Introduction and Syntax

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The reference for each command is divided into the following sections:

Command category

On the left is a table providing quick links to sections of the command details. On the right is a summary of the command

Supported DOS versions:
How easy to use?	Ranging from easy to very hard
How safe to use?	Ranging from very safe to potentially very dangerous
How common?	Ranging from very common to fairly obscure
Internal or external command?	External commands are standalone programs. Internal ones are built into COMMAND.COM

Command Description

A one line description of what the command does

How to use

Syntax for using the command. This will be:

COMMAND_NAME this_one | that_one | the_other [THIS IS OPTIONAL]

The command name is given in UPPERCASE
Things in italics should be replaced with, for example, a filename
A vertical line of pipe character | indicates one or more choices. For example, in the list above you can use this_one, that_one or the_other.
Things in square brackets are optional and do not have to be included. For example:
- DIR [/P]

The description of each option will explain exactly what it does. Some of the more complex commands may be broken down into sections, such as COPY or MODE.

Comments

Any extra information relevant to the command will be given here. This may include difference between versions, tips for using the command, or anything else to watch out for.

Below is another table of contents:

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