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From: cctr132@csc.canterbury.ac.nz
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: Adding to PATH
Message-ID: <1991Jan21.101833.10204@csc.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: 20 Jan 91 21:40:58 GMT
References: <1991Jan19.174019.20332@mccc.edu>
Organization: University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Lines: 29

In article <1991Jan19.174019.20332@mccc.edu>, pjh@mccc.edu (Pete Holsberg)
writes:

> I would like to be able to either add to the default PATH or replace it
> (with the ability to restore it) via a BAT file, but can't figure out
> the syntax.  The following doesn't work:
> 	PATH=%PATH;\added\directory\path
> 	
> If I could do that, I suppose I could also do
> 	OLDPATH=%PATH
> 	PATH=\desired\path\for\the\following\application
> 	invoke_application
> 	PATH=%OLDPATH

I thought you had to *surround* the environment var's name with percent
signs (%) for this kind of thing to work.  Try:

        PATH=%PATH%;\added\directory\path

I'm sure it's in the DOS Manual, but you probably missed it because it's
in the Batch Processing chapter, 8-) (probably - not all OEM DOSes are the
same).

But seriously, this was new with DOS 3.3 (or 3.2?) and won't work with
earlier versions.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Nick FitzGerald, PC Applications Consultant, CSC, Uni of Canterbury, N.Z. 
 Internet: n.fitzgerald@csc.canterbury.ac.nz        Phone: (64)(3) 642-337