed by the names of the files you want to append. When you copy a single file to a new file, the new file has the same date and time as the original. When you combine files into a new file, the new file has the current date and time. When you use the copy command to make a copy of an existing file, MS OS/2 copies the extended attributes of that file to the new file. When you use copy to append files to an existing file, the extended attributes of the existing file do not change. When you append files to a new file, the new file uses the extended attributes of the first of the appended files. If you omit the /f option when you copy a file with extended attributes to a file system that does not support extended attributes, MS OS/2 copies the file and discards the extended attributes. If the file requires the extended attributes, MS OS/2 does not copy the file but displays an explanatory message on the screen. To copy files that have long filenames from an HPFS disk or partition to a FAT disk or partition, you must either give the files new names in the FAT filename format (xxxxxxxx.xxx) or use File Manager. «DOS» Works the same in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Examples To copy the file COMPANY.NEW in the current directory on the current drive to the CUSTOMER directory on the disk in drive B, type the following: copy company.new b:\ecustomer To copy all the files in the directory REPORTS on your hard disk (drive C) to the disk in drive A, type the following: copy c:\ereports\e* a: To combine the files INTRO.RPT, BODY.RPT, and SUM.RPT from the current drive and directory and place them in a file called REPORT on the disk in drive B, type the following: copy intro.rpt + body.rpt + sum.rpt b:report If you omit the destination-file name, MS OS/2 combines the files and stores them under the name of the first file specified. To combine all files from the current drive and directory that have the extension .TXT into one file named COMBIN.DOC in the same directory, type the following: copy *.txt combin.doc To combine each file from the current drive and directory that has the extension .TXT with the corresponding file that has the extension .REF and place the results into files with the extension .DOC (for example, VIDEO.TXT and VIDEO.REF would be combined as VIDEO.DOC), type the following: copy *.txt + *.ref *.doc To copy what you type at the keyboard (CON) to the file TEXT.TXT, type the following: copy con text.txt After typing your text, press CTRL+Z and then press ENTER to complete the command. Country «CONFIG» country=xxx[,[drive:][path]filename] Specifies the country for which MS OS/2 is to set up the system. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. xxx Specifies the country by using a three-digit country code from the list that follows. You must include all three digits, even if the code begins with a zero. The default setting is 001 (United States). filename Specifies the file that contains information on country conventions and supported code pages. If you do not specify a drive or path, MS OS/2 looks for this file in the root directory of the startup drive. If you do not specify filename, MS OS/2 uses the default COUNTRY.SYS file in the root directory of the drive from which you started MS OS/2. The country you choose determines the MS OS/2 conventions for such things as time and date format, decimal separators, and the order in which the "sort" utility sorts ASCII characters. The country you specify with the country command also determines which code pages you should specify with the "codepage" command. The following list shows the countries or languages that you can specify with the country command, the corresponding country codes, and the code pages supported for each country: Country or language group Country Code pages code ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Australia 061 437,850 Belgium 032 850,437 Canada (French) 002 863,850 Denmark 045 850 Finland 358 850,437 France 033 437,850 Germany 049 850,437 Italy 039 437,850 Latin America 003 437,850 Country or language group Country Code pages code ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Netherlands 031 850,437 Norway 047 850 Portugal 351 850,860 Spain 034 850,437 Sweden 046 850,437 Switzerland 041 850,437 United Kingdom 044 437,850 United States 001 437,850 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Note Although not shown in the list, the following code pages are also available with special versions of MS OS/2: Arabic, Asia, Hebrew, Japan, Korea, People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── In the preceding list, the first of the two code pages for each country is the default code page for that country. If you do not include the "codepage" command in your CONFIG.SYS file, MS OS/2 uses the system default code page. Example To set up your system for the Netherlands and instruct MS OS/2 to look for COUNTRY.SYS in the OS2 directory on the disk in drive A, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: country=031,a:\eos2\ecountry.sys Createdd (Create Dump Disk) «OS2» createdd drive: Prepares a disk that can be used to copy the contents of memory. drive: Specifies the drive that contains the disk to be used for copying memory contents. A copy of memory contents may be helpful in identifying system problems. To copy memory contents to a disk, insert the disk prepared by using createdd into the disk drive and press CTRL+ALT+NUMLOCK twice. If there is more information in memory than can fit on one disk, MS OS/2 prompts you to insert additional disks. These additional disks need only to have been formatted. After a disk is full, you receive summary information for that disk and MS OS/2 prompts you to insert another disk. When the copying operation is completed, MS OS/2 prompts you to reinsert the disk created by using createdd. The system then stops, and you must restart it. Do not start the copying operation while the hard disk is being read from or written to. This could disrupt directory information on the hard disk, causing files to be lost. Example To prepare a disk in drive A for copying memory contents, type the following: createdd a: Date «OS2» date [month-day-year] Sets the system calendar by specifying the current date. month Specifies a number in the range 1 through 12. day Specifies a number in the range 1 through 31. year Specifies a four-digit number in the range 1980 through 2079. You can abbreviate this number by using the last two digits of the year, in the range 80 through 79. You can use slashes (/) or periods (.) instead of hyphens (-) to separate the month, day, and year. If you type date by itself, MS OS/2 displays the current date and then prompts you for a new date. If you don't want to change the date, just press ENTER. If you have used the "country" configuration command in your CONFIG.SYS file to alter the date format (for instance, to specify a date as day-month-year), the date command reflects that change. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To set the system date to May 1, 2017, type the following: date 5-1-17 Ddinstal (Install Device Driver) «OS2» ddinstal Provides an automated way to install new devices and their device drivers on your system without running the MS OS/2 installation program again. The ddinstal utility copies the device driver to your system and adds the appropriate "device" command to your CONFIG.SYS file. To install a device by using the ddinstal utility, type ddinstal and press ENTER. The utility prompts you to insert the disk that contains the device driver to be installed. Then simply follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. Del (Delete or Erase) «OS2» del [drive:][path]filename [...] [/p] Deletes a file or group of files. You can type erase instead of del if you prefer; they both have the same effect. filename Specifies the name of the file to be deleted. You can use wildcard characters to delete more than one file in a directory; you can also specify more than one file by typing the filenames individually, separated by spaces. /p Asks you for confirmation before deleting each file. You can type del * to delete all the files in the current directory. (You cannot, however, delete the directory itself by using del.) To delete all the files in another directory, type only del followed by the directory name. To prevent you from accidentally deleting important files, MS OS/2 displays a message like the following when you type either of the preceding commands: C:\*.*, Are you sure (Y/N)? ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Warning Once you have deleted a file from your disk, it is gone; you cannot recover it. Be sure you have specified the right file or files, with the correct path, before you press ENTER. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── If you are deleting a group of files and MS OS/2 cannot delete one of them (for example, if one of the files you specified does not exist), it deletes the rest of the files in the group and then displays an error message identifying the file it could not delete and the reason. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that in the DOS session you cannot specify multiple filenames. You can, however, use wildcard characters to delete more than one file in the same directory. Example To delete all the files in the current directory of drive C that have the extension .BAK, and to delete the file OLDSTUFF.DOC in the directory MEMOS on drive B, type the following: del c:*.bak b:\ememos\eoldstuff.doc Detach «OS2» detach command [options] Detaches a process to run in the background while you go on to another task. command Specifies any MS OS/2 program or command that does not require you to type input from the keyboard. options Specifies any valid options that the program or command can accept in the command line. When you detach a process, MS OS/2 starts it as an independent process, displays the process identification (PID) number, and immediately displays the MS OS/2 prompt. You can then type other commands while the detached process is running in the background. You should not detach programs that require keyboard input. You can run programs in the background sequentially by listing their names in order, separated by ampersands (&). You cannot stop a detached process; it must complete itself on its own. If you delete the parent process (quit the command interpreter, for instance), the detached process still runs until it is finished. If you try to detach a program that should not be run in the background, you could ruin files or lose valuable information. The documentation for the program should tell you whether it can be detached safely. Examples To create an alphabetically sorted listing of the SORT.IN file and put it in a file called SORT.OUT, and to have this process run in the background so that you can run another process while it is sorting, type the following: detach sort < sort.in > sort.out To copy all the files from the current directory on the current drive to drive D and then place the directory listing in FILES.LST, and to have these processes run in the background, type the following: detach copy * d: & dir d: > files.lst Device «CONFIG» device=[drive:][path]filename [arguments] Instructs MS OS/2 to load the specified device driver. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. filename Specifies the name of the file that contains the device driver. If this file is not in the root directory of the start-up drive, you must include the drive and/or path. arguments Specifies any valid options or other variables for the designated device driver. Each device connected to your system needs its own device driver, and each driver requires a separate device command in your CONFIG.SYS file. You generally receive a device driver on a disk when you buy a new device; be sure that you place the device driver in the directory you specify with the device command. MS OS/2 processes device commands in the order in which they appear in your CONFIG.SYS file and before it processes any "run" commands in the file. Example To use the InPort(R) model of the Microsoft Mouse and specify that the device driver is in the OS2 directory on your hard disk (drive C), include the following lines in your CONFIG.SYS file: device=c:\eos2\emsinp01.sys device=c:\eos2\emouse.sys type=msinp$ device=c:\eos2\epointdd.sys Devinfo (Device Information) «CONFIG» devinfo=devtype,subtype,[drive:][path]filename [,ROM=[[( ]xxx[,yyy)]][,...]] Prepares a device to use code pages. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. devtype Specifies the type of device: keyboard, monitor, or parallel printer. See the list on the next page for possible values. subtype Specifies the style or model of the device. For a keyboard, this argument would specify the keyboard layout. See the list below for possible values. filename Specifies the file that contains information about the code pages for that device. See the list below for possible values. ROM= Specifies that code pages are available to a printer, either in the printer's read-only memory or in a cartridge. This and the following options apply only to parallel printers. xxx Specifies a code page that is available for a parallel printer. Each code page is identified by a three-digit number; for a list of the possible code pages, see the "codepage"command. A printer may support more than one code page. yyy Specifies a font identification number that identifies a font on a parallel printer and associates that font with a particular code page. A code page may have more than one font associated with it. See your printer manual for font identification numbers. You must include a separate devinfo command in your CONFIG.SYS file for each device connected to your system, including the keyboard and the monitor, if you want to be able to switch code pages. The devinfo command specifies the kind of device you have connected to your system and the location of the code-page or keyboard information for that device. The MS OS/2 installation program automatically places certain devinfo commands in your CONFIG.SYS file. The following list shows the values you can give to devtype, subtype, and filename: Argument Keyboard Monitor Printer ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── devtype KBD SCR PRN, LPT1, LPT#, LPT4 subtype keyboard EGA, VGA 4201, 5202 code filename KEYBOARD.D VIOTBL.DCP 4201.DCP, CP 5202.DCP Keyboard code is a two-letter code that identifies the keyboard layout for a particular country. For a list of the possible keyboard codes, see the "keyb" utility. Examples To prepare your keyboard to use the code pages you have specified with the "codepage" command, to use the United Kingdom keyboard layout, and to specify that the file containing code-page information is in the OS2 directory on your hard disk (drive C), include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: devinfo=kbd,uk,c:\eos2\ekeyboard.dcp To prepare an IBM Quietwriter III to use code pages 437 and 850, with multiple fonts, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file (type this as a single line, even though it appears here on more than one line): devinfo=lpt1,5202,5202.dcp,rom=(437,011), (437,085),(437,254),(437,159),(850,254), (850,159) Dir (Directory) «OS2» dir [drive:][path][filename] [...] [/p] [/w | /f] [/n] Displays a list of the files on a disk or in a directory, with information about the size of each file and when it was created, the number of files in the directory, and the number of bytes free on the disk. path Specifies the directory whose listing you want to display. filename Specifies a particular file whose listing you want to display. If you specify a filename, MS OS/2 displays information about that file alone. You can use wildcard characters to get information about groups of files with similar names─for example, to compare the dates and sizes of several files with the same extension. /p Displays the listing one screenful at a time. /w Lists only the filenames (including their extensions) and displays them across the width of the screen in several columns. If you are using a file system that recognizes long filenames, the width of the columns is determined by the length of the longest filename. This option cannot be used with the /f option. /f Lists the drive, path, and filename (including extension) for each file specified, but does not display any other information about the file. This option cannot be used with the /w option. /n (FAT file system only) Displays the listing in the format used in HPFS, with the filename in the right-hand column and an additional column showing the size of each file's extended attributes. You can specify several drives, paths, or filenames. For each different drive or directory you specify, MS OS/2 displays a separate list of files. If, however, you specify more than one file or group of files in the same directory, MS OS/2 displays them in a single list for that directory. If you type dir by itself, MS OS/2 displays information about all the files in the current directory on the current drive. If you are displaying directory listings for several directories or disks (or for several files specified individually) and MS OS/2 cannot display a listing for one of them (for example, if one of the directories does not exist), it displays an error message for that file, directory, or disk, and continues displaying the rest of the listings. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that in the DOS session you cannot specify multiple directories or filenames. You can, however, use wildcard characters in filenames. Example To display a list of all the files in the LETTERS directory on drive C and a list of all the files with the extension .LTR in the OFFICE directory on drive B, and to display them as short, wide lists across the screen, type the following: dir c:\eletters b:\eoffice\e*.ltr /w Diskcache «CONFIG» diskcache=n[,m] Enables disk caching for the FAT file system and specifies the amount of memory to be set aside for the disk cache. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. n Specifies the amount of memory, in kilobytes, to be set aside for the disk cache. This number must be in the range 64 through 7200. m Specifies the disk-cache threshold value, in sectors. If the data exceeds m sectors, MS OS/2 does not store it in the disk cache. This value must be in the range 1 through 32; the default value is 7. A disk cache is an extra buffer in which MS OS/2 stores information that it has recently read from your hard disk. When an application needs to read information from the hard disk, it looks first in the disk cache to see if the information is there. Since it is much faster to read from the disk cache than to read from the hard disk, disk caching can speed up your system. However, the disk cache uses part of system memory, so less memory is available to an application. MS OS/2 uses part of the memory set aside for the disk cache for control information. The amount of memory required for control information depends on the size of your hard disk. To change the size of the disk cache, change the diskcache command in your CONFIG.SYS file and then restart your system. You should not use the diskcache configuration command if your system has a partition that uses the high-performance file system (HPFS), because it slows the performance of HPFS. Example To set aside 128 kilobytes of memory for disk caching, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: diskcache=128 Diskcomp (Disk Compare) «OS2» diskcomp [drive1:] [drive2:] Compares two floppy disks track by track. drive1: Specifies the drive letter of the first disk being compared. drive2: Specifies the drive letter of the second disk being compared. Since the diskcomp utility automatically determines the number of sides and sectors per track by looking at the format of the first disk, both disks must be of the same type (for instance, high-density 5inch disks). If you specify only one drive, diskcomp compares the floppy disk in drive1 with the floppy disk in the current drive. If you specify the same drive for both drive1 and drive2, diskcomp uses only that drive and prompts you to change disks as needed during the comparison. If you type diskcomp by itself, the utility uses only the current drive and prompts you to insert the two disks, as appropriate. (If the current drive is not a floppy-disk drive, you see an error message.) «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. You cannot use the diskcomp utility on drives that you have assigned, joined, or substituted by using the "assign" , "join" , or "subst" utility. Example To compare two high-density floppy disks when you have only one high-density disk drive (drive A), type the following: diskcomp a: a: The diskcomp utility prompts you to insert each disk in turn, as needed, during the comparison. Diskcopy «OS2» diskcopy [drive1:] [drive2:] Makes a duplicate of a floppy disk. drive1: Specifies the drive that contains the floppy disk to be copied (the source disk). drive2: Specifies the drive that contains the floppy disk that will become the duplicate (the destination disk). The two disks must be of the same type (for example, high-density 5-inch floppy disks). If the destination disk is unformatted, diskcopy formats it with the same number of sides and sectors per track as the source disk. You can copy a disk using only one drive, either by not specifying any drives or by specifying the same drive for both source and destination. Diskcopy prompts you to insert the two disks as needed. If you type diskcopy by itself, the utility uses the current drive. Diskcopy writes over the information on the destination disk, even if it does not have to format the disk, so any information that is already on the disk is lost. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. You cannot use the diskcopy utility on drives that you have assigned, joined, or substituted by using the "assign" , "join" , or "subst" utility. Example To copy the floppy disk in drive A to a floppy disk in drive B, type the following: diskcopy a: b: Dpath (Data Path) «OS2» dpath [;|[drive:]path[;...]] Specifies which directories besides the current directory an application should search in order to find data files (files with extensions other than ; When used alone (dpath ;), clears all data-path settings. Semicolons are also used to separate multiple data paths. path Specifies the path of the directory that you want the application to search. You can specify more than one path, separating them with semicolons (;). If you type dpath by itself, MS OS/2 displays the current data path. Each time you use the dpath command, the new data path you specify takes the place of the previous path. The data path is stored in the MS OS/2 environment. Only applications that are written to take advantage of dpath will use the data path specified. The dpath command affects only the current session. To specify a data path for all sessions, you must set the DPATH environment variable in your CONFIG.SYS file. For information about how to do this, see the "set" command. If you start a new command interpreter from within a session where dpath is defined, the new session inherits the dpath setting. You can change this setting in the new session without affecting the settings in the parent session. The dpath command works much the way the "path" command does, except that dpath is used by an application to search for data files, whereas "path" is used by commands and utilities outside of applications. The dpath command achieves the same results in an OS/2 session as the "append" utility does in the DOS session. Example To instruct an application to search for data files in the SYMPHONY directory and the COUNTRY subdirectory of the BANDS directory on the current drive, and in the ROCK subdirectory of the BANDS directory on drive B, type the following: dpath \symphony;\bands\country;b:\bands\rock Eautil «OS2» eautil [/s [/r] [/p] | /j [/o | /m] [/p]] filename [holdfile] Deletes or copies (splits) the extended attributes from a data file or directory and stores them in a separate file, or copies (joins) the extended attributes back to the original data file or directory. The eautil utility enables applications that do not recognize extended attributes to manipulate files and directories without losing their extended attributes. The utility also enables you to send files over a network or copy them to systems that do not recognize extended attributes without losing their extended attributes. filename Specifies the data file or directory to copy the extended attributes from or back to. holdfile Specifies the file to store the extended attributes in or copy them back from. If you do not specify a filename for holdfile when splitting extended attributes, the eautil utility creates a file with the same name as filename and stores it in a directory named EAS. If you do not specify a filename for holdfile when joining extended attributes, eautil looks in the EAS directory for a file with the same name as filename. When you use the eautil utility to split the extended attributes from a file or directory, you use the /s option. When you specify /s, you can also specify the /r and /p options. /s Copies the extended attributes from filename to holdfile. This is the default option. /r Replaces the contents of holdfile with the extended attributes currently attached to filename. This option is used with the /s option. If holdfile already exists, you must specify the /r option in order to copy the extended attributes from filename; otherwise, the operation will fail. /p When used with the /s option, preserves the extended attributes attached to filename. If this option is not set, the eautil utility deletes the extended attributes from filename after copying them to holdfile. When you use the eautil utility to join extended attributes to a file or directory, you use the /j option. When you specify /j, you can also specify the /o or /m option and the /p option. If you specify the /j option and there are already extended attributes attached to filename, you must specify either the /o or /m option or the operation will fail. /j Copies the extended attributes from holdfile back to filename. /o Overwrites the extended attributes attached to filename, replacing them with the extended attributes in holdfile. This option is used with the /j option. You cannot specify the /o option with the /m option. /m Adds (merges) the extended attributes in holdfile to those in filename. This option is used with the /j option. You cannot specify the /m option with the /o option. /p When used with the /j option, preserves holdfile after the extended attributes in it have been copied to filename. If the /p option is not set, the eautil utility deletes holdfile after joining the extended attributes to filename. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Note If your system crashes while you are running the eautil utility, the splitting or joining operation may be incomplete. If you were splitting extended attributes from a file or directory, you may have complete extended attributes in one location and incomplete ones in the other, but you won't know whether it is filename or holdfile that contains the complete set. To find out, run eautil again, specifying a different name for holdfile; then compare the sizes of the two holdfiles. The larger file contains the complete extended attributes, and you can delete the smaller file. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── If you were joining extended attributes to a file or directory when the system crashed, the extended attributes in filename may be incomplete. To remedy this, simply run eautil again and use the /o (overwrite) option (even if you were using the /m option when the system crashed). Examples To delete the extended attributes from the file REPORT and store them in a new file called REPORTEA, so that you can safely copy both files to a system running DOS or a version of MS OS/2 earlier than 1.2 without losing the extended attributes, type the following: eautil /s report reportea To copy the extended attributes from the file REPORTEA back to the file REPORT after you have copied both files to a system running MS OS/2 version 1.2, type the following: eautil /j report reportea Echo «OS2» echo [on|off|message] Turns on or off the feature that displays batch-file commands on the screen while they are being processed, or simply displays the specified message on the screen. Although the echo command can be used from the command prompt, it is designed to be placed in a batch file. message Specifies a line of text to be displayed. If you type echo by itself, MS OS/2 displays the current setting. Ordinarily, MS OS/2 displays (echoes) commands in a batch file on the screen when it receives them. You can turn off this feature by specifying echo off in the batch file; none of the subsequent lines appear on the screen until MS OS/2 encounters an echo on command. You can also turn off the echoing of any individual command in a batch file, including the echo off command, by preceding the command with the @ symbol. You can display a message from a batch file (whether the echo feature is turned on or off) by specifying echo message in the file. If you want to display a message of more than one line, you must start each line with echo. «DOS» Works the same way in a DOS batch file (.BAT extension) as it does in an OS/2 batch file ( Example To turn the echo feature off and then have a batch file display the message "This batch file formats and checks new disks.", type the following in the batch file: @echo off echo This batch file formats and checks echo new disks. Edlin (Line Editor) «DOS» edlin [drive:][path] filename Lets you create and edit text files. filename Specifies the name of the file you want to create or edit. The edlin utility is a line-oriented text editor with a set of single-letter commands. Each line of text is preceded by a number, which you use to reference that line in the text file. Edlin accepts up to 254 characters per line. Once started, the edlin utility displays an asterisk as a prompt. You type commands at the prompt to insert, delete, change, copy, or move lines within the file. If you are working in a file, you can return to the asterisk prompt by pressing CTRL+C. In addition to using the edlin commands, you can also use the MS OS/2 editing keys to edit individual lines. You can use the following symbols to reference a line number or range of line numbers: Symbol Meaning ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── # Specifies the line after the last line in the file. . Specifies the current line. + or - Specifies a line relative to the current line; for example, \+3 means three lines past the current line. The following list summarizes the edlin commands: Command Purpose ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── line Edits the line number or numbers specified. a Appends lines from disk to memory. c Copies lines. d Deletes lines. e Ends the editing session and saves edits. i Inserts lines of text. L or l Lists a range of lines. m Moves a range of text to a specified line. p Pages through a file 23 lines at a time. q Ends the editing session without saving edits. r Replaces text. s Searches for text. t Transfers the contents of another file into the file being edited. w Writes specified lines from memory to disk. For details about using the edlin utility, see your DOS manual. Endlocal «OS2» endlocal Restores the drive, directory, and environment settings that were in effect before the "setlocal" command changed them. Use this command only in a batch file. You can use multiple "setlocal" commands in a batch file without including corresponding "endlocal" commands; each succeeding "setlocal" overrides the previous one, in effect acting as an "endlocal" command for the previous setlocal. If there is no endlocal command after the last "setlocal" command in a batch file, MS OS/2 restores the original drive, directory, and environment settings when the batch file ends. You can use this command only in OS/2 batch files (files with the extension Example To use "setlocal" in a batch file to set an alternative search path for certain commands to use, and to reset the original path after those commands are finished, type the following lines in the batch file: setlocal path c:\etest;a:\etemp . . . endlocal Erase See "del" . Exit «OS2» exit Ends the current command interpreter and returns control to the program from which it was started. If you have used "cmd" to start another MS OS/2 command interpreter, the exit command ends that command interpreter and returns you to the parent command interpreter. If you type exit from the parent command interpreter, the OS/2 session ends. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that in the DOS session exit ends the current DOS command interpreter ( "command" ), unless it is the parent command interpreter. You cannot end the parent command interpreter. EXTDSKDD.SYS «CONFIG» device=[drive:][path]extdskdd.sys [/d:drive] [/t:tracks] [/s:sectors] [/h:heads] [/f:type] Directs MS OS/2 to load the EXTDSKDD.SYS device driver. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. When the EXTDSKDD.SYS device driver is loaded, you can access a floppy disk by using a logical drive letter. You can associate the letter with an external disk drive, or you can associate a second name (an alias) with an internal or external disk drive and copy to and from that same disk drive. /d:drive .LI Specifies the physical drive number. The number must be in the range 0 through 255. The first physical floppy-disk drive (drive A) is drive 0; a second physical floppy-disk drive is drive 1; a third physical floppy-disk drive, which must be external, is drive 2. /t:tracks .LI Specifies the number of tracks per side of a block device. The number must be in the range 1 through 999; the default value is 80. /s:sectors .LI Specifies the number of sectors per track. The number must be in the range 1 through 99; the default value is 9. /h:heads .LI Specifies the number of disk read/write heads. The number must be in the range 1 through 99; the default value is 2. /f:type .LI Specifies the type of drive. This value must be 0 (160/180K or 320/360K), 1 (1.2 megabyte), or 2 (720K, the default type). Examples To associate an alias with an internal 1.2-megabyte drive A, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: device=c:\os2\extdskdd.sys /d:0 /t:80 /s:15 /h:2 /f:1 To copy from the external disk drive to that same external drive, include the following lines in your CONFIG.SYS file: device=c:\os2\extdskdd.sys /d:2 device=c:\os2\extdskdd.sys /d:2 The first line associates the next available drive letter with the external disk drive. The second line associates an additional drive letter (an alias) with that same external drive. Extproc (External Batch Processor) «OS2» extproc [drive:][path]filename [options] Defines an external batch processor for a batch file. Use this command only in a batch file. filename Specifies the name of the file that contains the external batch processor. The filename must include the extension. You can also include a drive and a path, if necessary. options Specifies any valid options for the new batch processor. By putting this command as the first line of your batch file, you cause MS OS/2 to start a different batch processor and use that to run the batch file. You can use this command only in OS/2 batch files (files with the extension Example To run a batch file by using a batch processor called BORNEwhich is in the \BATCH directory on your hard disk (drive C), instead of by using "cmd" , type the following as the first line of your batch file: extproc c:\batch\borne.exe Fcbs (File Control Blocks) «CONFIG» fcbs=x,y Specifies the number of file control blocks (FCBs) MS OS/2 can have open at one time and the number of those it cannot automatically close when too many FCBs are open. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. x Specifies the maximum number of file control blocks that can be open at one time. This number must be in the range 1 through 255; the default value is 16. y Specifies the number of file control blocks that MS OS/2 cannot close automatically. This number must be in the range 0 through 255 and must be less than or equal to x; the default value is 8. If a program tries to open more than x files by using file control blocks, MS OS/2 closes one of the open files in order to make room for each new one. MS OS/2 tries to close the least recently used file first, but the fcbs command protects the first y files against being closed. This command affects only the DOS session. File control blocks are an old method of managing files. You should use the fcbs command only if a DOS application requires you to do so. Example To specify that MS OS/2 can open only four files by using file control blocks and that it cannot close the first two of those files, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: fcbs=4,2 Fdisk /d (Delete Disk Partition) «OS2» fdisk /d Deletes the primary MS OS/2 partition, the extended partition, and any logical drives from the hard disk you start your system from. You must run this utility from the MS OS/2 Install disk. To create or delete partitions without deleting the primary MS OS/2 partition on your start-up drive, use the Fixed Disk Utility application from Start Programs. Find «OS2» find [/v] [/c] [/n] "string" [[drive:][path][filename] [...]] Searches the file or files you specify, or the input you give it, for a specific string of text and displays all the instances of that string that it finds. /v Displays all lines that do not contain string. /c Displays only the total number of lines found that contain string. /n Displays each line that contains string, with a number in front of it that indicates its position within the file. string Specifies the group of alphanumeric characters you want to search for. You must enclose the string in double quotation marks (" "). Since the find utility is case-sensitive, you must type uppercase and lowercase letters exactly as you want the utility to search for them. If you are searching for a string that contains double quotation marks, you must use two double quotation marks for each double quotation mark that is part of the string.. filename Specifies the file in which to search for string. If the file is not in the current directory of the current drive, you must also specify a drive and/or path. You cannot use wildcard characters when specifying filenames, but you can specify several files in one find operation. If you do not specify a filename, find searches standard input. If you specify /c with /v, the find utility displays the number of lines that do not contain string. If you specify /c with /n, find ignores /n. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To search for the string "I told him no, but did he listen?" in the files CHAPTER1.DOC and CHAPTER2.DOC on drive A, and to display the lines that contain the string along with their relative line numbers, type the following on one line: find /n "I told him no, but did he listen?" a:\echapter1.doc a:\echapter2.doc For «OS2» for [%]%x in (item [...] ) do command Performs a command for a set of files or other items that you specify. Although the for command can be used from the command prompt, it is designed to be placed in a batch file. %%x Specifies the variable that will be affected by command. The values of item are substituted sequentially for this variable. You can use any single letter or number for x. item Specifies a file or other item that you want to substitute for %%x so that command will affect it. You can specify multiple items, separated by spaces. These items are substituted sequentially for %%x. You can use wildcard characters in item names, and you can use replaceable parameters as items. command Specifies the command you want to perform on the items you have specified. This argument can be any MS OS/2 command or utility. You can also include any valid arguments for the command or utility that you specify. The for command substitutes the first item for the placeholder %%x and performs a command on that item; then for substitutes the second item for %%x and performs the command again; and so on until no items remain. If you use wildcard characters in an item name, the %%x is replaced once for each matching filename. For more information about replaceable parameters, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. If you use for directly from the command line, use only one percent sign in front of x (%x). In a batch file, however, you must use two percent signs, to distinguish this for variable from a replaceable parameter, which can be a number (%0-%9) or a string (%variable%). «DOS» Works the same way in a DOS batch file (.BAT extension) as it does in an OS/2 batch file (command or utility. Example To delete in turn each of the three files REPORT, MEMO, and ADDRESS, type the following in a batch file: for %%f in (report memo address) do del %%f Format «OS2» format drive: [/4] [/t:tracks] [/n:sectors] [/v:label] [/f:size] [/fs:filesystem] Prepares a disk or partition so that it can store MS OS/2 files. drive: Specifies the drive that contains the disk you want to format. This information is required. /4 (FAT file system only) Formats a 5-inch, double-sided, low-density disk in a high-density drive. If you are using a low-density drive, you may not be able to reliably read disks formatted with this option. /t:tracks (FAT file system only) Formats a 3-inch disk to the number of tracks specified by tracks. The size of the specified drive determines the default value for tracks. /n:sectors (FAT file system only) Formats a 3-inch disk to the number of sectors specified by sectors. The size of the specified drive determines the default value for sectors. /v:label Specifies the volume label─a name used by programs to identify the disk. The label can be up to 11 characters. If you do not specify this option, the format utility prompts you for a volume label after formatting is complete. If the label includes blank spaces, you must enclose the label in double quotation marks. /f:size (FAT file system only) Specifies the memory capacity of a disk, in kilobytes (or, for a 1.2-megabyte or 1.44-megabyte disk, in megabytes). You can use this option instead of the /4, /t, and /n options, to simplify the process of formatting a floppy disk. The easiest way to specify size is as the number of kilobytes of memory on the disk (360, 720, 1200, or 1440), but you can add an abbreviation (for example, 360K, 360KB, 1.2M, 1.2MB) if you prefer. /fs:filesystem Specifies the file system for which to format the disk or partition. This can be any file system supported by MS OS/2. To format a disk or partition for the high-performance file system (HPFS), specify hpfs as the filesystem argument. When you use the /fs:hpfs option, the format utility adds the /autocheck:drive option to the end of the IFS=C:\OS2\HPFS.IFS /c:64 line in your CONFIG.SYS file. Whenever you subsequently restart your system, the /autocheck option causes MS OS/2 to run chkdsk /f for any HPFS drives that were shut down improperly. You must use the format utility to format all new disks so that MS OS/2 can use them. The format utility creates the directory and the file-system tables on the disk and assigns the disk a unique serial number. Format uses the drive type to determine the default format for the disk. You cannot format a disk that is in use, nor can you format your start-up disk or the disk that you started the format utility from. You cannot format a floppy disk for HPFS. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Warning The format utility erases all information that is already on the disk, so be sure you specify the correct drive. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that you cannot format a disk or partition for HPFS from the DOS session. You cannot use the format utility with drives that you have assigned, joined, or substituted by using the "assign" , "join" , or "subst" utility. Example To format a floppy disk in drive A and give it the label OLD LETTERS, type the following: format a: /v:"old letters" Goto «OS2» goto label Directs MS OS/2 to go to a particular line in a batch file and continue processing commands from that point. Use this command only in a batch file. label Specifies the location in the batch file where MS OS/2 should continue processing commands. Label can be any string you choose, but the goto command uses only the first eight valid characters to identify the label. Spaces, tabs, and certain common separators such as the equal sign (=) and the semicolon (;) are not valid characters in a label; it is best to use only letters and numbers. The specified label should appear on a line by itself, preceded by a colon (:); this line is ignored in batch processing, except as a marker for the goto command. The label line can be either before or after the goto command in the file. The goto command simply ignores invalid separators if they appear in the label line, but when it encounters a space or a tab, it stops reading the label. The following label lines, then, are equivalent: :lab :lab el :--lab el :==lab ==:;;lab el «DOS» Works the same way in a DOS batch file (.BAT extension) as it does in an OS/2 batch file ( Example To format the disk in drive A and either go to the end of the file if no errors occur or display an error message if the formatting isn't completed successfully, type the following in a batch file: @echo off format a: if not errorlevel 1 goto end echo An error occurred during formatting. :end echo End of batch file. Graftabl (Graphics Table) «DOS» graftabl [xxx|?|/status] Loads the special graphics characters of an extended character set into memory so that your monitor can display these characters if you are using a display adapter in graphics mode. xxx Specifies the code page that defines the extended character set. This argument must be a three-digit number from the list that follows; the default code page is 437 (United States). ? Displays the number of the active code page and a list of the available code pages. /status Displays the number of the active code page. You can abbreviate /status as /sta. The following code pages can be loaded by using the graftabl utility: Code Character set ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 437 United States 850 Multilingual 860 Portuguese 863 Canadian French ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Warning If you type graftabl by itself, the utility displays the number of the active code page, but it also automatically loads the default code page (437). Therefore, if you have a different code page loaded, typing graftabl by itself will identify that code page but also change it. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Example To enable MS OS/2 to display the special graphics characters of the Portuguese extended character set, type the following: graftabl 860 Help «OS2» help [on|off |messageid | [document] topic] Displays Help information about MS OS/2 and about error or warning messages displayed in an OS/2 session or in the DOS session, or starts a Presentation Manager application that lets you view topics within an on-line reference document. on Displays a Help line at the top of your screen. This line tells you how to get help and how to get back to Desktop Manager. The help on command replaces your current prompt setting with the Help line and the current drive letter. off Removes the Help line from your screen. This is the default setting. messageid Identifies the particular Help message that you want more information about. The message identification number consists of three letters─for example, SYS─followed by a four-digit number. For system messages, you can also specify the number without the letters and leading zeros (for example, SYS0002 can be specified as 2). document Specifies the file that contains the reference document you want to view. If you do not specify a document, the help utility uses the OS/2 Command Reference. If you do not specify the filename extension, help uses the extension .INF. topic Specifies the topic you want to view information about. For the OS/2 Command Reference, this can be the name of a command or utility, or any other topic listed in the table of contents. If you specify document but do not specify topic, the help utility displays the table of contents of document. If you type only the first part of a topic name, help displays the first topic that matches the partial name. If you type help by itself, the utility displays a list of Help options and information. The MS OS/2 installation program places the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: set bookshelf=c:\os2\book The help utility searches for the document file in the directory specified in the BOOKSHELF environment variable. If you do not explicitly name the document, help searches each document in the directory for the topic. You can add other directories to the BOOKSHELF environment variable. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Examples To get more information about the error message "SYS0002: File not found", type the following: help sys0002 MS OS/2 then displays the following information: SYS0002: The system cannot find the file specified. EXPLANATION: The file named in the command does not exist in the current directory or search path specified. Or, the file name was entered incorrectly. ACTION: Retry the command using the correct file name. To view the description of the "mode" command in the OS/2 Command Reference, type the following: help mode To view the description of MyTopic in the document file for an application named MyApp, which is in the directory MYDIR on your hard disk (drive C), type the following: help c:\mydir\myapp.inf mytopic If «OS2» if [not] condition command Directs MS OS/2 to carry out the given command only if the specified condition is met. If you include the word not, MS OS/2 carries out the command only if the condition is not met. Although the if command can be used from the command prompt, it is designed to be placed in a batch file. condition Specifies one of three conditions that determine whether MS OS/2 carries out the command: errorlevel numberWhen a program finishes, it sends an exit code to MS OS/2. If the exit code returned by the last program you ran was greater than or equal to number, MS OS/2 carries out the command. string1==string2If the first string is exactly the same as the second string, MS OS/2 carries out the command. Uppercase or lowercase is significant. The strings must not include separators such as commas, semicolons, equal signs, and spaces. exist [drive:][path] filenameIf the filename exists in the specified directory, MS OS/2 carries out the command. You can specify a drive and a path before filename; otherwise, MS OS/2 looks for filename in the current directory. command Specifies the command to carry out if the given condition is met. «DOS» Works the same way in a DOS batch file (.BAT extension) as it does in an OS/2 batch file ( Example To display the message "Can't find data file" if the file BOOK.DAT does not exist in the current directory, type the following in a batch file: if not exist book.dat echo Can't find data file Ifs (Install File System) «CONFIG» ifs=[drive:][path]filename [/c[ache]:nnnn] Installs the driver for an installable file system and specifies the amount of memory to be reserved for disk caching. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. filename Specifies the name of the file that contains the file-system driver. If this file is not in the root directory of the start-up drive, you must include the drive and/or path. /c[ache]:nnnn (HPFS only) Specifies the amount of memory, in kilobytes, to be set aside for disk caching by the installable file system. You can abbreviate /cache as /c. The value of nnnn must be a number in the range 64 through 2048 and should be a multiple of 2, since HPFS divides the cache into 2-kilobyte blocks. If you specify an odd number when you are installing the HPFS driver, MS OS/2 rounds it down to the next even number. The default cache size is either 64K or 10 percent of the total available memory, whichever is greater. The ifs command should precede any "device" command in your CONFIG.SYS file, except "device" commands that load device drivers required by the installable file system. Example To set aside 500 kilobytes of memory for HPFS disk caching, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: ifs=c:\os2\hpfs.ifs /c:500 Iopl (Input/Output Privilege) «CONFIG» iopl=yes|no|program[,...] Specifies whether MS OS/2 can give data input/output privilege to a process that requests it in an OS/2 session. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. yes Allows MS OS/2 to give input/output privilege to a process. no Prevents MS OS/2 from giving input/output privilege to a process. This is the default setting. program Specifies the program that will be granted input/output privilege on request. You can specify more than one program, separating the names with commas. Some MS OS/2 applications need direct access to hardware such as the display adapter. The iopl command specifies whether they can receive that access. Examples of applications that require input/output privilege are the Microsoft CodeView\(rg debugger, Microsoft Word, and some printer drivers. You should use the iopl command only if an application requires you to do so. This command has no effect on applications that are running in the DOS session. Join «DOS» join [[drive1: drive2:path]|[drive1: /d]] Temporarily renames the disk in the first drive as a directory on the disk in the second drive. While a "join" is in effect, you cannot use the drive letter of the first drive to identify it. drive1: Specifies the drive you want to join to a directory on drive2. drive2:path Specifies the drive and path of the directory to which you want to join drive1. The directory must be a subdirectory of the root directory of drive2. If the directory already exists, it must be empty; if it does not exist, MS OS/2 creates it. /d Deletes an existing "join." You must specify drive1 to identify which "join" is to be deleted, but you must not specify drive2:path with the /d option. The entire directory structure of the disk in drive1 appears to be in the directory you have specified on the disk in drive2. The following utilities do not work on a drive that you have joined to a directory on another drive: .HP chkdsk 38 "format" .HP diskcomp 63 "label" .HP diskcopy 64 "recover" .HP fdisk /d 74 If you type join by itself, the utility displays a list of the joined directories currently in effect. The join utility affects only the DOS session. Example To join drive B to the directory PROJECTS on drive A, type the following: join b: a:\eprojects Keyb (Keyboard) «OS2» keyb [code [subcode]] Directs MS OS/2 to use a country-specific keyboard layout other than the United States layout. code Specifies the keyboard layout by country, using a two-letter code from the list that follows. subcode Specifies a keyboard layout for countries that have more than one layout, using a three-digit subcode from the list that follows. The following keyboard layouts are available: Code Keyboard Subcode ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── BE Belgium 120 CF Canada 058 (French) DK Denmark 159 FR France 189, 120 GR Germany 129 IT Italy 141, 142 LA Latin 171 America NL Netherland 143 s NO Norway 155 PO Portugal 163 SF Switzerlan 150F d (French) SG Switzerlan 150G d (German) SP Spain 172 SU Finland 153 SV Sweden 153 UK United 166, 168 Kingdom US United 103 States Subcodes are associated only with enhanced keyboards. Because France, Italy, and the United Kingdom have more than one enhanced-keyboard layout available, MS OS/2 uses the subcode to identify the specific layout to use. To use the keyb utility, you must have a "devinfo" command for your keyboard in your CONFIG.SYS file. For more information, see the "devinfo" command. The keyb utility affects all programs and all sessions. If you type keyb by itself, the utility displays the current keyboard layout and code-page setting. Examples To use a German keyboard layout, type the following: keyb gr To return to using the US keyboard layout, type the following: keyb us Keys «OS2» keys [on|off |list] Turns on or off the special functions of the DIRECTION keys and editing keys that enable you to edit commands on the command line. You can retrieve any command that is in the command-line buffer, edit it, and use it at the command prompt. on Turns on the special functions of the DIRECTION and editing keys used to edit commands on the command line and opens the command-line buffer so that each subsequent command is added to the buffer. off Turns off the special command-line-editing functions of the DIRECTION and editing keys and closes the command-line buffer so that subsequent commands are not added to the buffer. This is the default setting. list Lists the contents of the command-line buffer. The buffer contains a list of the last several commands you typed at the command prompt, numbered from oldest (1) to most recent. When you first use the keys command, MS OS/2 sets an environment variable (KEYS=ON or KEYS=OFF); each subsequent time you type keys on or keys off, the environment variable changes to reflect the new command. (No KEYS variable appears in the environment until the first time you use the keys command, unless you have previously set the variable in your CONFIG.SYS file.) The keys command affects only the current OS/2 session. When keys is on, the DIRECTION and editing keys have the following effects: Key Editing function ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ESC Clears the current command line and returns the cursor to the position immediately following the prompt. HOME Returns the cursor to the position immediately following the prompt. Key Editing function ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── END Places the cursor in the position immediately following the last character you typed (even if that character is a space). INS Turns insert mode on and off. The cursor appears as a half box in insert mode. As you insert characters, existing characters to the right of the cursor move to the right. At the beginning of each new command line, insert mode is turned off. DEL Deletes the character marked by the cursor. As you delete characters, existing characters to the right of the cursor move to the left. LEFT Moves the cursor left one character. RIGHT Moves the cursor right one character. UP Moves to the previous command listed in memory and brings that command to the command line. DOWN Moves to the next command listed in memory and brings that command to the command line. BACKSPACE Moves the cursor back (left) one character and deletes that character. Existing characters to the right of the cursor move to the left. CTRL+LEFT Moves the cursor left to the first character of the previous word. CTRL+RIGHT Moves the cursor right to the first character of the next word. CTRL+END Deletes all characters from the current cursor position to the end of the command line. CTRL+HOME Deletes all characters from the beginning of the command line up to (but not including) the current cursor position. ENTER Sends the information on the command line to the command interpreter, adds it to the list of commands in memory, and turns off insert mode. Keys on remains in effect until you type keys off. MS OS/2 adds commands to the command-line buffer only while the keys command is active, but it retains the buffer in memory until you end the session. Typing keys off does not empty the buffer; if you type keys on again in the same session, MS OS/2 adds any subsequent commands to the existing commands in the buffer. The command-line buffer cannot be larger than 64K, but it might be smaller if there is not enough memory to extend the list. When the buffer is full, MS OS/2 discards the oldest command to make room for the newest. Only commands you type at the keyboard are added to the command-line buffer. Commands in a batch file or commands that are part of redirected input are not added. If you type keys by itself, MS OS/2 displays the current setting. Label «OS2» label [drive:][label] Assigns a disk a new volume label. drive: Specifies the drive that contains the disk to which you want to give a new volume label. label Specifies the new volume label for the disk in the specified drive. The label can be up to 11 characters, including spaces. Do not use any of the following characters in a volume label: * ? / \e | . , ; : + = < > [ ] & ^ " If you do not specify a drive, MS OS/2 assigns label to the disk in the current drive. Programs use the volume label, which is simply a name for the disk, to identify the disk. The "dir" command displays the volume label in addition to information about a disk's contents. If you type label by itself, the utility displays the volume label of the disk in the current drive and prompts you to either type a new label or press ENTER to retain the current label. «DOS» Works the same in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Do not use the label utility on drives that you have assigned, joined, or substituted by using the "assign" , "join" , or "subst" utility. Example To give the volume label OLD STUFF to the disk in drive A, type the following: label a:old stuff Libpath (Library Path) «CONFIG» libpath=[drive:]path[;[drive:]path][...] Specifies the directories MS OS/2 is to search for dynamic-link libraries. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. drive: Specifies the drive where dynamic-link libraries are located. If you do not specify a drive, MS OS/2 searches the disk in the current drive. path Specifies the directory to search for dynamic-link libraries. You can specify more than one directory, separating the names with semicolons (;). The MS OS/2 installation program places the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: libpath=c:\eos2\edll;c:\e MS OS/2 does not automatically search the current directory for dynamic-link libraries; you can specify the current directory by substituting a period (.) for the first drive:path argument. Example To instruct MS OS/2 to look for dynamic-link libraries in the current directory and in the directory DYNLIB on your hard disk (drive C), include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: libpath=.;c:\edynlib Log «CONFIG» log=on | off [/m:minfree] [/w:filesize] [/b:buffersize] [/f:filename] Turns system-event logging on or off. When logging is on, MS OS/2 records system events in the system log file. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. on Starts system-event logging. off Stops system-event logging. This is the default setting. /m:minfree Specifies the minimum amount of disk space, in kilobytes, to be left free (that is, not used for system-event logging) on your hard disk. The default value is 512. /w:filesize Instructs MS OS/2 to wrap entries to the log file, if necessary, in order to limit the size of the file to filesize kilobytes. If you specify /w and the log file is full, MS OS/2 adds new entries to the beginning of the file, overwriting the existing entries. If you do not specify /w, MS OS/2 adds all new entries to the end of the log file, increasing the size of the file as necessary. The default size of the log file is 64K. /b:buffersize Specifies the size, in kilobytes, of the buffer to be used for logging system events. The maximum size is 64K; the default value is 4. /f:filename Specifies the name of the log file. The filename must not include an extension; the logging facility automatically supplies the extension .DAT. The log-file name should have the form LOG xxxx.DAT, where xxxx stands for a four-digit number; the default filename is LOG0001.DAT. Maxwait (Maximum Wait) «CONFIG» maxwait=x Sets the maximum time a process must wait before MS OS/2 increases its priority. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. x Specifies the number of seconds a process must wait before it is given a higher priority. This number must be in the range 1 through 255; the default value is 3. When an active process has waited x seconds without running, the MS OS/2 scheduler increases the priority of the process for one execution cycle (time slice). For more information about time slices, see the "timeslice" command. The maxwait command has no effect if the "priority" command is set to absolute. Example To instruct MS OS/2 to give priority to processes after they have waited 2 seconds, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: maxwait=2 Memman (Memory Management) «CONFIG» memman=[swap|noswap][,][move|nomove][,][swapdos|noswapdos] Specifies whether MS OS/2 can swap memory segments between memory and disk and whether it can temporarily move segments. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. swap Allows swapping of segments. noswap Prevents swapping of segments. move Allows moving of segments. nomove Prevents moving of segments. swapdos Allows swapping of memory segments from the DOS session. If you specify swapdos, MS OS/2 automatically sets the swap and move options. noswapdos Prevents swapping of memory segments from the DOS session. You can use a space instead of a comma to separate the arguments of a memman command. The MS OS/2 installation program places a memman command in your CONFIG.SYS file. If you start MS OS/2 from a hard disk, the default setting is memman=swap,move,noswapdos; if you start from a floppy disk, the default setting is memman=noswap,move,noswapdos. If you have disabled the DOS session by specifying protectonly=yes in your CONFIG.SYS file, the installation program does not place the noswapdos argument in your CONFIG.SYS file. If you allow MS OS/2 to swap, then it can move segments too, but the reverse is not automatically true. MS OS/2 may not swap the DOS session if you use the mode utility to configure a serial port or if you switch to another session while a DOS program is reading from or writing to a file. For more information about swapping and moving memory segments, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. Example To prevent MS OS/2 from swapping or moving data segments while you are running a time-dependent application, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: memman=noswap,nomove To allow swapping of memory segments from the DOS session and swapping and moving of other memory segments, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: memman=swapdos Mkdir (Make Directory) «OS2» mkdir [drive:][path]directoryname [[drive:][path]directoryname [...]] Creates a directory. You can abbreviate mkdir as md. directoryname Specifies the name of the new directory. Unless you specify a different drive and/or path, MS OS/2 creates the new directory as a subdirectory of the current directory. You can create more than one directory at a time by specifying multiple directory names. MS OS/2 creates each directory for which you do not specifically indicate a drive and path as a subdirectory of the current directory. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that in the DOS session you cannot specify multiple directory names. Example To create the directory CLIENT, and the subdirectory PETE under it, on drive A, type the following: mkdir a:\eclient a:\eclient\epete Mode Sets operating parameters for communication and output devices that you may connect to or add to your computer. These devices include parallel and serial printers, modems, and screens. The mode utility enables you to change settings by using a command line instead of physically setting switches in your computer. The mode utility has several discrete purposes. The following sections explain the different ways in which you can use the utility. Mode: Configuring a Parallel Printer «OS2» mode LPTn[:] [chars][,[lines][,p]] Controls the line and character spacing of the output on a parallel printer. n Specifies the number of the parallel port the printer is connected to (1, 2, etc.). (You can use PRN in place of LPT1; they are equivalent.) The colon is optional. This information is required. chars Specifies the number of characters per line. This number can be either 80 or 132; the default value is 80. If you enter nothing for this parameter, the mode utility does not change the current number of characters per line. lines Specifies vertical spacing, the number of lines per inch. This number can be either 6 or 8; the default value is 6. If you enter nothing for this parameter, the mode utility does not change the current vertical spacing. You must type the comma before lines, even if you did not specify a new value for chars. If you do not specify a value for chars, do not include a space after LPTn[:]. p Turns on "infinite retry," which causes MS OS/2 to keep trying to send output to the printer if a time-out error occurs. With this option, part of the mode utility remains resident in memory. You must type both commas before p, even if you did not specify new values for chars and lines. If you do not specify this option, infinite retry is turned off. If you do not specify a value for chars, do not include a space after LPTn[:]. If your system gets stuck in a time-out loop, where it keeps trying to send output to the printer but cannot succeed, you can exit from the loop by pressing CTRL+C. The mode utility will affect your printer only if the spooler has been turned off in Print Manager. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To configure the printer connected to your computer's second parallel-printer port (LPT2) to print at 80 characters per line and 8 lines per inch, type the following: mode lpt2 80,8 Mode: Configuring a Serial Port «OS2» mode COMm[:] [baud[,parity][,databits][,stopbits]] [,to=state][,xon=state][,idsr=state][,odsr=state] [,octs=state][,dtr=state] [,rts=state][,buffer=state] Sets the parameters for communication with a serial printer or other device that uses a serial port. This is the port you use for asynchronous communication. m Specifies the number of the serial port you want to use (1, 2, etc.). The colon is optional. This information is required. If you omit any of the following four arguments, the mode utility uses the most recent settings. (The first time you use the utility, mode uses the default settings; thereafter, it uses the most recent settings.) The mode utility recognizes these arguments by their positions, so if you leave out an argument, you must still type the comma that precedes the next one. baud Specifies the first two digits of the transmission rate in bits per second: 110, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 1800, 2400, 3600, 4800, 7200, 9600, or 19200. This argument is required, unless you are merely checking the current settings. parity Specifies how the system uses the parity bit to check for errors in transmission. The possible values are N (no parity), O (odd parity), E (even parity), M (mark; parity bit always 1), and S ; parity bit always zero); the default value is E. databits Specifies the number of data bits in a character. This number can be 5, 6, 7, or 8; the default value is 7. stopbits Specifies the number of stop bits that define the end of a character. This number can be 1, 1.5, or 2. If the baud rate is 110, the default value for stopbits is 2; otherwise, the default value is 1. If you specify 1.5 for stopbits, you must specify 5 for databits. You can list the following options in any order after the stopbits argument, separating them with commas. The default settings listed for these options apply only when you first start your computer; thereafter, the default setting for an option is its previous setting. to=on|off Specifies whether infinite time-out processing is enabled (on) or disabled ( off). The default setting is off. xon=on|off Specifies whether the XON/XOFF protocol for data-flow control is enabled (on) or disabled (off). The default setting is off. idsr=on|off Specifies whether input handshaking that uses the DSR (Data Set Ready) circuit is enabled (on) or disabled (off). The default setting is on. odsr=on|off Specifies whether output handshaking that uses the DSR (Data Set Ready) circuit is enabled (on) or disabled (off ). The default setting is on. octs=on|off Specifies whether output handshaking that uses the CTS (Clear to Send) circuit is enabled (on) or disabled (off ). The default setting is on. dtr=on|off|hs Specifies whether the DTR (Data Terminal Ready) circuit is enabled (on) or disabled (off), or whether DTR handshaking is enabled (hs). The default setting is on. rts=on|off|hs|tog Specifies whether the RTS (Request to Send) circuit is enabled (on) or disabled (off), whether RTS handshaking is enabled (hs), or whether RTS toggling is enabled (tog). The default setting is on. The following option applies only to communications hardware or drivers capable of extended hardware buffering. buffer=on|off|auto Specifies whether extended hardware buffering is enabled (on), disabled (off ), or controlled automatically by the device driver (auto). The default setting is auto for device drivers that support extended hardware buffering; the default setting is off for device drivers that do not. (If a serial port does not support extended hardware buffering, the mode utility does not display or change the setting for this option.) On a system where both the hardware and the device drivers do support extended hardware buffering, buffer=off can seriously slow down system performance; buffer=on gives you the best possible performance on such a system, but this setting may not be compatible with some devices that have particularly strict requirements for the timing of events. Unless you are certain that your hardware supports extended hardware buffering and that you are using device drivers that also support it, do not change this option. If you type mode COMm by itself, the utility displays the current settings for the specified serial port. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that you cannot use mode COMm by itself; you cannot use the to=state, xon=state, idsr=state, odsr=state, octs=state, dtr=state, rts=state, or buffer=state options; and there is an additional option, p. p Specifies a time-out value of about thirty seconds for DOS programs that directly control the hardware. You must use the "setcom40"utility to tell the program the address of the serial port before you use the port. The p option must always be last on the command line. Some programs require the additional information that you can specify with the MS OS/2 version of the mode utility. If you are going to use one of those programs, you must configure your serial port from the OS/2 command prompt. Example To set the baud rate to 300, set the parity to odd, leave the number of data bits set to 7, and set the number of stop bits to 2, for your computer's first serial port, type the following: mode com1: 300,o,,2 Mode: Setting Up the Screen «OS2» mode display[,rows] Sets the way text is displayed on your screen, including the number of characters per line, the number of lines per screen, and whether the text is in color. display Specifies the kind of display adapter you are using: 40, 80, BW40, BW80, CO40, CO80, or MONO. For each of these options, 40 and 80 indicate the number of characters per line. BW means that color has been disabled even though you have a color graphics adapter; CO means that color has been enabled. MONO specifies a monochrome display adapter, which always has 80 characters per line. rows Specifies the number of rows (lines) on the screen: 25, 43, 50, or 60. Which of these are valid depends on the kind of display adapter you have. The default setting when you first start your computer is 25; thereafter, the previous setting is the default setting. When you use the mode utility to change the way text is displayed on the screen, it affects only the current session. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To set a screen adapter so that it uses color, 80 characters per line, and 43 lines per screen (assuming the display adapter can handle such settings), type the following: mode co80,43 Mode: Setting Floppy-Disk Verify Capability «OS2» mode dskt [ver=on|off] Specifies whether MS OS/2 should verify that data is correctly written to a floppy disk. The default setting is ver=off. If you type mode dskt by itself, the utility displays the current setting. This command affects all sessions. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session it does in an OS/2 session. More «OS2» more < source Reads from standard input and displays what it reads, one screenful at a time. source Specifies the source of the input. You can redirect input from a file or from an MS OS/2 command or utility. For more information about redirection, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. You can use more to view the contents of a long file or the results of a command screenful by screenful. After each screenful, more displays the following at the bottom of your screen: --More- You can press any key to display the next screenful. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Examples To view the contents of the file IDEAS.OLD one screenful at a time, type the following: more < ideas.old To sort the file IDEAS.OLD alphabetically and view the output one screenful at a time, type the following: sort < ideas.old | more If you use this example in the DOS session, the pipe creates temporary files in which to store information. For this reason, you cannot use the DOS pipe feature if the current disk or directory is full or the disk is write-protected. MOUSE.SYS «CONFIG» device=[drive:][path]mouse.sys type=typename [mode=mode] [qsize=size] Directs MS OS/2 to load the MOUSE.SYS device driver. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. The MOUSE.SYS device driver is a device-independent mouse driver common to all mice used with any computer running MS OS/2. You must have this driver installed on your system in order to use a pointing device with MS OS/2. You must also have a device-dependent mouse driver (MSxxxx0x.SYS) and the pointer driver ( "POINTDD.SYS" ) installed. type=typename Identifies the kind of mouse you are using. This value must be a string of characters that ends with a dollar sign ($). For the correct name for your mouse, see your mouse manual. mode=mode Specifies whether you'll be using the mouse in an OS/2 session, the DOS session, or both. Acceptable values for mode are p (protected mode, OS/2 session), r (real mode, DOS session), and b (both); the default value is b. qsize=size Specifies the size, in bytes, of the queue buffer to be allocated for each MS OS/2 session. This number must be in the range 1 through 100; the default value is 10. Example To direct MS OS/2 to load the pointer and mouse device drivers so that you can use the InPort model of the Microsoft Mouse on an IBM PC/AT or compatible computer, add the following lines to your CONFIG.SYS file: device=c:\os2\pointdd.sys device=c:\os2\msinp01.sys device=c:\os2\mouse.sys type=msinp$ You must specify the mouse-dependent device driver ( "MSxxxx0x.SYS" ) before the mouse-independent device driver (MOUSE.SYS). If you are using a serial mouse, the "device" =mouse-drivers commands must precede any device=com0x.sys commands in your CONFIG.SYS file. Move «OS2» move [drive:][path1]source [path2][destination] Moves a file or directory from one directory to another on the same drive. source Specifies the file or directory to be moved. You can use wildcard characters to specify a group of files, but you can move only one directory at a time. If you do not specify a drive or directory for source, MS OS/2 searches for it in the current directory on the current drive. destination Specifies where the file or directory is to be moved. If you are moving a file, the destination can be either a file or a directory. The destination must always be on the same drive as the source. You can change the name of a file or directory as you move it, by specifying a new name in destination. If you are moving multiple files and you want to change their names, you must specify multiple destination-file names by using the same wildcard characters you used in the source-file names. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Note In the high-performance file system (HPFS), you can use the move command to change the case of a filename or directory name by moving the file or directory to itself. For example, you can change the filename "mytaxfile.txt" to "MYTAXFILE.TXT" by using the uppercase version of the name as the destination argument. (The quotation marks around the filenames are required when you are using HPFS. For more information about HPFS, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide.) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── When you use the move command to relocate a file or directory, MS OS/2 will not write over an existing file or directory that has the same name. If you specify an existing filename as the destination, MS OS/2 displays an error message and does not carry out the command. If you specify an existing directory name as the destination, MS OS/2 moves the source file or directory into that directory; if the source was a directory, it becomes a subdirectory of the destination directory. Moving a file or directory does not change its date or time. Examples To move all the files with the extension .DOC from the current directory to the directory \REPORTS\OLD on the current drive and change their extensions to .OLD, type the following: move *.doc \reports\old\*.old To move the directory LETTERS from the current directory and make it a subdirectory of the directory \BUSINESS\SEPT89 on the current drive, type the following: move letters \business\sept89 MSxxxx0x.SYS «CONFIG» device=[drive:][path]msxxxx0x.sys [serial=device] [model=style] Directs MS OS/2 to load a device-dependent mouse driver. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. The MSxxxx0x.SYS device driver is a device-dependent mouse driver specific to the mouse you are using and the system on which you are running MS OS/2. You must have a device-dependent mouse driver installed on your system in order to use a pointing device with MS OS/2. You must also have the device-independent mouse driver ( "MOUSE.SYS" ) and the pointer driver ( "POINTDD.SYS" ) installed. serial=device Specifies the communications port to which the mouse is connected. Acceptable values are COM1 and COM2 for IBM PC/AT and compatible computers, and COM1 through COM8 for IBM PS/2 and compatible computers. The default value is COM1 for a serial mouse. This option is not used with a parallel mouse. model=style Specifies the model of Microsoft Mouse you are using. Acceptable values are 099 (mouse with green buttons) and 199 (mouse with gray buttons or serial mouse with white buttons). If you have a serial mouse, you must specify the model. A device-dependent mouse driver can have any name of the form xxxxxx0x.SYS; MSxxxx0x.SYS is the form for Microsoft mice. To set up a mouse device driver, you must choose the driver that matches your mouse hardware and your computer. For information on the mouse driver for your mouse, see your mouse manual. The following list shows examples of mouse drivers that are available with MS OS/2: Driver Type name Mouse ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── MSSER01.SYS MSSER$ Serial Microsoft Mouse for IBM PC/AT and compatible computers MSBUS01.SYS MSBUS$ Bus (parallel) Microsoft Mouse for IBM PC/AT and compatible computers MSINP01.SYS MSINP$ InPort (parallel) Microsoft Mouse for IBM PC/AT and compatible computers MSPS201.SYS MSPS2$ Microsoft Mouse configured for IBM PC/AT and compatible computers MSSER02.SYS MSSER$ Serial Microsoft Mouse for IBM PS/2 computers, Models 50, 60, 70, and 80, and compatible computers MSBUS02.SYS MSBUS$ Bus (parallel) Microsoft Mouse for IBM PS/2 computers, Models 50, 60, 70, and 80, and compatible computers MSINP02.SYS MSINP$ InPort (parallel) Microsoft Mouse for IBM PS/2 computers, Models 50, 60, 70, and 80, and compatible computers MSPS202.SYS MSPS2$ Microsoft Mouse configured for IBM PS/2 computers, Models 50, 60, 70, and 80, and compatible computers Example To direct MS OS/2 to load the pointer and mouse device drivers so that you can use the InPort model of the Microsoft Mouse on an IBM PC/AT or compatible computer, add the following lines to your CONFIG.SYS file: device=c:\os2\pointdd.sys device=c:\os2\msinp01.sys device=c:\os2\mouse.sys type=msinp$ You must specify the mouse-dependent device driver (MSxxxx0x.SYS) before the mouse-independent device driver ( "MOUSE.SYS" ). If you are using a serial mouse, the "device" =mouse-drivers commands must precede any device=com0x.sys commands in your CONFIG.SYS file. Patch «OS2» patch [drive:][path]filename [/a] Inserts a section of program code into an existing MS OS/2 program or application to change the way the program runs. Any file that can be written to can be patched. filename Specifies the file to patch. /a Specifies the automatic operation mode. With the /a option, filename must be a file containing instructions for patching one or more files automatically. The patch utility has two modes of operation: automatic and interactive. Interactive mode is the default mode. In this mode, you supply the path of the file you want to patch on the patch command line. Patch then prompts you for the offset at which a patch is to be made and for the patch contents. (Patch can change bytes at any position in a file or add bytes to the end of a file.) You must type both the offset and the patch contents in hexadecimal notation. After you supply the hexadecimal offset, the patch utility displays the 16 bytes at that offset. You can then change any or all of the 16 bytes. If you decide not to make any changes, you can press the ESC key. The cursor is initially positioned on the first byte. To change this byte, type one or two hexadecimal digits. To leave the byte unchanged and move to the next byte, press the SPACEBAR. Press BACKSPACE to move the cursor back if you make a mistake. If you move the cursor past the last byte displayed, the patch utility displays the next 16 bytes. This cycle continues until you press ENTER. When you press ENTER, the patch utility saves the patch information and asks if you want to make any more patches. If you respond with "Y", patch again prompts you for an offset. After you have entered all the patches you want to make and responded with "N" at the "more patches" prompt, patch displays the patches on the screen and asks if they should be applied. If you respond with "Y", patch writes all the saved patch requests to disk in the same order in which you entered them. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Warning You should use the patch utility only if you understand the need for a patch, how to make the patch, and the effect the patch will have on program operation. Before you use the patch utility, be sure to make backup copies of the files to which the patches will be applied. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Path «OS2» path [;|[drive:]path[;...]] Specifies where MS OS/2 is to search for a command file or application if the program is not in the current directory. ; When used alone (path ;), clears all search-path settings. Semicolons are also used to separate multiple paths. path Specifies the path of the directory that MS OS/2 is to search for command files. If you do not specify a drive, MS OS/2 uses the current drive. If any name in one of the paths you set contains a semicolon (;), you must enclose each path you specify in double quotation marks ("). If you type path by itself, MS OS/2 displays the current search path. The path command affects only the current session. To specify a path for all OS/2 sessions, you must set the PATH environment variable in your CONFIG.SYS file. For information about how to do this, see the "set" command. For the DOS session, set the PATH environment variable in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To instruct MS OS/2 to search for a command file in the directories BIN and WORD on drive C and the subdirectory WORD of the APPS directory on drive A, type the following: path c:\ebin;c:\eword;a:\eapps\eword Pause «OS2» pause [comment] Suspends processing of a batch file and displays a message that asks the user to press any key to continue. Use this command only in a batch file. comment Specifies the message you want to have appear before the line "Press any key when ready...". The message can be any combination of characters. The echo feature must be on for comment to appear on the screen. You can use this command to make a batch program pause any time the user has to do something, such as read a message or insert a disk, before continuing with the program. «DOS» Works the same way in a DOS batch file (.BAT extension) as it does in an OS/2 batch file ( Example To have your batch program pause and prompt the user to insert a new disk in drive A before continuing, type the following at the appropriate point in the batch file: pause Please put a new disk into drive A. Pauseonerror «CONFIG» pauseonerror=yes|no Specifies whether MS OS/2 is to pause if it encounters an error while processing your CONFIG.SYS file during system start-up. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. If pauseonerror is set to yes (the default setting), then whenever MS OS/2 encounters an error while processing your CONFIG.SYS file, it stops, displays an error message, and prompts you to press ENTER to continue the start-up process. If you have set pauseonerror to no, MS OS/2 displays an error message when it encounters an error, but it does not stop. Example To instruct MS OS/2 to process your CONFIG.SYS file without pausing when it encounters errors, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: pauseonerror=no POINTDD.SYS «CONFIG» device=[drive:][path]pointdd.sys Directs MS OS/2 to load the POINTDD.SYS device driver. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. To use a mouse with MS OS/2, you must set up the POINTDD.SYS driver as well as the mouse drivers. The POINTDD.SYS driver provides information that MS OS/2 needs in order to draw the mouse pointer. Example To use the InPort model of the Microsoft Mouse on an IBM PC/AT or compatible computer, you must include the following lines in your CONFIG.SYS file: device=c:\os2\pointdd.sys device=c:\os2\msinp01.sys device=c:\os2\mouse.sys type=msinp$ Print «OS2» print [/d:device] [/b] [drive:][path]filename [...] or print [/d:device] [/t\^|/c] Sends a file to a device to be printed. /d:device Specifies the printer to use. The default device is LPT1. /b Instructs MS OS/2 not to interpret CTRL+Z characters in the file as end-of-file characters. filename Specifies the file to print. If you specify more than one file, the files are printed in the order you type them on the command line. /t Stops all printing and removes all files from the print queue, if the spooler is active for the specified device. /c Stops printing the file being printed and removes it from the print queue, if the spooler is active for the specified device. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that you cannot use the /t and /c options. Example To print the file PENCIL.TST, which is in the current directory on the current drive, on the printer connected to your computer's third parallel port (LPT3), type the following: print /d:lpt3 pencil.tst Priority «CONFIG» priority=absolute|dynamic Specifies how a process receives enough priority over other processes to run. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. In MS OS/2, processes (threads) are divided into three categories according to their priority: general, time-critical, and low. The general-priority category is further divided into foreground, background, and interactive subcategories. Normally, MS OS/2 automatically adjusts the priority levels of general-priority processes as circumstances change (for example, when a foreground process becomes a background process). absolute .LI Prevents the system from dynamically changing the priority of processes in the general-priority category. The absolute setting allocates central-processing-unit (CPU) time according to the process's current priority. dynamic .LI Instructs MS OS/2 to try to determine which process needs CPU resources most in any given interval of time (time slice). The dynamic setting gives more CPU time to the process that is running in the foreground. This is the default setting. For more information about time slices, see the "timeslice"command. You should use the priority command only if an application requires you to do so. Prompt «OS2» prompt [string] Changes the prompt for the current MS OS/2 command interpreter. This change affects only the current session. string .LI Specifies the new prompt. You can specify any character string you want, or you can use any of the $x character combinations from the list that follows to customize your prompt. (You can combine text and these character combinations in any order.) Any spaces that you type appear as part of the prompt. The following character combinations are available for use in customizing your prompt: Combination Action ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── $$ Displays the dollar-sign character ($). $_ Begins a new line on the screen. $a Displays an ampersand (&). $b Displays the pipe symbol (|). $c Displays a left parenthesis [(]. $d Displays the current date. $e Specifies the beginning of an ANSI escape code. $f Displays a right parenthesis [)]. $g Displays the greater-than sign (>). $h Represents the backspace character; this erases the previous character from the prompt. $i Displays the Help line. $l Displays the less-than sign (<). $n Displays the current drive letter. $p Displays the current drive letter and path. $q Displays the equal sign (=). $t Displays the current time. $v Displays the MS OS/2 version number. If you type prompt by itself, MS OS/2 resets the prompt to the system default prompt. In an OS/2 session, the system default prompt is the current drive letter and the name of the current directory, in brackets. The prompt command affects only the current session. To specify a prompt for all OS/2 sessions, you must set the PROMPT environment variable in your CONFIG.SYS file. For more information about how to do this, see the "set" command. For the DOS session, set the PROMPT environment variable in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that you cannot use $a, $c, and $f and the system default prompt is the current drive letter, followed by a greater-than sign (>). Example To change your prompt so that it displays the time on one line and the current drive and directory on the next, followed by a space and a greater-than sign, type the following: prompt The time is $t$h$h$h$h$h$h$_$p $g The new prompt has the following form: The time is 13:37 C:\OS2 > Notice that the $h characters erased the seconds and hundredths of seconds from the time display. Protectonly «CONFIG» protectonly=yes|no Specifies whether MS OS/2 is to enable the DOS session. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. The MS OS/2 installation program places the protectonly=no command in your CONFIG.SYS file so that you can run the DOS session. To set up your system to run the Presentation Manager and OS/2 sessions only, change this line to protectonly=yes. Protshell (Protected Shell) «CONFIG» protshell=[drive:][path]filename [arguments] Specifies the user interface MS OS/2 is to use and the command interpreter to use in an OS/2 session. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. filename Specifies the file that contains the user interface. If this file is not in the root directory of the start-up drive, you must include the drive and/or path. arguments Specifies the drive, path, and filename of the MS OS/2 initialization file and command interpreter. For more information about these arguments, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. The MS OS/2 installation program places the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: protshell=c:\eos2\epmshell.exe c:\eos2\eos2.ini c:\eos2\ecmd.exe This command instructs MS OS/2 to use the Presentation Manager user interface and to use the "cmd" command interpreter in OS/2 sessions. The protshell command has no effect on the DOS session. Pstat (Process Status) «OS2» pstat [/c|/s|/l|/m|/p:pid] Displays information about the status of one or more processes in the system. /c Displays information about each of the current processes and threads. /s Displays system-semaphore information for each thread in the system. /l Displays the names of the run-time linked libraries for each process in the system. /m Displays the named-shared memory information for each process in the system. /p:pid Displays information about a particular process, identified by its process identification number (pid). If you type pstat by itself, the utility displays all the information for all the options. Recover «OS2» recover [drive:]|[drive:][path] filename Reconstructs all the files from a disk that has a damaged directory structure or reconstructs a single file from a disk that has bad sectors. drive: .LI Specifies the drive containing the disk with the files you want to try to reconstruct. If you specify only a drive, the recover utility tries to reconstruct the entire contents of the disk in that drive, giving the reconstructed files names of the form FILEnnnn.REC, where nnnn is a four-digit number. In this case, the files being reconstructed lose their extended attributes. The recover utility reconstructs the extended attributes, if possible, and stores them in a separate FILEnnnn.REC file. filename .LI Specifies the file you want to try to reconstruct. If you do not specify a drive or path, the recover utility uses the current directory on the current drive. You cannot use wildcard characters in filename. If the file has extended attributes, recover tries to reconstruct all of them along with the file, but if it cannot do so, it puts whatever extended attributes it can reconstruct into a file named EA0001.REC. MS OS/2 recovers a file by reading it, sector by sector, skipping the bad sectors. All files created by the recover utility are stored in the root directory of the specified drive. When you use the recover utility on a disk or partition that is formatted for HPFS, you can reconstruct only one file at a time. The utility reconstructs the file with its original filename and location, if possible. If you type recover by itself (in the FAT file system), the utility tries to reconstruct all the files in the current directory on the current drive. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Warning Before you use this utility, make a backup copy of your disk and try to restore the files by using the "restore" utility. If this operation fails, use the recover utility to try to reconstruct the lost files one by one. Do not use recover to reconstruct an entire disk unless the entire disk is unreadable. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── You cannot use the recover utility on the drive from which you started your system, nor on the drive from which you are running recover. To reconstruct files on your start-up drive, you must run recover from the MS OS/2 Install disk. You can do the same thing to reconstruct files on the drive from which you would normally run recover, or you can simply copy the utility to another drive and run it from there. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that you cannot use the recover utility on an HPFS disk or partition from the DOS session. You cannot use the recover utility with drives that you have assigned, joined, or substituted by using the "assign" , "join" , or "subst" utility. Example To try to reconstruct the file REPORT.TXT from the disk with bad sectors in drive B, type the following: recover b:\ereport.txt To try to reconstruct the file JANUARYstart-up drive, insert the MS OS/2 Install disk in drive A, press CTL+ALT+DEL, press ESC when the logo appears, and then type the following at the command prompt: recover c:\january Rem (Remark) «OS2» rem [comment] Includes a descriptive comment in a batch file. If the echo feature is on when MS OS/2 encounters a rem line in a batch file, MS OS/2 displays the line; if the echo feature is off, MS OS/2 does not display the line. To use this version of the rem command, place it in the batch file. comment Specifies the message you want to put in the batch file. Comment can be any combination of characters that fits on one line. If the comment you want to put in the batch file is too long to fit on one line, you must use the rem command again for each line in the comment. You can also use rem without comment to add spacing between blocks of comments or remarks. «DOS» Works the same way in a DOS batch file (.BAT extension) as it does in an OS/2 batch file ( Example The following batch file uses the rem command both to include comments in the file and to add spacing: @echo off rem This batch file displays the directory rem of the disk in drive A. rem rem You use the /w option to display rem the directory in wide format. rem dir a: /w Rem (Remark) «CONFIG» rem [text] Includes a remark or descriptive comment in your CONFIG.SYS file. Lines that begin with rem are not processed by MS OS/2. text Specifies the remark or comment that you want to include in your CONFIG.SYS file. Text may be any string of characters that fits on one line. If the comment you want to put in the CONFIG.SYS file is too long to fit on one line, you must use the rem command again for each line of the comment. You can also use rem without text to add spacing between blocks of comments or remarks. Example To leave a comment in a configuration file for another person's use or to remind yourself of the purposes of the commands in the file, begin each line of the comment with the rem command, as follows: rem MS OS/2 uses CONFIG.SYS to configure your system. rem This command (rem) allows you to insert rem comments in CONFIG.SYS that remind you rem what a particular command is supposed to do. Rename «OS2» rename [drive:][path]filename1 filename2 Changes the name of a file or directory. You can abbreviate rename as ren. filename1 Specifies the old name of the file or directory. If you do not specify a drive and path, MS OS/2 uses the current directory on the current drive. filename2 Specifies the new name of the file or directory. You cannot specify a drive or path for the new name; the rename command changes only the name of the file or directory. You can use wildcard characters in filename1 and filename2. You cannot use the rename command to move files from one drive or directory to another. If a file or directory with the name specified for filename2 already exists in the parent directory, MS OS/2 displays an error message. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Note In the high-performance file system (HPFS), you can use the rename command to change the case of a filename or directory name by renaming the file or directory as itself. For example, you can change the filename "mytaxfile.txt" to "MYTAXFILE.TXT" by using the uppercase version of the name as the filename2 argument. (The quotation marks around the filenames are required when you are using HPFS. For more information about HPFS, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide.) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To change the extension of all the files in the current directory in drive B that have a .DOC extension from .DOC to .TXT, type the following: rename b:*.doc *.txt Replace «OS2» replace [drive:][path]filename [[drive:]path] [[/a|/s]|[/a|/u]] [/p] [/r] [/w] [/f] Selectively replaces files in the destination directory with new versions of those files from the source directory, or adds new files to the destination directory. filename Specifies the source file that is to replace the file on the destination disk. You can use wildcard characters in the source-file name to replace groups of files that have similar names. path Specifies the directory that contains the file to be replaced or to which you want to add the file. If you do not specify a directory, replace uses the current directory on the current drive. /a Adds only the files specified in filename that do not exist in the destination directory, and does not replace existing files. You cannot use this option with the /s option., /p Prompts you for confirmation before replacing or adding a file. /r Replaces read-only files as well as unprotected files. If you do not use this option and you try to replace a read-only file, the replacement process stops and you see an error message. /s Replaces files in the subdirectories of the destination directory if the filenames match those specified in filename. The replace utility never searches subdirectories of the source directory. You cannot use this option with the /a option. /u Replaces only the target files that are older than their corresponding source files. You cannot use this option with the /a option. /w Instructs the replace utility to wait for you to insert a disk before beginning to search for source files. Otherwise, replace starts replacing or adding files immediately. /f Specifies that the replace utility should not discard the extended attributes of a file if the destination file system does not support extended attributes. In this case, the utility does not replace the file. The replace utility is usually used to update the software on your hard disk. You cannot use replace to update hidden files or system files. The replace utility copies the extended attributes of the new version of the file (the source file) to the destination file. If you omit the /f option when you use the replace utility to copy a file with extended attributes to a file system that does not support extended attributes, the utility copies the file and discards the extended attributes. If the file requires the extended attributes, replace does not copy the file but displays an explanatory message on the screen. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Examples To update your phone-list file, PHONES.CLI, in all the directories on your hard disk (drive C) with the latest version of PHONES.CLI from the disk in drive B, type the following: replace b:\ephones.cli c:\e /s To add several new printer drivers from the disk in drive A to the directory MSTOOLS on your hard disk (drive C), type the following: replace a:*.prd c:\emstools /a Restore «OS2» restore drive1: drive2:[path][filename] [/s] [/p] [/b:date] [/a:date] [/e:time] [/l:time] [/m] [/n] [/f] Restores backup files that were created by using the "backup" utility. drive1: Specifies the drive that contains the backup disk on which the backup copies of your files are stored. drive2: Specifies the drive that contains the destination disk to which you want to restore the files. The destination disk does not have to be of the same type as the source disk. filename Specifies the file that you want to restore. You can use wildcard characters to specify multiple files with similar names. If you do not specify a filename, the restore utility searches the current directory on the current drive for filenames that match those found on drive1. /s Restores the files in subdirectories of the directory that contains filename. /p Prompts you for confirmation before restoring read-only files or files that have changed since the last backup operation. /b:date Restores only files that were modified on or before the specified date. /a:date Restores only files that were modified on or after the specified date. /e:time Restores only files that were modified at or before the specified time. Do not use this option without the /b:date or /a:date option. /l:time Restores only files that were modified at or after the specified time. Do not use this option without the /b:date or /a:date option. /m Restores only files that have been modified since the last backup operation and turns off the archive bits of the restored files. /n Restores only files that no longer exist on the destination disk. /f Specifies that the restore utility should not discard the extended attributes of a file if the destination file system does not support extended attributes. In this case, the utility does not restore the file. The restore utility can restore files only to their original directory. The restore utility cannot restore CMDsystem files, nor can it restore files that are in use on your start-up drive. To restore the backup copies of the files on your start-up drive, you must run restore from the MS OS/2 Install disk. The restore utility restores backup files that were created by using the MS OS/2 "backup" utility or the MS-DOS "backup" utility (including versions 3.21 and earlier of MS-DOS, even though they use a different structure for backup files). The restore utility preserves the extended attributes of a file or directory. If you omit the /f option when you use the restore utility to copy a file with extended attributes to a file system that does not support extended attributes, the utility copies the file and discards the extended attributes. If the file requires the extended attributes, restore does not copy the file but displays an explanatory message on the screen. Examples To restore all the backup files on drive A with the extension .NEW to the directory LETTERS on the disk in drive B, type the following: restore a: b:\eletters\e*.new To restore the files on the disk in drive B to drive C, which is your start-up drive, insert the MS OS/2 Install disk in drive A, press CTRL+ALT+DEL, press ESC when the logo appears, and type the following at the command prompt: restore b: c: Rmdir (Remove Directory) «OS2» rmdir [drive:]path [...] Deletes a directory. You can abbreviate rmdir as rd. path Specifies the directory that you want to delete. Before you can delete a directory, you must delete all the files and subdirectories in that directory. (The empty directory still shows listings for the working directory [.] and the parent directory [..] if you list its contents with the "dir" command.) You can delete more than one directory at a time by specifying each directory separately on the same command line. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that in the DOS session you cannot specify multiple directories. Example To remove the directory BILLS and the directory NOTICES from the root directory on drive B, type the following: rmdir b:\ebills b:\enotices Rmsize (Real-Mode Size) «CONFIG» rmsize=x Specifies the amount of memory that MS OS/2 is to reserve for the DOS session. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. x Specifies the size, in kilobytes, of the portion of memory reserved for the DOS session. This number must be in the range 256 through 640. The default value depends on the total amount of system memory. MS OS/2 uses the first x kilobytes of memory ("low memory") in your computer to run the DOS session; memory above x kilobytes is used for the rest of MS OS/2 (apart from certain device drivers and essential MS OS/2 functions that use a small portion of the first x kilobytes). The default size of x depends on how much memory your system has, but it is always the largest size possible on your system (up to the maximum of 640K). The default size is typically either 512K or 640K─the amount of memory installed below 1024K. The rmsize command sets a maximum amount of memory for the DOS session; if there is less than this amount of memory available, the DOS session uses the available amount. Because the rmsize command affects only the DOS session, it has no effect unless the "protectonly" command is set to no (the default setting). (If "protectonly" is set to yes, you cannot run the DOS session at all.) For more information about setting the size of the environment for the DOS session, see the shell command. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Note The memory reserved by the rmsize command cannot be swapped, so this memory is unavailable to any other program or process. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Example To reserve only 384 kilobytes of memory for the DOS session, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: rmsize=384 Run «CONFIG» run=[drive:][path]filename [arguments] Starts a background program when you start your system. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. filename Specifies the program you want to start, which must be one that can run in the background. You must include the extension (give the drive and path if the file is not located in the root directory of your start-up drive. The file cannot be a batch file. arguments Specifies any valid options or other variables for the program. You can include more than one run command in your CONFIG.SYS file. MS OS/2 processes all the "device" commands in your CONFIG.SYS file before it starts processing run commands. When processing a CONFIG.SYS file, MS OS/2 preserves the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters in arguments. This can be important for some programs that are case sensitive. To run a program that requires input from you, use the "call" command. Set «OS2» set [string1=[string2]] Defines an environment variable by naming the variable and giving a value for it. string1 Specifies the name of the environment variable you want to set (for example, PATH, INIT, LIB, or PROMPT). string2 Specifies the string of characters, paths, or filenames that defines the current value of the environment variable. If you type set by itself, MS OS/2 displays the current values for all the environment variables in the current session. If you type set string1=, MS OS/2 removes the current value for that environment variable. For more information about environment variables, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. You can also use the set command to define the replaceable batch parameters by name, instead of by number. For more information about using the set command in batch files and start-up files, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. This version of the set command affects only the current session. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To set the INCLUDE environment variable so that the Microsoft C Optimizing Compiler can find include files in the directory INC on drive C, type the following: set include=c:\einc Set «CONFIG» set string1=string2 Defines an environment variable by naming the variable and giving a value for it. To use this version of the set command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. string1 Specifies the name of the environment variable you want to set (for example, PATH, INIT, LIB, or PROMPT). string2 Specifies the string of characters, paths, or filenames that defines the current value of the environment variable. The MS OS/2 installation program places the following set commands in your CONFIG.SYS file to specify the search paths to be used by "cmd" and other programs (PATH and DPATH) and the location of the command interpreter (COMSPEC): set path=c:\os2;c:\os2\system;c:\os2\install;c:\; set dpath=c:\os2;c:\os2\system;c:\os2\install;c:\; set comspec=c:\os2\cmd.exe For more information about environment variables, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. You can also use the set command in your CONFIG.SYS file to define the replaceable batch parameters by name, instead of by number. For more information about using the set command in batch files and start-up files, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. This version of the set command affects all OS/2 sessions; it does not affect the DOS session. Setcom40 «DOS» setcom40 COMx=on|off Sets the address of the specified serial port so that a DOS application can find the port and use it. x Specifies the number of the serial port for which you want to set the address. This number can be 1, 2, or 3. on Sets the address of the serial port in memory. off Removes the address of the serial port from memory. If you used the "device" configuration command in your CONFIG.SYS file to load the COM0x.SYS device driver, you must use the setcom40 utility before you run a DOS application. Most DOS applications send their output directly to the serial port, rather than through the COM0x.SYS device driver, so they must have the port address. You must set the port address before you start the DOS application. Do not use the setcom40 utility if a program in either the Presentation Manager session or an OS/2 session is using the COM0x.SYS device driver to control access to the serial port that you want to use. Be sure that any MS OS/2 program that is using the serial port (including the spooler, which may have files queued up waiting to use the port) has finished running before you try to use the port from the DOS session. Conversely, once you have set setcom40 to on and given a DOS application access to a serial port, be sure that that application has finished running before you switch out of the DOS session. Examples To set the address of serial port COM2 so that an application can use the port in the DOS session, type the following: setcom40 com2=on To remove the address of COM2 from memory and give access to the port back to MS OS/2, type the following: setcom40 com2=off Setlocal «OS2» setlocal Saves the current drive, directory, and environment settings and specifies to MS OS/2 that any changes to these settings that you make in a batch file are valid only while the batch file is running. Use this command only in a batch file. After typing setlocal on a line by itself, you can set any variables you want for the purposes of the batch file; MS OS/2 restores the original settings when it encounters an "endlocal" command or when the batch file ends. You can use multiple setlocal commands in a batch file without including corresponding "endlocal" commands; each succeeding setlocal overrides the previous one, in effect acting as an endlocal command for the previous setlocal. You can use this command only in OS/2 batch files (files with the extension Example To have MS OS/2 search the root directory of the disk in drive B for programs, even though your normal path does not include drive B, type the following in the batch file: setlocal path b: . . . endlocal Shell «CONFIG» shell=[drive:][path]filename [arguments] Specifies the command interpreter that MS OS/2 is to use in the DOS session. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. filename Specifies the name of the file (including its extension) that contains the DOS-session command interpreter. The default filename is COMMANDmust include the drive and/or path if the command interpreter is not in the root directory of the start-up drive. arguments Specifies any valid options or other variables for the command interpreter. The shell command itself does not accept arguments, but if the alternative command interpreter does, you can include them as part of the command. If you specify a filename other than COMMANDinterpreter you specify when it starts the DOS session. Since the DOS commands are included in COMMANDunless they are also included in your new command interpreter. Example To specify COMMANDlook for COMMANDsize to 512 bytes, and instruct "command" to stay in memory, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: shell=c:\eos2\ecommand.com c:\eos2 /e:512 /p COMMANDof the program. Shift «OS2» shift Shifts the positions of the numbered replaceable parameters (%0-%9) in a batch file, so that you can deal with more than 10 values. Use this command only in a batch file. Each time MS OS/2 encounters the shift command, it discards the value in %0 and shifts each of the other values to the next lowest replaceable parameter: The value in %1 moves to the %0 position, %2 moves to %1, and so on. This frees the last parameter, %9, so that the next value you type shifts into %9. You can use the shift command as many times as you need to in a batch file. You can use shift even if there are fewer than 10 values. There is no backward shift command. After you have used shift once, the value in the original %0 is gone and the batch file cannot use it again. «DOS» Works the same way in a DOS batch file (.BAT extension) as it does in an OS/2 batch file ( Example The following batch file (named COPYTOshift command to copy a list of files to your current directory: @echo off if "%1"=="" goto usage :start copy %1 shift if "%1"=="" goto done goto start :usage echo * This batch program copies any number echo * of files to your current directory. echo * echo * Usage: copyto file1 file2 file3 [...] :done Sort «OS2» sort [/r] [/+n] < source Sorts lines of input in alphabetical and numeric order and sends the output lines to the screen. /r Sorts the lines in reverse order (that is, from Z to A, then from 9 to 0). /+n Starts sorting the lines according to the character in column n (that is, the nth character from the beginning of the line). If you do not specify this option, the sort utility starts sorting according to the first character of each line. source Specifies the source of the input. The keyboard is the default source, but you can also redirect a file or the output from another command. For more information about redirection, see the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. The sort utility uses the collating sequence table that is appropriate to the country-code and code-page settings. It does not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Note If you try to sort a file that is too large, the sort utility displays an error message. A file is too large if it is larger than 63K or if the number of lines is greater than the value ((file size in bytes + 768) / 4). To sort a large file, split the file into two or more smaller files. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Examples To sort the contents of the file PHONE.TXT in reverse alphabetical order and display the output on your screen, type the following: sort /r < phone.txt To sort a listing of the filenames in the CLIENTS directory on drive B and send the sorted list to the file CLIENTS.LST on drive C, type the following: dir b:\eclients | sort > c:clients.lst Spool «OS2» spool [/d:device1] [/o:device2] Redirects printing output from one device, such as a parallel port, to a different output printing device. /d:device1 Identifies the parallel port that is connected to the printing device. This is the device that the original printing command was sending its output to. The default device is LPT1. You cannot specify a serial device as device1, but you can use any parallel device (LPT1, LPT2, etc.) that supports monitors. /o:device2 Identifies the output printing device. You can specify any parallel port (LPT1, LPT2, etc., or PRN) or any serial port (COM1, COM2, etc.). If you do not specify device2, the spool utility uses device1 as the default output printing device. The spooler intercepts files that are being sent by the "print" utility or the printing command of an application to a printer connected to a parallel port, holds the files temporarily in a directory on disk, and then prints them one at a time. Because the output printing device can be different from the one speciified in the printing command, you can use the spool utility to redirect parallel-printer output (for example, to an asynchronous serial device). The spool utility affects all sessions. Example To spool your print jobs and print them on a serial printer connected to COM1, type the following: spool /o:com1 Start «OS2» start [" [/f] [/fs\^|/win\^|/pm] [/i] [/pgm] [drive:][path]command[.ext] [ options] or start " [/f] [/fs\^|/win\^|/pm] [/i] "[drive:][path]command[.ext] [options]" or start [" [/f] [/fs\^|/win] [/i] Starts an MS OS/2 command interpreter and tells it to carry out the command you specify. session Specifies the name of the new session as it will appear in the Task List. The name can be up to 60 characters and can include spaces; it must be surrounded by double quotation marks. If you do not specify a name, MS OS/2 uses the filename you specify for the command argument. If you do not specify either the session argument or the command argument, MS OS/2 uses CMD /k Instructs the new command interpreter to run the command you specify and then keep the session open when the command is completed. This is the default option unless command starts a Presentation Manager application, in which case the default option is /n. You cannot use /k with the /pm option. /c Instructs the new command interpreter to carry out command and then end the session and return to the program from which it was started. You cannot use this option with the /pm option. /n Instructs MS OS/2 to run command without starting a new command interpreter. This is the default option when command starts a Presentation Manager application. You cannot use /n if you have enclosed the command and its options in double quotation marks (see the following options description), nor can you use /n if command is a batch file or attempts to use a batch file (batch files require "cmd"as their batch processor). /f Instructs MS OS/2 to run command in the foreground. Note that if you use several start commands in a batch file, you can use only one /f option; MS OS/2 ignores all but the first one. /fs Instructs MS OS/2 to run command as a full-screen application in the foreground, in a session independent of Presentation Manager. /win Instructs MS OS/2 to run command in a foreground Presentation Manager window. /pm Instructs MS OS/2 to run command as a Presentation Manager application. You cannot use this option with the /k or /c option, nor can you use it if command is a batch file. /i Instructs MS OS/2 to give the new session the environment set in your CONFIG.SYS file. The environment includes environment variables such as PATH, DPATH, and the drive and directory for a session., /pgm Specifies that the quoted string following this option in the command line is the name of the program to be run. command[.ext] Specifies the command you want the new command interpreter to carry out. This may be an MS OS/2 command, a utility, a batch file, or a command that starts an application. If you do not specify an extension, MS OS/2 searches for command with the extensions order. options Specifies any valid options for command. If you specify options, you must enclose command and options in double quotation marks so that MS OS/2 will not attempt to interpret the options as belonging to the start command. MS OS/2 runs command as an independent program according to the type of application it is. You can override the default start settings by using the /fs, /win, or /pm option. If you type start without specifying a command, MS OS/2 starts a new command interpreter ( "cmd" ) without running a command. If the name of the program you want to start must be enclosed in quotation marks (if the name contains spaces or characters not allowed in the FAT file system, for example) and you do not specify a session name, you must include the /pgm option before the program name. If you omit the session name and do not specify /pgm, MS OS/2 interprets the quoted string as the session name. Example To start a new MS OS/2 command interpreter and run an application named Videophile in the foreground session, type the following (assuming that the command you use to start Videophile is videop): start "Videophile" /f videop Subst (Substitute) «DOS» subst [[drive1: drive2:path]|[drive1: /d]] Temporarily substitutes a drive letter for another drive letter and path. While a substitution is in effect, MS OS/2 regards any reference to drive1 as a reference to drive2:path. drive1: Specifies the drive letter you want to substitute for a directory on drive2. drive2:path Specifies the drive and path of the directory for which you want to substitute drive1. /d Deletes an existing substitution. You must specify drive1 to identify which substitution is to be deleted; do not specify drive2:path with the /d option. If you type subst by itself, the utility displays the substitutions currently in effect. The following utilities do not work on a drive you have substituted for a directory on another drive: .HP chkdsk 38 "format" .HP diskcomp 63 "label" .HP diskcopy 64 "recover" .HP fdisk /d 74 The subst utility affects only the DOS session. Example To substitute the drive letter F for the path \MONTHLY\FEBRUARY\WEEKENDS on the disk in drive A, type the following: subst f: a:\monthly\february\weekends Swappath «CONFIG» swappath=drive:[path] [space] Specifies the location of the swap file that temporarily holds the information being swapped from memory if you have enabled swapping between memory and disk. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. drive: .LI Specifies the drive on which the swap file is located. space Specifies the minimum amount of disk space, in kilobytes, to leave free on the swap drive (that is, the disk space that may not be used for swapping). This number must be in the range 0 through 32767; the default value is 512. The swappath command takes effect only if the "memman" command in your CONFIG.SYS file is set to allow swapping. For information about swapping, see the "memman" command. Example To instruct MS OS/2 to put the swap file in the TEMP directory on your hard disk (drive C) and to reserve 1024K of free disk space on the swap drive, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: swappath=c:\etemp 1024 Syslog «OS2» syslog [/s | /r] Suspends or resumes system-event logging. When logging is on, MS OS/2 records system events in the system log file. /s Suspends system-event logging. /r Resumes system-event logging. If you type syslog by itself, MS OS/2 starts the OS/2 Logging Facility utility and displays its main menu. You can use the /s and /r options if you have specified the log command in your CONFIG.SYS file. The syslog utility affects only the current OS/2 session. For information about how to control system-event logging for all sessions, see the "log" command. Threads «CONFIG» threads=x Specifies the number of threads MS OS/2 can run at one time. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. x Specifies the number of threads. This number must be in the range 64 through 512; the MS OS/2 installation program sets the number to 128. Because threads take up memory in your system, it is recommended that you not increase the number of threads unless your application tells you to do so or you receive a message telling you that you have run out of threads. A thread is part of an application or other process that MS OS/2 can schedule to run on its own. A process generally contains multiple threads, which act like small programs that perform particular tasks in each process. Approximately forty of the threads you specify with the threads command are system threads that MS OS/2 uses (the number may vary, depending on how your system is configured). These threads are not available to applications. Time «OS2» time [hours:minutes][:seconds[.hundredths]] Sets the system clock by specifying the current time. hours Specifies a number in the range 0 through 23.) minutes Specifies a number in the range 0 through 59.) seconds Specifies a number in the range 0 through 59; the default value is 0. hundredths Specifies a number in the range 0 through 99; the default value is 0. MS OS/2 keeps track of time in a 24-hour format and uses the time information to update directory listings whenever you create or change a file. You may use either colons (:) or periods (.) to separate the hours, minutes, and seconds. To separate hundredths, you must use a period. If you type time by itself, MS OS/2 displays the current time and then prompts you for a new time. If you do not want to change the time, just press ENTER. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To set the system time to 1:36 P.M., type the following: time 13:36 Timeslice «CONFIG» timeslice=x[,y] Sets the amount of time that MS OS/2 allocates to a thread before checking the priority of other threads. Time slices are the units of time that MS OS/2 uses to schedule its activities. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. x Specifies the minimum length of the time slice, in milliseconds; the default value is 32. y Specifies the maximum length of the time slice, in milliseconds. This number must be equal to or greater than x. If you do not specify y, MS OS/2 uses x as the maximum length also. If you do not include the timeslice command in your CONFIG.SYS file, the default value of y is 248. When timeslice is set to 32 (the default value), the process that is running in the foreground receives the most central-processing-unit (CPU) time. For more information about this topic, see the "maxwait" and "priority" commands and the Microsoft Operating System/2 User's Guide. Example To set the minimum length of the time slice to 45 milliseconds and the maximum length to 148 milliseconds, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: timeslice=45,148 Trace «OS2» trace [on|off] [eventcode|tdf [, eventcode|tdf] [...]] [/p:all|/p:pid[ ,...]] [/c] [/s|/r] Turns the system trace on or off. on Starts system-event tracing. off Stops system-event tracing. eventcode Specifies a single event by using a decimal code number in the range 0 through 255. You use event codes to selectively turn on or off the tracing of specific system events. You can specify more than one event code, separating them with commas. tdf Specifies a trace definition file. The filename must not include a drive, path, or filename extension. /p:all Turns tracing on or off for all present and future processes in the system. /p:pid Turns tracing on or off for only the processes specified. The system identifies a process by its hexadecimal process identification number (pid). You can specify more than one process by listing all their process identification numbers, separated by commas. /c Clears the current contents of the trace buffer. /s Suspends tracing temporarily but keeps the current specified set of trace points. This option cannot be used with the /r option. /r Resumes tracing with the currently specified trace points. This option cannot be used with the /s option. The system trace records actions, such as hardware interrupts or system functions, that MS OS/2 has taken or processed while running. These actions are known as events and are identified by event codes. The system-trace information can be useful if you are writing a program to run with MS OS/2. The trace utility is similar to the trace configuration command. However, the trace utility cannot create a trace buffer in which to store the trace information. Therefore, the utility does not work unless either the trace or the "tracebuf" configuration command is in your CONFIG.SYS file when you start your system. If you specify an invalid event code, MS OS/2 still traces the other events listed but also displays an error message. Example To trace events 0 and 1, and no other system events, first type the following to turn off the system trace: trace off Then type the following to turn on the trace for the events you want recorded: trace on 0, 1 Trace «CONFIG» trace=on|off [eventcode[, eventcode][...]] Turns the system trace on or off. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. on Starts system-event tracing. off Stops system-event tracing. This is the default setting. eventcode Specifies a single event by using a decimal code number in the range 0 through 255. You use event codes to selectively turn on or off the tracing of specific system events. You can specify more than one event code, separating them with commas. The system trace records actions, such as hardware interrupts or system functions, that MS OS/2 has taken or processed while running. These actions are known as events and are identified by event codes. The system-trace information can be useful if you are writing a program to run with MS OS/2. If you do not specify an event code, the trace command turns the system trace on or off for all events. If you specify an invalid event code, MS OS/2 still traces the other events listed but also displays an error message. If you include the trace command in your CONFIG.SYS file but do not use the "tracebuf" command to specify a size for the trace buffer, MS OS/2 sets aside 4 kilobytes of memory (the default size) for the trace buffer. You must include either the trace command or the "tracebuf" command in your CONFIG.SYS file in order for system tracing to work. Example To turn on the system trace for all events except those that have the event codes 31 through 34, include the following lines in your CONFIG.SYS file: trace=on trace=off 31,32,33,34 Tracebuf (Trace Buffer) «CONFIG» tracebuf=x Sets the size of the system-trace buffer, where MS OS/2 stores information about system events that are being traced. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. x Specifies the size, in kilobytes, of the trace buffer. This number must be in the range 1 through 63; the default value is 4. If you include the "trace" command in your CONFIG.SYS file but do not use the tracebuf command to specify a size for the trace buffer, MS OS/2 sets aside 4 kilobytes of memory (the default size) for the trace buffer. You must include either the "trace" command or the tracebuf command in your CONFIG.SYS file in order for system tracing to work. Tracefmt (Trace Formatter) «OS2» tracefmt Displays the contents of the system-trace buffer. The tracefmt utility analyzes and formats each trace record in the system-trace buffer and then displays the formatted trace records. (You may want to redirect the tracefmt output to a file.) The utility displays these formatted trace records, which consist of heading information and other trace-event information, in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent event. You must create the system-trace buffer when you start your system; to create the buffer, include either the "trace" or the "tracebuf" configuration command in your CONFIG.SYS file. If you have not done this, there is no buffer and the tracefmt utility has nothing to display. Tree «OS2» tree [drive:] [/f] Displays the path of each directory on a disk and lists all the subdirectories (and, as an option, all the files as well). drive: Specifies the drive that contains the disk for which you want to display the directory structure. If you do not specify a drive, the utility displays the directory structure of the disk in the current drive. /f Lists the names of all the files in each directory and subdirectory on the disk. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To display a list of all the directories and files on the disk in drive B, one screenful at a time, type the following: tree b: /f | more Type «OS2» type [drive:][path]filename [...] Displays the contents of one or more text files, in the order specified, without modifying them. filename .LI Specifies the name of the text file you want displayed. You can specify multiple filenames, and you can use wildcard characters to specify groups of files with similar names. If you use the type command to display a file that contains tabs, MS OS/2 expands all the tabs to eight spaces. If you use the type command to display a binary file or a file created by an application, you may see unusual characters, such as bells, formfeeds, and escape-sequence symbols, in addition to the text. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that in the DOS session you cannot specify multiple filenames, nor can you use wildcard characters. Example To display the contents of the file REPORT.JAN from the disk in drive B, type the following: type b:report.jan Unpack «OS2» unpack [drive:][path]filename [drive2:][path2] [/v] Decompresses and copies a compressed file. filename Specifies the name of the compressed file. This filename has an @ symbol as the third character of its extension. drive2: Specifies the drive you want the files to be copied to. If you do not specify a drive, the unpack utility uses the current drive. path2 Specifies the directory you want the files to be copied to. If you do not specify a directory, the unpack utility uses the current directory on the specified drive. The utility always uses the original filename and extension as the destination filename. /v Checks whether the sectors that the files were written to can be read. The MS OS/2 installation program uses the "copy" command to copy uncompressed files from the installation disks to your system and uses the unpack utility to decompress and copy compressed files─those with an @ symbol as the third character of their extension. The unpack utility also copies files that are not compressed, so you can use unpack to copy a disk that contains both kinds of files. The unpack utility uses the date, time, and any file attributes of the original, compressed file in the header of the uncompressed file. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To decompress the compressed files on a floppy disk in drive A that contains both compressed and uncompressed files and then copy all the files on the disk to the root directory of your hard disk (drive C), type the following: unpack a:\* c:\ VDISK.SYS «CONFIG» device=[drive:][path]vdisk.sys [vdisk-size][, sector-size][, entries] Directs MS OS/2 to load the VDISK.SYS device driver. To use this command, place it in your CONFIG.SYS file. When the VDISK.SYS device driver is loaded, it creates a virtual disk drive─that is, a disk drive simulated in memory. Information stored in memory can be accessed quickly. vdisk-size Specifies the size, in kilobytes, of the virtual disk drive. The default size is 64K. sector-size Specifies the sector size, in bytes. This number must be 128, 256, or 512; the default value is 128. entries Specifies the number of directory entries. This number must be in the range 2 through 1024; the default value is 64. The maximum size of a virtual disk depends on the amount of available memory in your system, up to 4 megabytes. If the virtual-disk size specified is too large to fit in memory, the VDISK.SYS device driver will try to make a 16K virtual disk. This may result in a virtual disk with a different number of directory entries than you specified. When you specify a value for the number of directory entries, MS OS/2 rounds the value up to the nearest sector-size boundary. For example, if you give a value of 43 and your sector size is 512 bytes, MS OS/2 rounds 43 up to 48, which is the next multiple of 16 (there are sixteen 32-byte directory entries in 512 bytes). MS OS/2 recognizes the vdisk-size, sector-size, and entries arguments by their positions. If you omit vdisk-size or sector-size, you must type a comma before the next argument as a placeholder. (If you include all three arguments, you can use spaces instead of commas.) You must place the device=vdisk.sys command after any "device=extdskdd.sys\" commands in your CONFIG.SYS file. Example To set up a 64K virtual disk with 512-byte sectors and 32 directory entries, when VDISK.SYS is in the \OS12\DEV directory on drive C, include the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: device=c:\os12\dev\vdisk.sys ,512,32 Ver (Version) «OS2» ver Displays the MS OS/2 version number. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Verify «OS2» verify [on|off] Turns write verification on or off. When verification is on, each time MS OS/2 writes a file to a disk it checks whether the sectors the information was written to can be read (that no information was written to bad sectors, for example) and displays an error message if it cannot successfully write the file to the disk. (Verifying does not mean comparing the information that MS OS/2 just wrote with the information that MS OS/2 just read.) The default setting is off. If you type verify by itself, MS OS/2 displays the current verification setting. This command affects only the current session. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Vol (Volume Label) «OS2» vol [drive:] [...] Displays the volume label and the volume serial number of the specified disk, if they exist. drive: Specifies the drive containing the disk for which you want to know the label and serial number. You can see the labels and serial numbers of more than one disk by specifying more than one drive. If you do not specify a drive, MS OS/2 displays the volume label and serial number of the disk in the current drive. If you are displaying volume labels and serial numbers for multiple drives and MS OS/2 cannot display this information for one of them (for example, if one of the drives you specified does not exist), MS OS/2 displays an error message and continues displaying the information for the rest of the drives. Disks formatted under versions of MS-DOS earlier than 4.0 do not have serial numbers. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session, except that in the DOS session you cannot specify multiple drive names. Example To find out what the volume labels and serial numbers are for the disk in drive A and for your hard disk (drive C), type the following: vol a: c: Xcopy (External Copy) «OS2» xcopy [drive1:][path1][filename1] [drive2:][path2][filename2] [/s] [/e] [/p] [/v] [/a] [/m] [/f] [/d:date] Copies files and directories, including any subdirectories, from one disk to another. drive1: .LI Specifies the drive that contains the disk from which you want to copy files (the source disk). You can use this argument by itself, with path1, or with path1 and filename1. If you specify only drive1, the xcopy utility copies all the files in the current directory on that drive. path1 .LI Specifies the directory where the files you want to copy are located. If you specify path1 without drive1 or filename1, xcopy copies all files in the specified directory on the current drive. filename1 .LI Specifies the name of the file you want to copy. You can use wildcard characters to copy multiple files with similar names. drive2: .LI Specifies the drive that contains the disk to which you want to copy files (the destination disk). You can use this argument by itself, with path2, or with path2 and filename2. If you specify only drive2, the xcopy utility copies files to the current directory on that drive and uses the original filenames. path2 .LI Specifies the directory you want the files copied to. If you specify path2 without filename2, xcopy uses the original filenames. filename2 .LI Specifies the filename to which you want to copy the file. You can use wildcard characters to give multiple files similar names. /s Copies directories and subdirectories, unless they are empty. If you omit this option, xcopy works within a single directory. /e Copies all subdirectories, even if they are empty. If you use this option, you must also use the /s option. /p Prompts you to confirm that you want to create each new file. /v Checks whether the sectors that the files and directories were written to can be read.. /a Copies files that have their archive bits set, without modifying the archive bit of the original file. /m Copies files that have their archive bits set and turns off the archive bit of the original file. /f Specifies that the xcopy utility should not discard the extended attributes of a file if the destination file system does not support extended attributes. In this case, the utility does not copy the file. /d:date Copies files that were modified on or after the specified date. The format of date depends on the country code you are using; the default format is mm-dd-yy. All files or directories created by the xcopy utility have the same extended attributes as the original files or directories. If you omit the /f option when you use the xcopy utility to copy a file with extended attributes to a file system that does not support extended attributes, the utility copies the file and discards the extended attributes. If the file requires the extended attributes, xcopy does not copy the file but displays an explanatory message on the screen. «DOS» Works the same way in the DOS session as it does in an OS/2 session. Example To copy all the files, directories, and subdirectories, even empty ones, on the disk in drive A to the disk in drive B, and to verify each file as it is copied, type the following: xcopy a:\e b: /s /e /v INDEX ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── A ANSI escape sequences DOS session OS/2 session Application command files, searching for starting in a new OS/2 session Attributes, extended B Background running a process in starting a program in Backup files making restoring Bad sectors Batch file calling one from another changing environment settings conditional command displaying a command displaying a message or comment displaying a message external batch processor going to a particular line performing a command on a set of files replaceable parameters, setting by name replaceable parameters, shifting restoring environment settings in suspending processing of Buffer memory trace, displaying contents trace, size C Cache disk, for FAT file system driver, for HPFS Calendar, system Changing settings for communication and output devices Character set extended, in DOS session in OS/2 session Clearing the screen Clock, system Code page active country DOS session preparing a device to use switching system Command files, searching for Command interpreter DOS session, specifying DOS session, starting ending OS/2 session, specifying OS/2 session, starting starting Command prompt, changing Command carrying out if a condition is true carrying out if error level returned carrying out if strings match displaying from batch file editing on command line going to, in a batch file help information performing on a set of files from a batch file starting a new OS/2 session and carrying out stopping Comment in a batch file in CONFIG.SYS file Communication devices, setting parameters for Compressed files, decompressing CONFIG.SYS file comment pausing on error setting environment variables Copying compressed files disks files and directories files to a different disk in the same drive to console Country subcode Country CTRL+BREAK command line CONFIG.SYS file CTRL+C command line CONFIG.SYS file D Data files searching for in DOS session searching for in OS/2 session Date, system Deleting directory files primary OS/2 partition Detaching a process Device driver device-dependent mouse device-independent mouse installing new loading mouse pointer serial port virtual disk drive Device, preparing to use code pages DIRECTION keys Directory changing setting in a batch file changing copying subdirectories creating deleting displaying listing moving renaming restoring setting in a batch file structure, damaged substituting a drive letter for tree, displaying Disk caching for FAT file system for HPFS Disk checking for errors comparing copying deleting primary OS/2 partition dump, memory external, accessing formatting/initializing joining to a directory logical drive letter recovering files on serial number, displaying virtual drive volume label, changing volume label, displaying Document file, viewing DOS session address of serial port ANSI escape sequences command interpreter data files, searching for drive letter, assigning different enabling extended character set memory, amount reserved prompt, changing quitting specifying the command interpreter substituting drive letter for drive and directory Drive and directory, substituting letter for changing setting in a batch file external, accessing letter, assigning different letter, logical renaming as a directory restoring setting in a batch file Dual boot DOS installation OS/2 Dynamic-link libraries, searching for E Editing command line text files Enabling the DOS session Environment variable BOOKSHELF displaying current settings setting from command line setting in CONFIG.SYS file Environment changing settings in a batch file restoring settings in a batch file Error checking disk or partition for exception condition hard level, in batch file message, explanation message, full-screen pausing on, in CONFIG.SYS file Event logging command line CONFIG.SYS file Event tracing command line CONFIG.SYS file Exception condition Extended attributes F File control blocks File system FAT, disk caching HPFS installable File appending backup, making backup, restoring carrying out a command if filename exists comparing copying decompressing deleting displaying by screenful displaying contents displaying directory listing editing extended attributes flags log moving performing a command on a set of, from a batch file printing recovering renaming replacing restoring searching for text string sorting swap unpacking updating write verification Filename, changing Flags archive read-only Foreground, starting a program in Formatting a disk or partition H Hard disk, deleting primary OS/2 partition Hard error Help information High-performance file system cache driver installing driver I Input/output privilege K Keyboard code country-specific layout preparing to use code pages Keys, DIRECTION L Label going to, in a batch file volume, changing volume, displaying Language group, setting Lazy writing Libraries, dynamic-link, searching for Log facility Log file M Memory buffers in creating dump disk DOS session management swap file swapping and moving segments virtual disk drive Message displaying from batch file error, explanation of Modem, setting parameters for Monitor, preparing to use code pages Mouse driver, device-dependent driver, device-independent model pointer, loading driver for Moving file or directory memory segments O OS/2 session ANSI escape sequences command interpreter data files, searching for prompt, changing quitting specifying the user interface starting new session P Parameters for communication and output devices, setting replaceable, setting by name replaceable, shifting replaceable, using Partition checking for errors deleting primary OS/2 formatting Patch, code, inserting in program Path changing settings in a batch file data files, DOS session data files, OS/2 session displaying directory tree dynamic-link libraries restoring setting in a batch file setting swap file Pausing batch-file processing on error in CONFIG.SYS file Pointer, mouse, loading driver for Port COM LPT parallel printer, configuring PRN serial, configuring serial, device driver serial, redirecting output to serial, setting the address for DOS applications Printer adding parallel, configuring parallel, preparing to use code pages serial, redirecting output to setting parameters for Printing file spooling Priority maximum time before increasing setting time slice Process input/output privilege priority, maximum time before increasing priority, setting running in the background status stopping threads Processor, external batch Program inserting a code patch starting in a new OS/2 session starting in the background starting in the foreground Prompt, command, changing Protected shell R Real-mode size Redirecting output to a serial device Renaming files and directories Replaceable parameters setting by name shifting using Replacing files Restoring backup files S Screen clearing setting parameters for Screenful, displaying file by Searching for a text string in files Sectors, bad Shell, DOS session Sorting input Spooling Start-up, system, pausing on error Starting command interpreter program in the background Stopping an activity Subcode, country Subdirectories copying displaying directory tree Swap file Swapping memory segments System dual boot event logging, command line event logging, CONFIG.SYS file start-up, pausing on error trace buffer, displaying contents trace buffer, size trace, command line trace, CONFIG.SYS file T Text editor string, searching for in files Threads displaying status number of time slice Time slice Time, system Trace buffer, displaying contents buffer, size command line CONFIG.SYS file Tree, directory U User interface, specifying V Variable batch file environment, BOOKSHELF environment, displaying current settings environment, setting from command line environment, setting in CONFIG.SYS file Verification, write Version number, displaying Virtual disk drive Volume label changing displaying W Write verification