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Hi all,
Please can you help I want to move different directories.
The directories I want to move live in the path C:\records\carparts
I want to move them to C:\archive
In the directory C:\records\carparts there are directories called
parts101 parts102 etc etc
so If I type move C:\records\carparts\parts101 C:\archive it will move them no problems.
I want to be able to run a wildcard as there are so many for example
C:\records\carparts\par*.* C:\archive
When I do this it fails saying invalid syntax
Any ideas on this.
Regards.
Taberqan:
Not sure about moving the directory whole as you have stated, but it might be easier to recreate the directory(ies) in the path that you want and use the xcopy command and move the files to the newly created directory(ies). Then you can delete the old directories from which the files came. Now this is strictly using DOS, but if you are using some file manager, then you can easily just drag the whole directory to the new location and delete the old directory.ghro
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Taberqan:
Reread your post and it seems you have moved the directories already. Have you considereed setting up some sort of database instead of searching using the dos command. It sounds like you are searching inventory or something. You didn't say what version of Dos you are using, but there are old dos programs like dBase (or some other) that might help you organize your records,parts etc., a little better.ghro
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The invalid syntax is the 'par*.*'. This might work:
move C:\records\carparts\parts??? C:\archive
That should move the all the directores starting with PARTS and ending with 3 alphanumberic characters. That is, it won't move any with more than 3 characters such as PARTS1234.
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It is stated as XP SP2 O/S therefore he has no MS-DOS, and therefore "old DOS software" is not applicable in this situation.
XP has CMD.exe NT Command Prompt which has never ever been MS-DOS....
Will the Moderator Nuke this Windows XP Posting ? NO!!!!
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YEAH!! Where does he get off asking a question about a dos command in a dos forum? Rules are rules. It would be far better for him to post in the XP forum where no one will know what he's talking about.
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Tabergan - would expect par*.* to work in 'proper' dos. However your post suggests you are running under WXP, which is a cut-down dos.
Am not sure the MD command was proper dos. I remember the RD (rename directory) command was available in some versions.
Suggest experimenting with the ? wild card. e.g.
par????.??? or par????.*
Also the destination may be incorrect, try:-
C:\archive\*.*Good Luck - Keep us posted.
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As far as I know *.* is only for files. It means 'all file names with any file extension'. So 'par*.*' has no meaning. Also he's using it with directory names instead of file names.
I did verify I could move a directory using ??? wildcards so I imagine my #3 would work.
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In the XP fprum he would ask about using COMMAND PROMPT sysntax which should receive the response:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/...
This is not MS-DOS, it is OS/2 based, it never will be MS-DOS, and lets face it even Linux Command Line looks similar, but we do not get Linux Users saying White Text on Black Background is DOS in this forum. Now can have questions about:
MMS-DOS / PC-DOS (not the Norton Ghost Version) / PTS-DOSes / FreeDOS / ROM-DOS / GGD-DOS / DR-DOS (and it variants) ????
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It never stops does it?
Look at it this way. Let's say you have a group of people fairly adept at XP. Within that group 5%, maybe 10% will know anything about command prompt. Now take a group of people knowledgeable about dos. Within that group 100% of them will know a lot about command prompt, even if they've never used it. Why? BECAUSE COMMAND PROMPT WORKS LIKE DOS. Most of the commands are the same. The syntax is the same. Do you think that's a coincidence? Command prompt was designed to look and work like dos. Its history and origins don't matter. What matters is how you make it work.
It's like you've got 2 cars, a Ford and a Chevy. You learn how to drive using the Ford. But once you've learned how to drive, it's just as easy driving the Chevy as it is the Ford.
Sure there are some differences between dos and command prompt but then there are differences between dos 3.2 and dos 6.22. There are differences between the various dos types you list.
I hope you get it now because I really can't dumb it down any more than I already have. It's simple--if you want to know about command prompt ask a dos person. If he can't give you an exact answer he will certainly give you a better answer than 90% of the XP people. Shouldn't a person be allowed to go to the best place in order to have his question answered?
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I might just be missing it, but since the changeover here at computing.net I haven't see the message about how the dos forum isn't for command prompt qustions. Maybe the dos purists and forum nannies who got it added by constantly whining to Justin have lost out.
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Mike, you can just use the 'edit' feature to change what you've written. You can't remove your posting but you can change it to something like 'ignore this, posted in wrong forum'.
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Hi Dave - many thanks.
After all this time, I never realised we had this facility. Is it something that has been added in recent years?
Incidentally I agree with your comments above.
Itguru - please remember we are here to help, although on occasions there is bound to be differences of opinion between responders (Dave, remember how Wengier used to become so heated online - wonder if he was the same in the flesh).
Rules should be sensibly used and not rigidly applied.
Yes this query is windows based, but in this case the dos forum is the best place for it.
Had it not been posted here I would not have seen it and thus my input (which may or may not assist) not been made.
When dos became a subset of windows, some things worked as before, some did not and there were some additional facilities.
For example, according to my W2000 COMMAND(dos) help, command MD is make directory, not move directory and that is how I remember the command in original dos.
The windows online dos help facility is lacking, and the same can be said of dos help.
Originally a printed manual came with dos, full of information, but even then some odd details were missing. Far too much for an online facility.
Anyway, I hope both of you have a nice weekend.
Best Regards - Mike.
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"Yes this query is windows based, but in this case the dos forum is the best place for it."
Disagree MS-DOS IS NOT NT COMMAND PROMPT, many of the commands are similar but NTCP has so much more to offer, therefore if you treat NTCP as MS-DOS, you will not be offering Commands which are only available in NTCP. Therefore it should be under XP or Programming Forum as stated many times.
Lets face it there are only 5 "active" **-DOS Forums on the NET and therefore they should be preserved not dilluted with WinCrap!
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They added the edit function a few months ago. It's amazing how many of my typos and badly-worded thoughts slip through and have to be corrected that way.
"MS-DOS IS NOT NT COMMAND PROMPT" So what? That doesn't matter. They work the same way. The differences between them that you keep pointing out aren't even experienced by the user. Whether it's a dos prompt or command prompt the commands are entered the same way and with the same syntax.
The OP was asking about the MOVE command. Do you really think anyone but a dos user will know anything about it? As I mentioned above, most XP users know nothing about command prompt and every dos user does. If he had posted in the XP forum anyone helping him would have had to crack open their old dos manual in order to give him an answer.
This shouldn't be a 'dos only' forum. It should be a 'dos and command prompt' forum.
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Hi DAVEINCAPS,
For a couple months I thought Justin had finally gotten rid of you-know-who who's always snivelling about 'it ain't DOS'.
In this case there ain't 10 cents worth of difference. What's needed is XCOPY & DEL. **NOT** MOVE.
While we're at it, MD has been makedir at least since 3.2.
=====================================
If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.M2
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Thanks guys. Yeah, MOVE is one of the more obscure commands. It's been quite a while since I've even thought about using it.
We never heard back from Tabergan. Maybe the controversy scared him off.
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"We never heard back from Tabergan. Maybe the controversy scared him off"
We can but hope................he has moved to the Programming or XP Forum!!!!!
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