Purpose:Display or alter the list of directories that TCC will search for executable files, batch files, and files with executable extensions that are not in the current directory

 

Format:PATH [/= /D directory /M /N /V] [directory [;directory...]]

 

directoryThe full name of a directory to include in the path setting.

 

/D(elete)/N(ew line)
/M(aster environment)/V(erify directories)

 

 

See also: ESET and SET (the PATH command is syntactically equivalent to SET PATH).

 

File Completion Syntax:

 

The default filename completion syntax is: dirs

 

Usage:

 

When TCC is asked to execute an external command (an .EXE, .BTM, .BAT, or .CMD file, or an executable extension), it first looks for the file in the current directory. If it fails to find an executable file in the current directory, it will search each of the directories specified in the PATH setting.

 

TCC first searches the current directory before any directories listed in your search path. For example, after the following PATH command, TCC will search for an executable file in four directories:  the current directory, the root directory on drive C, then the BIN subdirectory on C, and then the UTIL subdirectory on C:

 

path c:\;c:\bin;c:\util

 

The list of directories to search is stored as an environment string, and can also be set or viewed with SET, and edited with ESET.

 

The PATHEXT environment variable, and the related PathExt configuration option, can be used to select the extensions to look for when searching the PATH for an executable file.

 

If you enter PATH with no parameters, the current path is displayed:

 

[c:\] path

PATH=C:\;C:\BIN;C:\UTIL

 

Entering PATH and a semicolon clears the search path so that only the current directory is searched for executable files. Some applications also use the PATH to search for their files.

 

If you include an explicit file extension on a command name (for example, WP.EXE ), the search will find files with that name and extension in the current directory and every directory in the path. It will not locate other executable files with the same base name (i.e., WP.CMD).

 

If you have an entry in the path which consists of a single period [.], the current directory will not be searched first, but instead will be searched when TCC reaches the "." in the path. This allows you to delay the search of the current directory for executable files and files with executable extensions. In rare cases, this feature may not be compatible with applications which use the path to find their files; if you experience a problem, you will have to remove the "." from the path while using any such application.

 

If you specify an invalid directory in the path, it will be skipped and the search will continue with the next directory in the path.

 

Options:

 

/=Display the PATH command dialog to help you set the command line options. The /= option can be anywhere on the line; additional options will set the appropriate fields in the command dialog.

 

/DRemove the specified directory from the PATH variable.

 

/MReset the PATH variable to the original value when TCC was started.

 

/NDisplay each PATH directory on its own line.

 

/VChecks all of the directories in %PATH, and displays an error message for any that don't exist.