MS-DOS v6.22 Help: Prompt

------------------------ MS-DOS v6.22 Help: Prompt -------------------------
<Notes> <Examples>                                               <Index>
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                                   PROMPT

Changes the appearance of the command prompt.

You can customize the command prompt to display any text you want, including
such information as the name of the current directory, the time and date,
and the MS-DOS version number.

Syntax

    PROMPT [text]

Parameter

text
    Specifies any text and information you want included in your system
    prompt.

    The following list shows the character combinations you can include
    instead of, or in addition to, any character string(s) in the text
    parameter. The list includes a brief description of the text or
    information that each character combination adds to your command
    prompt.

    $Q    = (equal sign)
    $$    $ (dollar sign)
    $T    Current time
    $D    Current date
    $P    Current drive and path
    $V    MS-DOS version number
    $N    Current drive
    $G    > (greater-than sign)
    $L    < (less-than sign)
    $B    | (pipe)
    $_    ENTER-LINEFEED
    $E    ASCII escape code (code 27)
    $H    Backspace (to delete a character that has been written to the
          prompt command line)

Related Commands

For information about setting the current date and time, see the <DATE> and
<TIME> commands.

For information about ANSI escape sequences, see the <ANSI.SYS> topic.

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<Syntax> <Examples>
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                               PROMPT--Notes

Using the PROMPT command without the text parameter

When you use the PROMPT command without specifying a value for text, PROMPT
resets the command prompt to the default setting--the current drive letter
followed by a greater-than sign (>).

Using the $P value for text

If you include the $P character in the text parameter, MS-DOS reads your
disk after you enter each command to determine the current drive and path.
This can take extra time, especially for floppy disk drives.

Defining the MS-DOS command prompt in Windows

If you use Microsoft Windows 3.1, you can change the command prompt with the
WINPMT environment variable.

For example, suppose you want the following message to precede the MS-DOS
command prompt:

    Type "exit" when you're ready to return to Windows.

To display this message, include the following command to your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file:

    set winpmt=Type "exit" when you're ready to return to Windows.$_$p$g

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<Syntax> <Notes>
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                              PROMPT--Examples

The following example sets the command prompt to display the current drive
and path followed by the greater-than sign (>):

    prompt $p$g

The following command displays a two-line prompt in which the current time
appears on the first line and the current date appears on the second line:

    prompt time is: $t$_date is: $d

If your CONFIG.SYS file loads ANSI.SYS, you can use ANSI escape sequences in
your prompts. The following command, for example, displays your prompt in
reverse video mode and returns to usual video mode for other text:

    prompt $e[7m$n:$e[m

The characters following the escape code ($E) are ANSI escape sequences.

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