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documentation, particularly for programming, you should not rely on the information found here, as it will be woefully out of date.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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                               APPEND──Notes
 
Running APPEND with Microsoft Windows
 
Do not use Append with Microsoft Windows or the Windows Setup program.
 
Running APPEND multiple times
 
You can use APPEND as many times as you want after starting your system.
However, note the following:
 
♦  The /E switch is valid only the first time you use APPEND after starting
   your system.
 
♦  The second and subsequent times you run APPEND, you must omit the .EXE
   filename extension. If you try to run APPEND by typing APPEND.EXE, it
   will not load more than once.
 
Storing the list of appended directories in the environment
 
You can use the /E switch with APPEND to assign the list of appended
directories to an environment variable named APPEND. To do this, first use
the APPEND command with only the /E switch. Then use APPEND again, this time
including the directories you want to append. You cannot specify /E and
[drive:]path on the same command line.
 
Specifying multiple appended directories
 
To append more than one directory, separate multiple entries with
semicolons. If you use the APPEND command with the [drive:]path parameters
again, the specified directory or directories replace any directories
specified in a previous APPEND command.
 
Appended directories and the DIR command
 
If you specify the DIR command, the resulting list does not include
filenames from appended directories.
 
Filename conflicts
 
If a file in an appended directory has the same name as a file in the
current directory, programs open the file in the current directory.
 
Using APPEND with programs that create new files
 
When a program opens a file in an appended directory, the file can be found
as if it were in the current directory. If the program then saves the file
by creating a new file with the same name, the new file is created in the
current directory (not the appended directory). APPEND is appropriately used
for data files that are not to be modified or that are to be modified
without creating new copies of the files. Database programs often modify
data files without making new copies. Text editors and word processors,
however, usually save modified data files by making new copies. To avoid
confusion, do not use APPEND with these programs.
 
Using the /X:ON switch and the path command
 
When /X:ON is specified, you can run a program located in an appended
directory by typing the program name at the command prompt. Usually, you use
the PATH command to specify directories that contain programs. However, when
your program is in an appended directory, you do not need to use the PATH
command to specify that directory. MS-DOS finds a program in an appended
directory by following the usual order in which MS-DOS searches for a
program; that is, first in the current directory, then in the appended
directories, and then in the search path.
 
MS-DOS functions that always use appended directories
 
Even when the /X:ON switch is not specified, appended directories are used
when programs call the following MS-DOS Interrupt 21h functions:
 
♦  Open File (0Fh)
 
♦  Open File Handle (3Dh)
 
♦  Get File Size (23h)
 
When /X:ON is specified, appended directories are used when programs call
any of the Interrupt 21h functions in the preceding list or any of the
Interrupt 21h functions in the following list:
 
♦  Find First Entry (11h)
 
♦  Find First File (4Eh)
 
♦  Execute Program (EXEC) (4Bh)
 
Using APPEND with network drives
 
You can use the APPEND command to append directories that are located on
network drives.
 
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