Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!steinmetz!davidsen
From: davidsen@steinmetz.ge.com (William E. Davidsen Jr)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: MS-DOS Path Name Length
Message-ID: <10611@steinmetz.ge.com>
Date: 27 Apr 88 17:46:41 GMT
References: <1796@uhccux.UUCP>
Reply-To: davidsen@kbsvax.steinmetz.UUCP (William E. Davidsen Jr)
Organization: General Electric CRD, Schenectady, NY
Lines: 27

In article <1796@uhccux.UUCP> helen@uhccux.UUCP (Helen Rapozo) writes:

>SUBJECT: DOS PATH length limit
>
>DOS command lines seem to be limited to about 153 characters in length.
>The PATH symbol is usually established on DOS command line.  Apparently
>then, the PATH symbol cannot be longer than 147 characters even if the
>environment space would allow for it.

  There was a note on my BBS a few months ago saying that you can get by
this by using a batch file and parameter substitution. I don't have a
DOS machine handy so I can't try it, perhaps a DOS user could and report
back.

  $ type foo.bat
  path this;is;a;big;long;path;at;this;point;up;to;127-char;long
  set PATH %PATH%;add;more;paths;as;needed;here;and;on;following;lines
  set PATH %PATH%;set;doesn't;use;the;command;line;buffer;perhaps
  $

  Then execute "foo" instead of the path command in your autoexec file.

NOTE: I *said* I didn't try it, I use ksh and don't have the problem.
-- 
	bill davidsen		(wedu@ge-crd.arpa)
  {uunet | philabs | seismo}!steinmetz!crdos1!davidsen
"Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -me