Windows XP command prompt: Questions about a few irritating shortcomings
Marc Brown
somewhat more comfortable with the command prompt for file management,
especially since it is faster than a GUI for most functions. But the
current implementation of cmd.exe has a few quirks that I stumble over
quite often, and the point of this post is an attempt to look into
possible ways to circumvent the problems.
1) After running some applications (probably MS-DOS apps, such as
edit.exe), upon exiting, the directory names shown in the path in the
prompt are truncated a-la the MS-DOS convention. In other words,
"folder one\folder two\" turns into "FOLDER~1\FOLDER~2\". This doesn't
affect anything functionally but it is an eyesore, so I may as well see
if there's a way to prevent it.
2) Sometimes I want to delete a folder, but there is a thumbs.db file
hidden in it. Attempts to un-hide it fail. Attempts to delete it fail.
The only way to remove it is to explore to the folder in the GUI and
delete it there, which is far more time-consuming. I need a way to
FORCE the file to go away from within the command prompt. Note: Simply
recommending that I turn off thumbnails isn't exactly the solution I am
hoping for. They are off, but that doesn't mean I won't eventually run
into one.
3) The biggie. Sometimes when I try to move a file from one directory to
another, I am denied, with the note that the filename or extension was
"too long". This generally happens when there is more than one period in
the total filename. This is a really sad oversight. Oh well, hopefully
there is a way to get around this problem. Perhaps a replacement for the
move command?
Any help appreciated.
Synapse Syndrome
"Marc Brown" <ret...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:9dc342ba.03050...@posting.google.com...
Try Linux.
ss.
Kadaitcha Man
> Since I've been using PCs since long before the advent of Windows, I'm
> somewhat more comfortable with the command prompt for file management,
> especially since it is faster than a GUI for most functions. But the
> current implementation of cmd.exe has a few quirks that I stumble over
> quite often, and the point of this post is an attempt to look into
> possible ways to circumvent the problems.
blah blah blah
> 1) After running some applications (probably MS-DOS apps, such as
> edit.exe), upon exiting, the directory names shown in the path in the
> prompt are truncated a-la the MS-DOS convention. In other words,
> "folder one\folder two\" turns into "FOLDER~1\FOLDER~2\". This
> doesn't affect anything functionally but it is an eyesore, so I may
> as well see if there's a way to prevent it.
blah blah blah
> 2) Sometimes I want to delete a folder, but there is a thumbs.db file
> hidden in it. Attempts to un-hide it fail. Attempts to delete it
> fail. The only way to remove it is to explore to the folder in the
> GUI and delete it there, which is far more time-consuming. I need a
> way to FORCE the file to go away from within the command prompt.
> Note: Simply recommending that I turn off thumbnails isn't exactly
> the solution I am hoping for. They are off, but that doesn't mean I
> won't eventually run into one.
blah blah blah
> 3) The biggie. Sometimes when I try to move a file from one
> directory to another, I am denied, with the note that the filename or
> extension was "too long". This generally happens when there is more
> than one period in the total filename. This is a really sad
> oversight. Oh well, hopefully there is a way to get around this
> problem. Perhaps a replacement for the move command?
blah blah blah
> Any help appreciated.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Marc Brown
>
> blah blah blah
> blah blah blah
> blah blah blah
> blah blah blah
> zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Well at least now we know what spammers do with their spare time after
they've been sued into poverty.
David Candy
2. attrib -r -s -h c:\......
3. copy fred.doc.txt david.doc.txt if command extensions are enabled. Type cmd /? for more help. Putting quotes around it will work for some but not other programs (move doesn't like quotes, copy doesn't care)
--
http://www.g2mil.com/Apr2003.htm
http://prorev.com/forbesrussia.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------
David Candy
http://www.mvps.org/serenitymacros
---------------------------------------------------------------
Kadaitcha Man
Do we? And what would that be? And who are the we you refer to?
Kadaitcha Man
begin boom
DougW
>
> <html><input type crash></html>
> begin boom
heh. can't wait till everyone is trying out that toy. ;)