ARCHIVED: What is DOSKEY?
DOSKEY is a program in DOS versions 5 and higher which allows you to recall and edit DOS commands from the command line. This can be beneficial when you are following instructions to manually back up the registry before getting rid of a virus, or when doing other Windows updates which require repetitive steps.
In Windows NT, 2000, and XP, the
32-bit version of the DOS command interpreter
(%systemroot%\system32\cmd.exe
) has DOSKEY functionality
built in, and is the preferred method for accessing a command
prompt. Although the older version of the command interpreter
(%systemroot%\system32\command.com
) is included for
compatibility, it is not recommended for normal use and does not
include DOSKEY functionality.
For Windows 95, 98, and Me, you can put the following line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to load DOSKEY every time you start your computer:
c:\dos\doskey.com
Alternately, you can load it into high memory with this line:
lh c:\dos\doskey.com
You can also enter either of these lines at the DOS prompt to load DOSKEY, although with this method the program will no longer be active after you restart your computer. Also, you won't be able to recall commands you entered before running DOSKEY.
In Windows 95, 98, and Me the path to DOSKEY is:
C:\Windows\Command\doskey.com
To run DOSKEY while in Windows 95, 98, or Me, open a command prompt
(MS-DOS prompt) window by clicking the command
and click . In the command prompt
window that opens, enter doskey
. You will see the
message DOSKEY Installed
.
Here are some of the keys that DOSKEY recognizes:
Key | Action |
---|---|
up arrow | display the previous command in the history buffer
|
down arrow | display the next command in the history buffer
|
left arrow | move one character left |
right arrow | move one character right |
Home | move to the beginning of the line
|
End | move to the end of the line |
Ctrl-left arrow | move one word left |
Ctrl-right arrow | move one word right |
Ctrl-Home | delete to the beginning of the line
|
Ctrl-End | delete to the end of the line |
Esc | delete the entire line |
Insert | toggle between insert and overwrite mode
|
F7 | display all previous commands in the history buffer
|
Alt-F7 | clear the history buffer |
[characters]F8 | display buffer commands starting with [characters]
|
[n]F9 | display the [n]th command in the history buffer
|
Page Up | display the first command in the history buffer
|
Page Down | display the last command in the history buffer
|
DOSKEY also allows you to create macros and has several command-line options. For more information, at the DOS prompt, enter:
doskey /?
This article was adapted from the Instant Reference Card #15 on page 237 of the August 1991 issue of PC World.
This is document aers in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 09:11:15.