Windows Server 2008 : Basic Rules When Using the Command Prompt - Understanding Wildcards, Getting Help

6/7/2013 7:25:51 PM

1. Understanding Wildcards

Wildcards are used to represent one or more characters. Two wildcard characters are available at the command prompt: the asterisk and the question mark.

Wildcard	Description
*	Takes the place for zero or more characters.
C:\>dir *.txt	Shows all files that end with .txt.
C:\>dir a*	Shows all files that start with A.
C:\>dir a*.txt	Shows all files that start with A and end with .txt.
?	Takes the place for one character.
C:\>dir week?.txt	Shows all .txt files that start with week and end with one character and .txt (such as week1.txt, week2.txt, and so on).

Note

The dir command provides a listing of files in the current directory.

2. Getting Help

The command prompt includes a lot of built-in help if you know how to use it. For example, if you enter just Help, you’ll get a list of commands that you can enter at the command line. The following table shows some of these commands.

Command	Description
assoc	Displays or modifies file extension associations.
attrib	Sets and displays attributes for files.
bcdedit	Sets properties in the boot configuration data store to control the boot process.
call	Calls one batch program from another.
cd or chdir	Displays the name of a directory when entered alone, or changes the current directory when a path is given.
chkdsk	Checks a disk and displays a status report, and can also repair disk errors.
compact	Displays or alters the compression of files on NTFS partitions.
convert	Converts FAT volumes to NTFS. You cannot convert the current drive without rebooting. Also, you cannot convert from NTFS to FAT without reformatting.
copy	Copies one or more files to another location.
date	Displays or sets the date.
del or erase	Deletes one or more files.
dir	Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.
diskpart	Displays or configures disk partition properties.
doskey	Edits command lines, recalls Windows commands, and creates macros.
driverquery	Displays the current device driver status and properties.
echo	Displays messages or turns command echoing on or off.
exit	Quits the CMD.EXE program (command interpreter).
for	Runs a specified command for each file in a set of files.
format	Formats a disk for use with Windows.
fsutil	Displays or configures the file system properties.
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.
gpresult	Displays Group Policy information that is applied to the local system.
help	Provides Help information for Windows commands.
icacls	Displays, modifys, backs up, or restores access control lists (ACL) for files and directories.
if	Performs conditional processing in batch programs.
label	Creates, changes, or deletes the volume label of a disk.
md or mkdir	Creates a directory.
more	Displays output one screen at a time.
path	Displays or sets a search path for executable files.
rd or rmdir	Removes a directory.
rem	Records comments (remarks) in batch files or CONFIG.SYS.
ren or rename	Renames a file or files.
robocopy	Advanced robust copy utility used to copy files and directory trees.
set	Displays, sets, or removes Windows environment variables.
sc	Displays or configures services (background processes).
schtasks	Schedules commands and programs to run on a computer.
shutdown	Allows proper local or remote shutdown of a machine.
systeminfo	Displays machine-specific properties and configuration.
tasklist	Displays all currently running tasks including services.
taskkill	Kills or stops a running process or application.
time	Displays or sets the system time.
tree	Graphically displays the directory structure of a drive or path.
xcopy	Copies files and directory trees.
wmic	Displays Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) information inside an interactive command shell.

Note

The help doesn’t show all commands that are available at the command prompt. For example, the dsacls command doesn’t appear but can be used to display or modify ACLs for Active Directory Domain Services objects.

There are two ways you can get help for individual commands. You can use the /? switch or enter help followed by the command; however, only the /? switch method works consistently.

Command	Description
/? C:\>sc /?	Using the /? switch provides help for any command.
help command C:\>help sc	Some commands provide help by entering the word help followed by the command
C:\>help dsacls This command is not supported by the help utility. Try "dsacls /?".	This fails and generates the error.

When you ask for help on any commands, you’ll see a lot of help is available; however, you need to know how to read it. The following table outlines the conventions used in the help output.

Help Notation	Description	Example
Text without brackets or braces	Items you must type as shown	ipconfig [/allcompartments] [/all] [/renew[adapter]] [/release[adapter]] [/renew6[adapter]] [/release6[adapter]] [/flushdns] [/displaydns] [/registerdns] [/showclassidadapter] [/setclassidadapter [classid]] ipconfig is without brackets, so it must be entered as ipconfig.
[Text inside square brackets]	Optional items	echo [message] The message is in brackets [], indicating it is optional. In other words, you can enter echo to see whether echo is turned on or off for the system, or you can enter echo with a message to echo to the screen.
<Text inside angle brackets>	Placeholder for which you must supply a value	echo [message] You provide the message. For example, you can enter echo %programfiles% to view the value of the variable.
{Text inside braces}	Set of required items; choose one	gpupdate [/target:{computer \| user}] [/force] [/wait:<value>] [/logoff] [/boot] [/sync] If /target is used, the user must enter either computer or user. In this case, /target is optional and if it is omitted, it executes against both the computer and the user.
Vertical bar (\|)	Separator for mutually exclusive items; choose one	gpresult [/s system [/u username [/p [password]]]] [/scope scope] [/user targetusername] [/r \| /v \| /z] [(/x \| /h) <filename> [/f]] Several items in this command cannot be used with others, so they are grouped together in the brackets and separated with the vertical bar. If you want to use /r, /v, or /z, you must choose only one. Similarly, if you want to use /x or /h, you must choose only one.
Ellipsis (...)	Items that can be repeated	winrm operation resource_uri [-switch:value [-switch:value] ...] [@{key=value[;key=value]...}] The ellipsis indicates that multiple switch values and multiple key values can be entered in the same line.

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