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DOSKey
 
 
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DOSKey is a utility for MS-DOS
MS-DOS

MS-DOS is an operating system commercialized by Microsoft. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems and was the main operating system for personal computers during the 1980s....
 and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ....
 that adds command history
Command History

Command history is a common feature in command line interpreter , computer algebra programs, and other Computer software that interacts with the user through a command line interface....
, macro functionality, and improved editing features to the command line interpreter
Command line interpreter

A command-line interpreter is a computer program that reads lines of text entered by a user and interprets them in the context of a given operating system or programming language....
s COMMAND.COM
COMMAND.COM

COMMAND.COM is the filename of the default operating system Shell for DOS operating systems and the default command line interpreter on 16/32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows ....
 and cmd.exe
Cmd.exe

cmd.exe is the command line interpreter on OS/2, Windows CE and on Windows NT-based operating systems . It is the analog of COMMAND.COM in MS-DOS and Windows 9x systems, or of the Unix shells used on Unix-like systems....
. It was included as a TSR
Terminate and Stay Resident

Terminate and Stay Resident is a computer system call in DOS computer operating systems that returns control to the system as if the program has quit, but keeps the program in memory....
 program with MS-DOS and PC-DOS
PC-DOS

IBM PC DOS was a DOS operating system for the IBM Personal Computer, sold throughout the 1980s and 2000s....
 versions 5 and later, and with Microsoft's Windows 95
Windows 95

Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Microsoft Windows products....
/98
Windows 98

Windows 98 is a graphical operating system released on 25 June 1998 by Microsoft and the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid 16-bit application/32-bit application monolithic product based on MS-DOS....
/Me
Windows Me

Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me , is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit graphical operating system released on 14 September 2000 by Microsoft....
.

In current Windows NT
Windows NT

Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was originally designed to be a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix....
-based operating systems DOSKey's functionality is built into cmd.exe
Cmd.exe

cmd.exe is the command line interpreter on OS/2, Windows CE and on Windows NT-based operating systems . It is the analog of COMMAND.COM in MS-DOS and Windows 9x systems, or of the Unix shells used on Unix-like systems....
, although the DOSKey command is still used to change its operation.


During a DOSKey session, the following keyboard shortcut
Keyboard shortcut

In computing, a keyboard shortcut is a finite set of one or more Computer keyboards that invoke a software or operating system operation when triggered by the user....
s can be used:



DOSKey implements support for command macros, a simple text-substitution facility which is used somewhat like command line aliases
Alias (Unix shell)

In computing, alias is a Command in various command line interpreters such as Unix shells, 4DOS/4NT and Windows PowerShell, which enables a replacement of a word with another string....
 in other environments.






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Encyclopedia


DOSKey is a utility for MS-DOS
MS-DOS

MS-DOS is an operating system commercialized by Microsoft. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems and was the main operating system for personal computers during the 1980s....
 and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ....
 that adds command history
Command History

Command history is a common feature in command line interpreter , computer algebra programs, and other Computer software that interacts with the user through a command line interface....
, macro functionality, and improved editing features to the command line interpreter
Command line interpreter

A command-line interpreter is a computer program that reads lines of text entered by a user and interprets them in the context of a given operating system or programming language....
s COMMAND.COM
COMMAND.COM

COMMAND.COM is the filename of the default operating system Shell for DOS operating systems and the default command line interpreter on 16/32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows ....
 and cmd.exe
Cmd.exe

cmd.exe is the command line interpreter on OS/2, Windows CE and on Windows NT-based operating systems . It is the analog of COMMAND.COM in MS-DOS and Windows 9x systems, or of the Unix shells used on Unix-like systems....
. It was included as a TSR
Terminate and Stay Resident

Terminate and Stay Resident is a computer system call in DOS computer operating systems that returns control to the system as if the program has quit, but keeps the program in memory....
 program with MS-DOS and PC-DOS
PC-DOS

IBM PC DOS was a DOS operating system for the IBM Personal Computer, sold throughout the 1980s and 2000s....
 versions 5 and later, and with Microsoft's Windows 95
Windows 95

Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Microsoft Windows products....
/98
Windows 98

Windows 98 is a graphical operating system released on 25 June 1998 by Microsoft and the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid 16-bit application/32-bit application monolithic product based on MS-DOS....
/Me
Windows Me

Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me , is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit graphical operating system released on 14 September 2000 by Microsoft....
.

In current Windows NT
Windows NT

Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was originally designed to be a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix....
-based operating systems DOSKey's functionality is built into cmd.exe
Cmd.exe

cmd.exe is the command line interpreter on OS/2, Windows CE and on Windows NT-based operating systems . It is the analog of COMMAND.COM in MS-DOS and Windows 9x systems, or of the Unix shells used on Unix-like systems....
, although the DOSKey command is still used to change its operation.

Usage


DOSKey allows the use of several command switches:

DOSKEY [/switch ...] [macroname=[text]]

/REINSTALLInstalls a new copy of DOSKey.
/LISTSIZE=[size]Sets size of command history buffer to size.
/MACROSDisplays all DOSKey macros.
  • /MACROS:ALL
Displays all DOSKey macros for all executables which have DOSKey macros.
  • /MACROS:[executable name]
    		• Displays all DOSKey macros for the given executable.
    /HISTORYDisplays all commands stored in memory.
    /INSERTSpecifies that new text you type is inserted in old text.
    /OVERSTRIKESpecifies that new text overwrites old text.
    /EXENAME=exenameSpecifies the executable.
    /MACROFILE=filenameSpecifies a file of macros to install.
    [macroname]Specifies a name for a macro you create.
    [text]Specifies commands you want to record.


    During a DOSKey session, the following keyboard shortcut
    Keyboard shortcut

    In computing, a keyboard shortcut is a finite set of one or more Computer keyboards that invoke a software or operating system operation when triggered by the user....
    s can be used:

    Up and DownRecall commands
    Esc
    Esc key

    The Esc key is a key labeled Esc or Escape that is used to generate the ASCII Escape character , the character code traditionally used to initiate an escape sequence....
    		Clears command line
    Ctrl-Home
    Home key

    The home key is a key commonly found on computer keyboards. The key has the opposite effect of the end key....
    		Clears command line from the cursor to the beginning of the line.
    Ctrl-End
    End key

    The end key is a key commonly found on computer keyboards. The key has the opposite effect of the home key....
    		Clears command line from the cursor to the end of the line.
    F7Displays command history
    Alt
    Alt key

    The Alt key on a computer keyboard is used to change the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key....
    -F7    		Clears command history
    F8Searches command history
    F9Selects a command by number
    Alt-F10Clears macro definitions


    DOSKey implements support for command macros, a simple text-substitution facility which is used somewhat like command line aliases
    Alias (Unix shell)

    In computing, alias is a Command in various command line interpreters such as Unix shells, 4DOS/4NT and Windows PowerShell, which enables a replacement of a word with another string....
     in other environments. DOSKey macro definitions can use the following special codes:

    $TCommand separator. Allows multiple commands in a macro.
    $1-$9Batch parameters. Equivalent to %1-%9 in batch programs.
    $*Symbol replaced by everything following the macro name on command line.


    Alternatives


    The absence of a command history in COMMAND.COM was a serious inconvenience from the earliest versions of MS-DOS. Numerous third-party programs have been written to address the issue; many were available long before Microsoft supplied DOSKey. Some of these also provide additional editing capabilities lacking in DOSKey, such as filename completion. Some of the better-known DOSKey alternatives are Chris Dunford's ced, Sverre Huseby's dosed, Ashok Nadkarni's cmdedit, Steven Calwas's Anarkey, Eric Tauck's Toddy, and Paul Houle's enhanced DOSKey.

    See also

    • List of DOS commands
      List of DOS commands

      A partial list of the most common Command s for DOS follows.In versions 5 of DOS and later, the user can get help by typing help at the shell prompt....
    • MS-DOS
      MS-DOS

      MS-DOS is an operating system commercialized by Microsoft. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems and was the main operating system for personal computers during the 1980s....


    External links