®® Microsoft Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 13 Using the Command-Line Environment

XP Objectives Learn about the importance of command-line skills Use internal and external commands Customize a command-line window Pipe output to the More filter Compile information about a computer and its power usage Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 132

XP Objectives Display a directory tree, change directories, and view directory listings View file attributes Create a directory and copy files Use wildcards to streamline command operations View the Windows environment and create an environment variable Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 133

XP Command Help Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 134

XP The Importance of Command-Line Skills Provides a way to operate your computer without a graphical user interface Essential for those who manage networks or provide technical support Helps to understand how the Windows operating system works Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 135

XP Working with the Command Interpreter To work in a command-line environment under Windows 7, you first open a command- line window A command interpreter is a program that interprets commands entered at the command prompt, locates the appropriate program in memory or on disk, loads the program (if necessary), and then executes the program Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 136

XP Opening and Closing a Command Prompt Window From the Start menu, point to All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Command Prompt. Or from the Start menu, type CMD in the Search programs and files box, and then press the Enter key If you want to open a Command Prompt window with Administrator credentials, right-click Command Prompt on the Accessories menu, click the Run as administrator check box (and add a check mark), and then specify Administrator credentials To close the Command Prompt window, type EXIT and then press the Enter key Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 137

XP Working with the Command Interpreter Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 138

XP Working with the Command Interpreter Once you open a Command Prompt window, you can enter commands at the command prompt to perform specific operations – Internal commands (common and important types of operations) – External commands (program code resides in a specific file on disk) To locate Help information about the use of the internal and external commands, you can use the Help switch (/?) or the HELP command Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 139

XP Using Help to Specify Console Colors Default background color is black, and text color is white Use the COLOR command to customize the Command Prompt window Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1310

XP Using Help to Specify Console Colors Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1311

XP Recalling Commands from the Command History To recall the previously entered command in a Command Prompt window, press the Up Arrow key or press the F3 key To display the command history, press the F7 function key, use the Up Arrow key or Down Arrow key to select the command you want to use, and then press the Enter key Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1312

XP Recalling Commands from the Command History Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1313

XP Using External Commands You can use the LABEL command to assign a volume label to a drive Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1314

XP Using the Pipe Operator to Display a Command-Line Reference List HELP | MORE – Pipe operator redirects the output to the MORE filter Produces paged output – Entire command is called a pipeline Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1315

XP Using the SystemInfo Command Displays configuration information about a computer and its operating system Clear the screen, type systeminfo | more and then press the Enter key Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1316

XP Using the SystemInfo Command Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1317

XP Producing a Power-Efficiency Diagnostics Report The external POWERCFG (Power Configuration) command is a command-line tool for controlling power settings on a computer Type powercfg -energy (with a space before the switch), and then press the Enter key Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1318

XP Producing a Power-Efficiency Diagnostics Report Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1319

XP Navigation Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1320

XP Working with Directories and Files TREE command displays directory structure of current directory and subdirectories Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1321

XP Working with Directories and Files Change to the root directory by typing cd \ and then pressing the Enter key Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1322

XP Viewing the Contents of a Directory DIR command lists subdirectories and files within a directory – /a attribute switch includes hidden directories and files /ad only shows directories – /O lists subdirectories first in alphabetical order – /P displays one screen of output at a time Press SPACEBAR to view next page cd directoryname changes directory to name specified Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1323

XP Viewing File Attributes ATTRIB command lists attributes assigned to files – Also can be used to change file attributes Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1324

XP Viewing File Attributes Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1325

XP Creating a Directory MD (Make Directory) command creates a directory on a disk – md “directoryname” Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1326

XP Copying Files The COPY command copies files from one location to another – COPY source destination Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1327

XP Changing Drives Change drives by typing the drive name at the command prompt and then press the Enter key Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1328

XP Using Wildcards in File Specifications A file specification is a notation for selecting one or more files in a command operation A wildcard is a symbol used to select a group of files – Asterisk wildcard (*) Substitutes for all or part of a filename – Question mark wildcard (?) Substitutes for a single character in a filename Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1329

XP Using Wildcards in File Specifications Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1330

XP Viewing the Windows Environment The Windows path (PATH environment variable) locates the program files for external commands Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1331

XP Viewing the Windows Environment The DIRCMD variable allows you to use the DIR command without having to specify the same set of switches each time Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1332

XP Creating a Batch Program A batch program (or batch file) is a user- defined program that contains a list of executable commands – Uses the.bat file extension Each command is listed on a different line Windows 7 for Power Users Tutorial 1333