Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!polyslo!jdudeck
From: jdudeck@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (John R. Dudeck)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: How can I set a PATH longer than 128 bytes?
Message-ID: <25f1ea76.25da@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU>
Date: 5 Mar 90 04:26:30 GMT
References: <5762@ncrcae.Columbia.NCR.COM> <31300010@inmet>
Reply-To: jdudeck@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (John R. Dudeck)
Organization: Cal Poly State University -- San Luis Obispo
Lines: 28


In article <31300010@inmet> gjs@inmet.inmet.com writes:
>One method is to use SUBST to assign some of the directories in your
>path to "virtual drives," then include the drives in your path.  For
>example:
>    subst E: C:\utility\word
>    subst F: C:\utility\database
>    subst G: C:\utility\sprdsht
>    subst H: C:\utility\comm
>
>    path C:\bin;E:;F:;G:;H:

This method works, but it seems like a lot of effort.  In order to be able
to handle lots of different packages on your system without having a path
that is too long, I suggest the following:

1.  Don't nest your directories.  Use a separate directory off the root
for each main package of software.  This makes it easy to type directory
names and keeps them shorter in the path.
2.  Use short directory names for directories that will be in your path.
E.g. use NORT for Norton Utilities.  This allows getting quite a few
directory names in your path.
3.  Create a \BAT directory to hold batch files for starting up your
main software packages, and write a .bat for each package.  Put the
\BAT directory in the path.  This way the main packages do not need
to be in the path.
4.  Put in your path only those directories that contain collections of
programs, such as \DOS, \UTIL, \BAT, \NORT, \BIN, etc.

-- 
John Dudeck                           "You want to read the code closely..." 
jdudeck@Polyslo.CalPoly.Edu             -- C. Staley, in OS course, teaching 
ESL: 62013975 Tel: 805-545-9549          Tanenbaum's MINIX operating system.