Directory Navigation

The operating system and command processor remember both a current or 
default drive for your system as a whole, and a current or default 
directory for every drive in your system.  The current directory on the 
current drive is sometimes called the current working directory. 

With traditional command processors, you change the current drive by 
typing the new drive letter plus a colon at the prompt, and you change the 
current working directory with the CD command.  CMD.EXE supports those 
standard features, and offer a number of enhancements to make directory 
navigation much simpler and faster. 

The CMD.EXE directory navigation features are in three groups:  features 
which help the command processor find the directory you want, methods for 
initiating a directory change with a minimal amount of typing, and methods 
for returning easily to directories you've recently used.  Each group is 
summarized below. 

Finding Directories 

Traditional command processors require you to explicitly type the name of 
the directory you want to change to.  CMD.EXE support this method, and 
also offer two significant enhancements: 

    *   Extended Directory Searches allow the command processor to search 
        a "database" of all the directories on your system to find the one 
        you want. 

    *   The CDPATH allows you to enter a specific list of directories to 
        be searched, rather than searching a database.  Use CDPATH instead 
        of Extended Directory Searches if you find the extended searches 
        too broad, or your hard drive has too many directories for an 
        efficient search. 
 
 

 Initiating a Directory Change 

 CMD.EXE supports the traditional methods of changing directories, and 
 also offers several more flexible approaches: 

    *   Automatic directory changes allow you to type a directory name at 
        the prompt and switch to it automatically, without typing an 
        explicit CD or similar command. 

    *   The CD command can change directories on a single drive, and can 
        return to the most recently used directory. 

    *   The CDD command changes drive and directory at the same time, and 
        can return to the most recently used drive and directory. 

    *   The PUSHD command changes changes the drive and directory like 
        CDD, and records the previous directory in a directory "stack." 
         You can view the stack with DIRS and return to the directory on 
        the top of the stack with POPD. 
 
 

 CDD, PUSHD, and automatic directory changes can also change to a network 
 drive and directory mapped to a drive letter or specified with a UNC name 
 (see File Systems for more information about network directories). 

 Returning to a Previous Directory 

 Traditional command processors do not remember previously-used 
 directories, and can only "return" to a directory by changing back to it 
 with a standard drive change or CD command.  CMD.EXE supports three 
 additional methods for returning to a previous directory: 

    *   The CD - and CDD - commands can be used to return to the previous 
        working directory (the one you used immediately before the current 
        directory).  Use these commands if you are working in two 
        directories and alternating between them. 

    *   The directory history window allows you to select one of several 
        recently-used directories from a popup list and return to it 
        immediately.  The window displays the contents of the directory 
        history list. 

    *   The POPD command will return to the last directory saved by PUSHD. 
        The directory stack holds 511 characters, enough for 20 to 40 
        typical drive and directory entries.