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------------------------------------------------------------------------- USING DOS THE EASY WAY - A ONE HOUR PAINLESS CRAM COURSE ------------------------------------------------------------------------- DOS stands for disc operating system. DOS is the software program which controls the primary input and output of your computer while you use your primary application program. For example, you may want to use a spreadsheet or a wordprocessor. Those programs accept and manage your data, but DOS controls the flow of data to and from the disc drives, the keyboard, the screen and other "background/behind the scenes" activities. Learning about DOS isn't that difficult after all. It seems that beginners live in fear of DOS. A better way to do things is to imagine that DOS is a kitchen of cooking tools and helpful chefs waiting for your instructions on what to fix for lunch. Here's the point of the analogy: you've got to be a little comfortable in the kitchen to live (no food - no you!). Same thing with DOS. Learn just a little and you can survive with the computer. But just as with the kitchen, a steady diet of peanut butter sandwiches may keep you alive (i.e., passing familiarity with only 4 or 5 DOS commands) but as with the kitchen, life is more flavorful eating a variety of things like steak, salad and dessert. OK, let's go . . . When you first turn on the computer with only the DOS disc in place (assuming nobody has installed some automatic startup software) you get the lonesome a> It might also be b> or c>. All that the chefs in the kitchen (DOS helpers in the computer) are saying is that they are interested in floppy storage drive a: b: or c: (c: is usually a hard drive, more on this later.) a> is called a DOS prompt b> is also called a DOS prompt Let's try switching drives. If you see a> try this . . . . (example) b: <enter> The computer now pays attention to b: (b drive). Hopefully there is a disc in b drive or DOS gets confused and can give you an error message. Try switching around to the other drives, go back and forth a few times. Now try this . . . (example) a>ver <enter> you get a report from DOS on what version and type of DOS you are using. try this . . . (example) a>time <enter> (example) a>date <enter> Get the idea? Type in a word or phrase and something happens. But just what are the words and phrases? Let's jump into the kitchen (into trouble) deeper . . . (example) a>dir/p <enter> you get a listing of files in the drive (hopefully a disc is there) Notice that we added /p to the end of a command. P is shorthand for "pause after each screenful." The word dir means directory (a list of files or programs on the disc.) Try this . . . (example) a>dir/w <enter> The w by the way is shorthand for "wide screen display" (example) a>dir a: <enter> (example) a>dir b: <enter> You will notice that the DOS prompt stays with or in the drive you started from but examines the other drive directory then COMES BACK to where you started from. Another way of explaining this is that you can switch back and forth between drives (typing a: or b:) and ask for directories. OR you can stay in a drive and ask DOS to look at either a: or b: Tip---> Many beginners eventually figure this out! "DOS is a computer operating system. Many of its commands once loaded stay inside the machine. As long as the power is on, these internal commands stay resident (stay put) and are called INTERNAL commands. DIR is an example of an INTERNAL COMMAND - it lives inside the computer once DOS is loaded. EXTERNAL COMMANDS however only live on the DOS disc and can be copied to other discs (example: sort.com). They load TEMPORARILY into the computer, do their job and then are gone. EXTERNAL DOS COMMANDS MUST HAVE A DOS DISC (OR COPY) of that command in a disc drive when you need them." As an example, DISKCOPY is an EXTERNAL COMMAND. Tip---> While we are concentrating on DOS at the moment it is important to understand that DOS is only an operating system. DOS is only the first step. The second step for most people is to use higher level (more useful) programs such as word processors, accounting systems, games (or whatever). These higher level APPLICATION level programs are simply started by entering a simple word or instruction at the DOS prompt. For example, if you purchased word processing disk program it might instruct you to insert that special disk into the computer and type: a>start The point is that DOS is a program which itself allows other more useful programs to be loaded into the pc and operated. TIME TO JUMP TO LIGHTSPEED! . . . What follows is a listing of the most used DOS commands and a secondary listing of less used and more advanced commands. -----------------Clip for Reference------------------ DOS BASIC COMMANDS, EXAMPLES AND COMMENTS FOR BEGINNERS . . . . (The following listing is from PC-LEARN for beginners! For the complete software program contact Seattle Scientific Photography POB 1506, Mercer Island, WA 98040. PC-LEARN is shareware, ok to copy) ==DIR (Internal command) lists a table of disc file contents. Use this command to view a disk volume label, all file names, sizes of files in bytes, the date, time of file creation and amount of space left for storage on the disc. A disc for IBM PCs clones hold about 360,000 bytes or computer "words." Dir/w lists colums in "wide screen mode" Dir/p lists in "pause" mode (one screen at a time). Can also find certain Files. Example: a>dir letter.bak Example: c>dir rll.wks. You can switch and view another directory. Example: c>dir b: Example a>dir c: Tip---> A FILE is a collection of computer words or symbols which function as a group to perform a task or convey information. Just like a filing cabinet with file folders contained inside, a computer floppy disk is a file cabinet contained small "folders" or groups of information. Tip---> dissecting a directory listing: Examine the following (partial) screen listing. The first word in each line is the file name. The second word is the file extension. (Example: the first file is actually named COMMAND.COM not command com ). The next number is the byte count or file size (i.e., how many computer words or bytes make up the file). The next item is the date of file creation. The final item is the time of file creation. COMMAND COM 16037 2-15-84 3:55p ANSI SYS 1632 6-26-84 5:15p ASSIGN EXE 1386 5-22-84 3:42p AUTOEXEC BAT 40 3-26-87 6:32a BACKUP COM 11855 12-11-84 1:02p CHKDSK COM 6468 10-19-83 7:51p DEBUG COM 12223 10-19-83 7:52p DEVCNFG COM 4621 9-18-85 7:01p DISKCOMP COM 2088 9-12-85 4:41p DISKCOPY COM 1409 10-19-83 7:51p DISKSHIP EXE 2376 8-29-85 11:08a Tip--->FILE HANDLING with dir and DOS. On the screen a dir listing might show a file as PC-LEARN WKS The true syntax to DOS is always: PC-LEARN.WKS The point is that you need a dot between the file name (first part) and the extension of the file (second part) Tip---> Files can be typed in upper or lower case: DOS doesn't care! Tip--->FILE NAMES. There is a meaning to life, as they say. Files names have meaning. The clue as to the use of a file usually resides in its extension. Examples: 123.EXE The program 123, an "execute" file. Think of as a motor or engine. 783.WKS A worksheet file from lotus possibly from July of 1983 (7/83) README Probably a text file in plain english README.TXT Same thing, but suffix means "text" A text file is sometimes also called an ASCII file. It contains ordinary words you can read. Text files are generated by a word processor program or editor program are usually contain letters, notes, or instructions. BBD.DAT Unknown file type, but we guess "data" XVC.RXD Unknown file, but we guess from a reflex databse program (Reflex data=RXD) GO.BAT A Batch file (bat). think of as like an exe file. A little engine of some sort. Contains plain english can be viewed with the DOS "type" command. VIEW.COM Unknown file, but a "command" type, similar to an exe file. A little engine. ANSI.SYS A system file, Instruction unique to your computer hookup and brand. CONFIG.SYS Likewise a system file. Helps "configure" your computer for specific hookups, and equipment. Tip--->LIES LIES! AND FILE HANDLING. DOS is quite honest for the most part. When you ask for a directory listing of files on a disc you usually get it. EXCEPT for two small lies! On the main DOS disc are two files which cannot be seen on the directory (hidden) but are there: BIO and DOSSYS. These files are are the core of the operating system (brains) of the computer. The designers of DOS hid them for two reasons 1) copyright concerns 2) protection from accidental erasure. BUT the biggest problem is that these two special files will not copy to discs in the normal manner (see our copy discussion below). These two files can only be copied with the SYS command or DISKCOPY command (also below). Without these two files a disc cannot boot or startup the computer. When you copy a DOS disc the copy command copies ALMOST everything (except BIO and DOSSYS) The DISCKCOPY command copies everything. You only need BIO and DOSSYS to start the computer: BIO and SYS do not have to be on every disk! Tip---> STOP! Not a formal DOS command, but if you need to stop something in progress, (copying, listing) do this: If a directory is scrolling endlessly down the screen, hit control key AND the s key held together. This stops things until you want to recontinue (hit any key). To stop a DOS operation altogether, use control key and c key together. Easy way to remember: control c means crash. control s means stop. This will not always work within every program (e.g., inside lotus) but it does work within DOS. Tip--->Don't get confused. Computer people call programs, applications Get it? Applications are programs, programs are applications. Hire a computer person to describe a pencil and you'd get "extensible manually driven organic writing device, non electric, replaceable." ==COPY (internal) copies one or several files to a disk or directory. Copy can duplicate a file onto another disk or into a subdirectory (more on subdirectories later) Example: b> copy zip.doc a: Example: a> copy why.me b: Copy and the + symbol combines two or more files into one larger file. Example: a> copy files.old+files.new files.all Copy can send data to the printer. Example: b>copy files.new>prn. Copy and /v verifies a good transfer or copy. Example: a>copy old.files b:/v Copy con ("copy from the console or keyboard) can prepare batch files and autoexec.bat files to automate many DOS operations (examples below). More copy examples for review . . . Example: a>copy con autoexec.bat (press enter) a>123 (press enter) a>^Z (press enter) In the last line ^Z is produced by either pressing F6 (function key 6) or holding down control key and z key together. This means (first line) create a file named autoexec.bat as typed from the keyboard or con (console). (Second line) execute the program named 123. (Final line) end of my orders from the keyboard - prepare the file and stash it on the disc. Example: c>copy fuss+whine moan.txt Meaning: take the disc file fuss and combine it with the file whine and rename the result moan.txt. This is useful when combining several different word processed documents into one long letter. Example: b>copy whine.bat b:/v Means copy the disc file whine.bat to the b drive and then verify this is a good copy. ==Date and time (internal) A calander and clock exist within DOS. On some computers it automatically is updated and kept current. On other computers (without a clock card or chip installed) you type in the date and time on startup. This date and time data is attached to all files to keep track of when they were created so you can determine which file is most recent. Example: (at the DOS prompt a> ==DEL (or ERASE) (internal) deletes files or groups of files. Use DEL*.* to erase all files from a disc (more on these wild cards in a second). Example: a>del whine.txt Example: b>del 784.wks Example: a>del *.wks Example: a>del old.* Example: c>del ??.rxd == ? and * characters. DOS can use "wildcards" in many operations (? *) like copy and del. Simply stated, these wildcards take the place of letters and numbers. Use the question mark as any SINGLE character. Use the * as any GROUP of characters. Think of them as a shorthand to get the job of typing done. Example: a>dir a:*.wks Example: b>copy ???.*ata Example: c>del *.* Example: a>copy *.wks b:/v ==DISKCOPY (external Note! external file: must be in diskdrive to work!) copies entire contents of one floppy to another. Some DOS versions require you to first format the blank disk first (the target disk). Example: a>diskcopy a: b: (meaning diskcopy the contents of floppy in a drive and send copy to b:) ==FORMAT (external) Prepares a blank floppy to receive data. Think of a fresh disk as blank paper. DOS prefers graph paper with little boxes drawn on it to receive data. Each little box stores a computer word or "byte." Example b>format a: (meaning format floppy in a: drive) Example: a>format (format the disk in a: drive). Format erases any old files on a disk (be careful!) --->Tip Only new (empty) formatted disks can receive the system files. (Remember the BIO and SYS secret files?) Once you put a few files on the floppy the system files will not fit. The floppy must be empty and formatted. The system files "want" to be in "first place" on a floppy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tip---> Danger! Danger! a>format c: wipes out your hard drive! Also c> del *.* wipes out hard drive. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ==REN or rename (internal) changes name of a file to another new name. Destroys old name. Example: a>ren old.file new.file Tip---> Use the copy command instead of rename if you want to keep the old file and its old name, but just want another copy of that file. ==TYPE (internal) display or "types" the contents of a file. Use type for a glimpse into files. Only text files (also known as ASCII files) will read in english. Other files (com or exe) will show gibberish since they are in computer code. Example: a>type readme.1st Example: b>type readme.1st>prn (sends to printer). Example: b>type readme.1st (hold down control key and s key to temporarily pause screen when full then hit any key to restart). ==COMP and DISKCOMP (external) compare two files or disks. Used after the copy command, these commands ensure accuracy of the copy. Example: a>comp a:this.file b:that.file Example: a>diskcomp a: b: ==CLS (internal) clears the screen. Example: a>cls ==SYS (external) copies the hidden files (BIO and SYS) to another disk which has been already formatted. The command format/s first formats a floppy then adds the files. Example: a>sys b: (used when the disk is already formatted) Example: a>format b:/s (does same thing but first formats blank disk) Example: a>format b:/s/v (verify also used.) The basic purpose of the SYS and format/s commands are to make a disk self-starting or self booting. ==CHKDSK (external) checks contents of a disk for errors. Chkdsk/f fixes minor errors. Chkdsk/v displays all filesnames as it works. Followed by a filename, chkdsk checks only that file. Example: a>chkdsk b:this.file/f/v ==FDISK (external) prepares hard drive for data. First use fdisk then use format c:/s/v for second step. Some hard disks come shipped with fdisk already run and only need final formatting. Running fdisk is also known as partitioning the hard disk. Example: a>fdisk ==LABEL (external) attaches volume label or header to a floppy. Like stamping a book with a title. Only in DOS 3.0 and above. Example: a>label b:expenses TIP---> SUBDIRECTORIES - Little boxes in the disc drive You could compare a hard disk to a deparment store. The store might sell toys, books and clothes. Similar items go in the same department. Your hard disk has the capacity for many separate areas in which to place files. DOS refers to these maginary "depart- ments" as directories or subdirectories. You can create a subdirectory named DATA which contains all your word processing documents. Computer utilities could be in a subdirectory called UTIL, and so on. Subdirectories allow you to keep a well organized hard disk. The DOS commands mkdir, rmdir, and chdir allow you to make, remove, and change directories. They are of some use on a floppy but essential use on a hard drive which may have hundreds of (hard to locate) files. They aren't essential - just useful in organizing your files. ==MD or mkdir (internal) makes a subdirectory and assigns it a name or path name. These subdirectories essentially branch out from your main directory (also called a root directory). example: a>md\data ==RD or rmdir (internal) removes an empty subdirectory (it cannot remove a subdirectory with files contained as a safety measure - use the del command to first clear a subdirectory). A root (main) directory cannot be removed. Example: b>rd\letters ==CD or chdir (internal) changes the current (active) subdirectory or directory. CD\ brings you to the root (main directory) no matter where you are. Example: a>cd\ Example: c>cd\data Example: b>cd\data\financial ==CTRL & PRTSC (internal) isn't really a command but a combination of two keystrokes at the same time which sends all displayed data to the printer until you hit the same two keys to turn the command off. Allows you to print directory listings or files of interest. Remember to turn command off when finished. ==SHIFT & PRTSC (internal) two key combination which copies only the current screen to your printer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- USING DOS THE EASIER WAY - DOS SHELLS AREN'T FOUND AT THE SEASHORE ------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is always an easier way to do anything - given enough time, money and ingenuity. If DOS commands and structure are not interesting or you don't have the time to practice, there exist programs called DOS SHELLS which essentially provide DOS access for routine things like moving and copying files; these shell programs hide the DOS commands behind a menu of "point and select" choices and options. The typical DOS shell is a package which surrounds DOS (like a shell, hence the name) and allows you to perform the most common functions by pressing only one or two keys or moving a highlighted arrow. This is a bit like using a cash machine at the bank. If you need to take money out of the machine, you insert your card, key in a password and press a few different choice buttons. DOS SHELLS provide a screen of DOS command choices, and all you do is point the arrow or cursor and what you want done. You see a menu of choices instead of a cryptic a>. The tradeoff is that you may miss out some of the more subtle operations that direct contact with DOS can provide, but then sometimes it is easier to simply get the task accomplished. There are two flavors of DOS shells: memory resident (stay put in the computer memory) - which are always available whether the DOS shell disc is in the machine or not. The second type, non-resident shells live on the disc and must be present in the disc drive to be used. Non resident DOS shells do not however use active RAM memory continuously and thus free more memory space for your main program. DOS shells can also have added features: security passwords and macros (the capability to cause one key or key combination to instantly type a long string of characters.) DOS shells are a good "beginners crutch" to let you work with the computer and its DOS operating system without having to learn the DOS commands and their somewhat arcane syntax. Some common and reasonably good DOS shell packages for beginners include: HOT, Still River Shell, DOS2ools, Direc-Tree Plus, and Alps Hip pocket Helpers. Another file management shell is Q-Filer. Powermenu and Automenu are shells with the capability to help you add custom and simple menu screens which allow you to start and select between different computer programs quickly and (again without having to use DOS commands directly.) end of DOS part 1, now press escape key to return to menu