Personal Computer User Manual

drive C, the root directory was the current directory. Now you
are logged onto drive A and you enter the following command
to delete the file JEAN1204.DOC:
DEL C:JEAN1204.DOC
MS-DOS tries to find the file you want in the root directory of
drive C. Because the file is not there, an error message appears
on the screen. You need to enter the complete pathname in
such a case.
If you do not know which is the current directory on another
drive, it is best to include the full pathname whether or not you
need it. You can never give MS-DOS too much information.
To change to another directory on another drive, include the
drive designator in the command-like this:
CD B:\WORDPROC\PERSONAL
Note
MS-DOS provides several commands that make using
pathnames easy. When you use the following commands, you
don’t have to type a full pathname or enter the drive and
directory every time you want to access certain files.
Cl The APPEND command lets you specify a search path
for data files and executable files.
Cl The PATH command lets you specify a search path for
program files and commands.
0 The SUBST command lets you substitute a drive letter
for a directory path, which is convenient if you type long
pathnames often.
See your MS-DOS Reference Manual for information on
these helpful commands.
4-22 Using MS-DOS with Your Equity 386SX