Command Prompt Commands Help

We can save all command prompt commands in a notepad for quick reference. List of Commands
For more information on a specific command, type HELP command-name

ASSOC Displays or modifies file extension associations.

AT Schedules commands and programs to run on a computer.

ATTRIB Displays or changes file attributes.

BREAK Sets or clears extended CTRL+C checking.

CACLS Displays or modifies access control lists (ACLs) of files.

CALL Calls one batch program from another.

CD Displays the name of or changes the current directory.

CHCP Displays or sets the active code page number.

CHDIR Displays the name of or changes the current directory.

CHKDSK Checks a disk and displays a status report.

CHKNTFS Displays or modifies the checking of disk at boot time.

CLS Clears the screen.

CMD Starts a new instance of the Windows command interpreter.

COLOR Sets the default console foreground and background colors.

COMP Compares the contents of two files or sets of files.

COMPACT Displays or alters the compression of files on NTFS partitions.

CONVERT Converts FAT volumes to NTFS. You cannot convert the

current drive.

COPY Copies one or more files to another location.

DATE Displays or sets the date.

DEL Deletes one or more files.

DIR Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.

DISKCOMP Compares the contents of two floppy disks.

DISKCOPY Copies the contents of one floppy disk to another.

DOSKEY Edits command lines, recalls Windows commands, and creates macros.

ECHO Displays messages, or turns command echoing on or off.

ENDLOCAL Ends localization of environment changes in a batch file.

ERASE Deletes one or more files.

EXIT Quits the CMD.EXE program (command interpreter).

FC Compares two files or sets of files, and displays the differences

between them.

FIND Searches for a text string in a file or files.

FINDSTR Searches for strings in files.

FOR Runs a specified command for each file in a set of files.

FORMAT Formats a disk for use with Windows.

FTYPE Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations.

GOTO Directs the Windows command interpreter to a labeled line in a

batch program.

GRAFTABL Enables Windows to display an extended character set in graphics

mode.

HELP Provides Help information for Windows commands.

IF Performs conditional processing in batch programs.

LABEL Creates, changes, or deletes the volume label of a disk.

MD Creates a directory.

MKDIR Creates a directory.

MODE Configures a system device.

MORE Displays output one screen at a time.

MOVE Moves one or more files from one directory to another directory.

PATH Displays or sets a search path for executable files.

PAUSE Suspends processing of a batch file and displays a message.

POPD Restores the previous value of the current directory saved by PUSHD.

PRINT Prints a text file.

PROMPT Changes the Windows command prompt.

PUSHD Saves the current directory then changes it.

RD Removes a directory.

RECOVER Recovers readable information from a bad or defective disk.

REM Records comments (remarks) in batch files or CONFIG.SYS.

REN Renames a file or files.

RENAME Renames a file or files.

REPLACE Replaces files.

RMDIR Removes a directory.

SET Displays, sets, or removes Windows environment variables.

SETLOCAL Begins localization of environment changes in a batch file.

SHIFT Shifts the position of replaceable parameters in batch files.

SORT Sorts input.

START Starts a separate window to run a specified program or command.

SUBST Associates a path with a drive letter.

TIME Displays or sets the system time.

TITLE Sets the window title for a CMD.EXE session.

TREE Graphically displays the directory structure of a drive or path.

TYPE Displays the contents of a text file.

VER Displays the Windows version.

VERIFY Tells Windows whether to verify that your files are written

correctly to a disk.

VOL Displays a disk volume label and serial number.

XCOPY Copies files and directory trees.


Click on "Start" menu on the taskbar and then click on "All programs" followed by "Accessories" and then "command prompt"

A Command prompt window would open.

In the "Command prompt" window that opens, type this:

C:\> help>commands.txt

This would create a list of all commands to help us to use the command prompt window. The file is created in whatever directory we are in, at present. By default the directory where the command prompt help is created would be C:\Documents and Settings\Username (Here username would be the name with which you login to windows)

To read the Commands.txt file, we can launch Notepad and just open the file from the location where we created it (As mentioned above, if we haven't changed the location, it would be there in C:\Documents and Settings\Username.

However, now that we are in the command prompt window, there is an easier way out.

In the next command line, enter the command

C:\> start commands.txt

This would open the notepad "Command.txt" from its location and we can refer the help commands from there.

Now we have all the commands with their explanation with us, we can save this file.