Append--Notes
Storing the list of appended directories in the environment
You can use the /e switch with append to assign the list of appended directories to an environment variable named append. To do this, first use the append command with only the /e switch. Then use append again, this time including the directories you want to append. You cannot
specify /e and [drive:]path on the same command line.
Specifying multiple appended directories
To append more than one directory, separate multiple entries with semicolons.
If you use the append command with the [drive:]path parameters again, the specified directory or directories replace any
directories specified in a previous append command.
Appended directories and the dir command
The dir command does not add filenames from appended directories to directory
listings produced by the dir command.
Filename conflicts
If a file in an appended directory has the same name as a file in the current
directory, programs open the file in the current directory.
Using append with programs that create new files
When a program opens a file in an appended directory, the file can be found as
if it were in the current directory. If the program then saves the file by
creating a new file with the same name, the new file is created in the current
directory (not the appended directory). The append command is appropriately used for data files that are not to be modified or
that are to be modified without creating new copies of the files. Database
programs often modify data files without making new copies. Text editors and word
processors, however, usually save modified data files by making new copies. To
avoid confusion, you might want to avoid using append with these programs.
Using the /x:on switch and the path command
When /x:on is specified, you can run a program located in an appended directory by typing
the program name at the command prompt. Usually, you use the path command to specify directories that contain programs. However, when your
program is in an appended directory, you do not need to use the path command to specify that directory. Windows NT finds a program in an appended
directory by following the usual order in which Windows NT searches for a
program; that is, first in the current directory, then in the appended directories,
and then in the search path.
More Information About Append
Append--Examples
Append
