DEL (ERASE)

The description below is from the book
DOS the Easy Way by Everett Murdock Ph.D.

CLICK HERE for information about downloading the book.

Type: Internal (1.0 and later)

Syntax: DEL (ERASE) [d:][path]filename [/P]

Purpose: Deletes (erases) files from disk.

Discussion

You can use wildcard characters (? and *) to delete groups of files. If you don`t specify a pathname, the program assumes the files to be deleted are on the drive and directory you are currently using. The /P option prompts you to enter a Y or N for each file selected for deletion.


CAUTION

Be careful when you use this command with wildcard characters: groups of files can be erased with one command entry. For example, if you enter

del t*.*

all files in the current directory that begin with the letter T will be immediately erased.

For more information on using the DEL command, see Chapter 2, Using Common DOS Commands, in the downloadable book DOS the Easy Way.

Examples

To erase the file LETTER3.TXT from the LETTERS directory on the diskette in drive B, enter

del b:\letters\letter3.txt

To erase all the files in the current directory, enter

del *.*

If you use this form of the command (to delete all files in a directory), the program will display the prompt

Are you sure (Y/N)?

If you are sure you are deleting the files you want to delete, press the letter Y key to start the erasing process.




Back to the Easy DOS Command Index