Working with the Command-
Line Interface
Chapter 14
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Overview
• In this chapter, you will learn to
– Explain the operation of the command-line
interface
– Execute fundamental commands from the
command line
– Manipulate files and folders from the command line
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Historical/Conceptual
• IBM invented the PC in the late ’70s but
needed an operating system
– Digital Research had an OS but turned them down
– IBM went to a small company (Bill Gates at
Microsoft) that had created BASIC
– Microsoft had never written an OS but accepted
the challenge
• Gates found an OS called Quick-and-Dirty-Operating-
System (QDOS) and purchased it from the person who
wrote it
• Microsoft released it as MS-DOS V 1.1 (Microsoft Disk
Operating System)
• MS-DOS 6.22 ultimately released in 1994
• DOS used a command-line interface
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IT Technician
CompTIA A+
Technician
Deciphering the Command-Line
Interface
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Command-Line Interface (CLI)
• How does a command-line interface
work?
– Begins with a prompt indicating the computer is
ready to do something
– Type in a command and press ENTER
– The command is executed
– A new prompt is displayed—ready for the next
command
– CLI executes commands like the Windows GUI
• In CLI, type the command and press ENTER
• In GUI, point and click to execute commands
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Accessing the Command Line
• In Windows 2000 use the Run dialog box
– Start | Run
– Type cmd
• You may also access the command line
through the Start | All Programs menu
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The Command Prompt
• The command prompt is always focused
on a specific folder
– Any commands operate on the files and folders in
the folder in which you are focused
– You must first focus on the drive and folder where
you want to work
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Filenames and File Formats
• Each program or piece of data is stored
as a file on the drive
• Filenames have two parts
– Filename
• In DOS, up to 8 characters long
– Extension
• In DOS, up to 3 characters long
• Optional
• The filename and extension are
separated by a dot
– Called the 8.3 naming system
• These characters may not be used
/\[]|÷+=;,*?
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Filenames and Formats
• Windows does not restrict the filename
to 8.3 (can be up 255 characters)
– To be backward-compatible with DOS you need to
follow the 8.3 standard
– Windows creates two filenames for every file to
ensure backward-compatibility
• The extension tells the computer the
type of file
– .exe, .doc, .xls
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File Formats
• All files written in binary format
• American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII) used for text
– Universal file format
– Defines 256 8-bit characters
• Unicode
– Uses 16-bit code to cover every character for the
most common languages
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ASCII Character Chart
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Drives and Folders
• At boot, Windows assigns partitions and
a drive letter
– Floppy drives are usually assigned A: or B:
– Hard drive partitions may be assigned C: to Z:
– CD-ROM drives are named after hard drives
• Windows uses a hierarchical directory
tree
– Files are put into groups called folders
• In DOS we call folders directories
– The root directory is at the beginning of the
hierarchical structure with folders underneath
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Folders and Files
• Folders and files must be unique
– Can’t be the same name in the same folder
• C:\ represents the root directory of C
• To describe a subfolder, add the name of
the folder
– C:\TEST
• The location of a file is called the path
– The path of C:\test\file.txt is C:\test
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Directory Tree
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Mastering Fundamental Commands
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Structure: Syntax and Switches
• The command line requires the exact
syntax for each command
• Type the name of the command and
desired or allowed switches
– Switches modify the behavior of the command
– Multiple switches may be allowable
– DIR /W /P
Displays the directory in wide mode and one page
at a time
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Help
• Help with any command is readily
available in one of three ways
– HELP gives a one-line description of each
command
– HELP command gives specific help for the
command
– Command /? gives specific help for the command
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DIR Command
• The DIR command lists the contents of a
particular directory
– The DIR/W command lists only the filenames
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DIR Command Switches
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Directories: CD Command
• The CD (or CHDIR) command is used to
change the focus to a different directory
• The CD\ command is used to return to
the root directory
• CD .. Goes up one directory
• To switch between drives, type the drive
letter followed by a colon
– C:
– D:
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Making and Removing Directories
• The MD (or MKDIR) command is used for
creating a directory
• The DEL command is used for deleting
files, and the RD (RMDIR) command is
used for deleting directories and
subdirectories
• The DELTREE command is used for
deleting directories containing files and
subdirectories
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Running a Program
To run a program:
– Change the DOS focus to the directory where the
program is stored
CD C:\Program Files\My Program
– Type the filename with or without its extension and
press ENTER
Setup.exe
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Working with Files
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Working with Files
• Attributes (H, R, S, A) are special values
assigned to a file
– Hidden: hides the file
– Read-only: protects a file
from being deleted or modified
– System: identifies system files
– Archive: identifies files that
have not been backed up
• The ATTRIB.EXE program is used to
inspect and change file attributes
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Attrib
• Attrib can be used to change the
attributes
– Use + to add attribute
- Use – to remove attribute
Attrib +R AILOG.TXT Makes it read only
Attrib –H AILOG.TXT Makes it no longer hidden
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Working with Files
Wildcards:
– Wildcards are special characters that enable
commands to act on more than one file at a time
– The * represents any number of characters
– The ? represents a single character
DIR *.TXT Lists all files that end in .TXT
DIR *.?XT Lists all files that end in XT
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Working with Files
• REN command is used to rename files
• DEL and ERASE commands are used to
delete files
• COPY command is used for making a
copy of the file in a new location
• MOVE command is used for moving the
file to a new location
• XCOPY command is used for working
with multiple directories
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Mike’s Five-Step COPY/MOVE
Process
1. Point the command prompt to the
directory containing the files to be
copied or moved
C:\> CD \DOCS
2. Type COPY or MOVE and a space
C:\DOCS> COPY
3. Type the name(s) of the file(s) to be
copied/moved and a space
C:\DOCS> COPY *.doc
4. Type the path of the new location for
the files
C:\DOCS> COPY *.doc c:\Steam
5. Press ENTER
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Working with Batch Files
• Batch files are text files that store a
series of commands
– One command on each line
– Batch files use the .BAT extension
– Batch files may be edited with any text editor
• Notepad
• EDIT
– Batch files get their own type of icon
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EDIT
• EDIT is a command-line command that
starts a basic text editor
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Creating a Batch File
• Using EDIT, type in some commands on
their own line (such as cd:\ and Dir)
• Save the file with a .BAT extension
– C:\test.bat
• Launch a command prompt and run the
batch file
C:\> CD \
C:\> Test.bat
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Additional Commands
• Some additional commands are
– VER shows the current version of Windows
– ECHO tells the batch file to put text on the screen
– TYPE displays the contents of a batch file on
the screen
– SET display settings that Windows has loaded
by default
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ECHO Command
• ECHO will display text on the screen
• ECHO OFF turns off the display of text on
the screen
• @ at the beginning of a line prevents
displaying the command, but not the
result of the command
• @ECHO OFF is frequently used in batch
files to “clean up” the appearance when
the batch file is run
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SET and PATH Commands
• SET will display the list of settings that
Windows loads by default
• Programs (and batch files) are run from
the location where the prompt is
– If the program is not located in the current folder,
you receive an error message
– To tell your command to look in other places, use
the PATH command
• PATH by itself lists the current list of places to look for
a program
• PATH= location; location; location; … will add locations
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Beyond A+
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Using Special Keys
• F1 function key brings back the previous
command one letter at a time
• F3 function key brings back the entire
command at once
• The DOSKEY command stores a list of all
previously typed commands and can be
accessed by using the up arrow key
– Type DOSKEY
– Windows XP/2000 automatically starts the program
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COMPACT Command
• COMPACT
– Displays or alters the compression state of files
– compact /c
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CIPHER Command
• CIPHER
– Displays or alters the encryption state of files
– /e specifies encryption operation
– /a says to apply it to the files as well as the
directory
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