ARCHIVED: In Windows, how can I see or print a list of all my directories and files?

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Note: This document does not apply to Windows 3.x.

To see a list of all your directories and files in Windows, first go to the ARCHIVED: command prompt and make sure you are in the root directory. To get to the root directory, at the command prompt, enter:

  cd ..

Continue to enter the above command until you see a C: prompt (where C: is your main drive). Then, at the command prompt, enter:

  dir /s |more

The entries will appear one screenful at a time. Press the Spacebar to scroll through the list. To make your lists easier to read, you can sort by name. To do so, at the command prompt, enter:

  dir /s /o |more

To create a text file so you can print the list of all your directories and files, at the prompt, enter the appropriate command:

Windows 7 and Vista:
```
  dir /s /o >c:\Users\yourusername\Desktop\dir.txt
```
Replace yourusername with your Windows profile username.
Earlier versions of Windows:
```
  dir /s /o >dir.txt
```

This will direct the contents of the list to a file called dir.txt, which you can then open in Wordpad, or any text editor, and print.

To create a list for a single directory, change to that particular directory, and then follow the directions above. For example, to create a list of files and subdirectories for a directory called papers, at the command prompt, you would enter:

  cd papers

Then follow the steps above to list the subdirectories and files in that directory.