Del--Notes

Using the /p switch

If you use the /p switch, del displays the name of a file and prompts you with a message in the following format:

filename, Delete (Y/N)?

Press Y to confirm the deletion, N to cancel the deletion and display the next filename (if you specified a group of files), or CRTL+C to stop the del command.

Deleting more than one file at a time

You can delete all the files in a directory by typing the del command followed by [drive:]path. For example,

del \work

will delete all files in the directory \WORK.

You can also use wildcards (* and ?) to delete more than one file at a time. However, you should use wildcards cautiously with the del command to avoid deleting files unintentionally. Suppose you type the following command:

del *.*

Del displays the following prompt:

All files in directory will be deleted! Are you sure (Y/N)?

Press Y and then ENTER to delete all files in the current directory, or press N and then ENTER to cancel the deletion.

Before you use wildcards with the del command to delete a group of files, you can use the same wildcards with the dir command to see a list of the names of all the files included in the group.

Caution

Once you delete a file from your disk, you may not be able to retrieve it.

If Command Extensions are enabled, the /s option displays as its output the names of the files that are deleted. Ordinarily, it shows the names of files it could not find.

More Information About Del

Del--Examples

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