Using Asterisk Wildcard Expansion with Trailing Characters (37950)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.0
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.01
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0a
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.0
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.2
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.21
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.22
This article was previously published under Q37950

SUMMARY

The asterisk (*) wildcard ignores any combination of trailing characters specified after the wildcard in either the filename or the extension. Thus, the following two MS-DOS commands have the same result, even though they have different file specifications: 
   DEL *.DAT
   DEL *h.DAT
This is due to the definition of the "*" wildcard, and how it is expanded.

Please exercise caution when using the wildcard in destructive MS-DOS commands, such as DEL or ERASE. We strongly recommended that you use the exact wildcard combination in a DIR command first to examine the outcome prior to issuing any other command. This may alert you to any potential consequences of the command syntax prior to any destructive executions.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/12/2003
Keywords:KB37950
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