The Command Prompt is a program within Windows that lets you access your computer by typing in commands rather then using a graphical interface.
Anyone familiar with older operating systems will feel very comfortable within the Command Prompt program. This program can be helpful if you need to run a program with certian
settings or conditions that cant be accessed any other way.
Accessing Command Prompt
Acessing Command Prompt in Windows XP
1:
Boot up your computer into Windows XP<./td>
2:
Click on the Start button.
3:
Click on Run.
4:
In the run box type in cmd then click on the OK button.
Accessing Command Prompt in Windows Vista and 7
1:
Click on the Start button.
2:
In the Search box type in Command Prompt.
3:
Double-click on the Command Prompt option in the search list.
Accessing Command Prompt in Windows 8
Method 1
1:
Right click on the desktop.
2:
Click on Apps.
3:
Scroll over to the Command Prompt box and click on it.
Method 2
1:
type in cmd from the keyboard.
2:
In the search list click on Command Prompt.
Command Prompt commands
This article wil list a few of the commands that you can access from within the Command Prompt. We will also give
an example for the command as well. Please note that this article wont list all of the commands but generally the most commonly used ones.
attrib - This command can add or remove the hidden, read-only, archive and system attributes of a file or folder.
attrib example: attrib +H myfile.txt
cd - This command will change your current directory. This will let you move around into other directories on your computer.
cd exmaple - cd c:\windows
cls - this command will clear the screen.
cls exmaple: cls
copy - This command will copy a file(s) from one location to another location.
copy example: copy c:\testfile.txt c:\backup\testfile.txt
del - This command will delete a file or folder.
del exmaple: del myfile.txt
dir - This command will list the contents of the current directory.
dir example - dir
type - This command will display the contents of a text file.
type example: type myfile.txt
For more information on Command Prompt commands it is recommended to the vist the following site SS64.
Also you can run programs within the Command Prompt tool by typing the program name. In some cases you will need to change to the directory that the program is located in before
running in from the Command Prompt program.
