Important Notice

The pages on this site contain documentation for very old MS-DOS software, purely for historical purposes. If you're looking for up-to-date documentation, particularly for programming, you should not rely on the information found here, as it will be woefully out of date.

◄Examples►  ◄Syntax►
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                               DOSKEY──Notes
 
Recalling a command
 
To recall a command, you can use any of the following keys after loading
Doskey into memory:
 
UP ARROW
    Recalls the MS-DOS command you used before the one displayed.
 
DOWN ARROW
    Recalls the MS-DOS command you used after the one displayed.
 
PAGE UP
    Recalls the oldest MS-DOS command you used in the current session.
 
PAGE DOWN
    Recalls the most recent MS-DOS command you used.
 
Editing the command line
 
With the Doskey program, you can edit the current command line. The
following list describes the Doskey editing keys and their functions:
 
LEFT ARROW
    Moves the cursor back one character.
 
RIGHT ARROW
    Moves the cursor forward one character.
 
CTRL+LEFT ARROW
    Moves the cursor back one word.
 
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
    Moves the cursor forward one word.
 
HOME
    Moves the cursor to the beginning of the line.
 
END
    Moves the cursor to the end of the line.
 
ESC
    Clears the command from the display.
 
F1
    Copies one character from the template to the MS-DOS command line. (The
    template is a memory buffer that holds the last command you typed.)
 
F2
    Searches forward in the template for the next key you type after
    pressing F2. Doskey inserts the text from the template up to but not
    including the character you specify.
 
F3
    Copies the remainder of the template to the command line. Doskey begins
    copying characters from the position in the template that corresponds to
    the position indicated by the cursor on the command line.
 
F4
    Deletes characters, beginning with the current character position, up to
    a character you specify. To use this editing key, press F4 and type a
    character. Doskey deletes up to, but not including, that character.
 
F5
    Copies the current command into the template and clears the command
    line.
 
F6
    Places an end-of-file character (CTRL+Z) at the current position on the
    command line.
 
F7
    Displays all commands stored in memory, with their associated numbers.
    Doskey assigns these numbers sequentially, beginning with 1 for the
    first (oldest) command stored in memory.
 
ALT+F7
    Deletes all commands stored in memory.
 
F8
    Searches memory for a command that you want Doskey to display. To use
    this editing key, type the first character, or the first few characters,
    of the command you want Doskey to search for and then press F8. Doskey
    displays the most recent command that begins with the text you typed.
    Press F8 repeatedly to cycle through all the commands that start with
    the characters you specified.
 
F9
    Prompts you for a command number and displays the command associated
    with the number you specify. To display all the numbers and their
    associated commands, press F7.
 
ALT+F10
    Deletes all macro definitions.
 
Specifying a default insert mode
 
If you press the INSERT key, you can type text on the Doskey command line in
the middle of old text without replacing the old text. However, once you
press ENTER, Doskey returns your keyboard to replace mode. You must press
INSERT again to return to insert mode.
 
The /INSERT switch puts your keyboard in insert mode each time you press
ENTER. Your keyboard effectively remains in insert mode until you use the
/OVERSTRIKE switch. You can temporarily return to replace mode by pressing
the INSERT key; but once you press ENTER, Doskey returns your keyboard to
insert mode.
 
The cursor changes shape when you use the INSERT key to change from one mode
to the other.
 
Creating a macro
 
You can use the Doskey program to create macros that carry out one or more
MS-DOS commands.
 
You can use the following special characters to control command operations
when defining a macro:
 
$G or $g
    Redirects output. Use either of these special characters to send output
    to a device or a file instead of to the screen. This character is
    equivalent to the redirection symbol for output (>).
 
$G$G or $g$g
    Appends output to the end of a file. Use either of these special double
    characters to append output to an existing file rather than replace the
    data in the file. These double characters are equivalent to the "append"
    redirection symbol for output (>>).
 
$L or $l
    Redirects input. Use either of these special characters to read input
    from a device or a file instead of from the keyboard. This character is
    equivalent to the redirection symbol for input (<).
 
$B or $b
    Sends macro output to a command. Using one of these special characters
    is equivalent to using the pipe (|) on a command line.
 
$T or $t
    Separates commands. Use either of these special characters to separate
    commands when you are creating macros or typing commands on the Doskey
    command line.
 
$$
    Specifies the dollar-sign character ($).
 
$1 through $9
    Represents any command-line information you want to specify when you run
    the macro. The special characters $1 through $9 are batch parameters,
    which make it possible for you to use different data on the command line
    each time you run the macro. The $1 character in a DOSKEY command is
    similar to the %1 character in a batch program.
 
$*
    Represents all the command-line information you want to specify when you
    type the macro name. The special character $* is a replaceable parameter
    that is similar to the batch parameters $1 through $9, with one
    important difference. Here, everything you type on the command line
    after the macro name is substituted for the $* in the macro.
 
For example, to create a macro that performs a quick and unconditional
format of a disk, type the following command:
 
    doskey qf=format $1 /q /u
 
For information about quick and unconditional formatting, see the <FORMAT>
command.
 
You can use the DOSKEY command in a batch program to create a macro.
 
Running a macro
 
To run a macro, type the macro name starting at the first position on the
command line. If the macro was defined with $* or any of the batch
parameters $1 through $9, use a space to separate parameters.
 
You could run the QF macro created in the previous example to format a disk
in drive A quickly and unconditionally. To do so, you would type the
following command:
 
    qf a:
 
You cannot run a macro from a batch program.
 
Creating a macro with the same name as an MS-DOS command
 
You might want to create a macro that has the same name as an MS-DOS
command. This can be useful, for example, if you always use a certain
command with specific switches. To specify whether you want to run the macro
or the MS-DOS command, follow these guidelines:
 
♦  To run the macro, begin typing the macro name immediately after the
   command prompt, with no space between the prompt and the command name.
 
♦  To carry out the command, insert one or more spaces between the command
   prompt and the command name.
 
Deleting a macro
 
To delete a macro, type the following command:
 
    doskey macroname=
 
                                      ♦