MS-DOS EXPAND.EXE Functionality (80751)

MORE INFORMATION

When you decompress a file in MS-DOS 5.0a or later, EXPAND prints two status messages: one that details the full path of the source and target files, and one that details how many files were expanded.

In MS-DOS 5.0, if you enter the command EXPAND with no parameters, it displays the same help information as if you had entered the command EXPAND /?. However, in versions 5.0a and later, EXPAND is interactive. It prompts for the name of the compressed file and the name it should have in expanded form. For example:

   c:\>EXPAND
   Type the location and name of the
   compressed file you want to expand.
   (Example: A:\EGA.SY_)

   Compressed file: a:\himem.sy_

   Type the location and/or name you
   want to give the expanded file.
   (Example: C:\DOS\EGA.SYS)

   Expanded file: c:\dos\himem.sys

   A:\HIMEM.SY_  ->  C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
      1 file expanded
				

Although the MS-DOS asterisk (*) and question mark (?) wildcards are not supported by the EXPAND command, a limited but useful form of wildcards has been introduced. If the specified source file does not exist, EXPAND attempts to find a file with the same name and extension, except that it changes the last character of the extension to an underscore (_). For example, if the file A:\EXAMPLE.BIN does not exist, the command

   expand a:\example.bi_ c:\example.bin
				

has the same effect as:

   expand a:\example.bin c:\example.bin
				

   expand a:\example.bin c:\ 
				

If the target file is not specified, the EXPAND command in versions 5.0a and later uses the same name as the source.

Multiple source parameters are allowed. If multiple source parameters are used, the target must specify a single drive or directory. You can still use the following commands to re-expand the entire Shell for a VGA system in MS-DOS 5.0:

   a:\>expand dosshell.co_         c:\dos\dosshell.com
   a:\>expand dosshell.ex_         c:\dos\dosshell.exe
   a:\>expand dosswap.ex_          c:\dos\dosswap.exe
   a:\>expand vga.vi_              c:\dos\dosshell.vid
   a:\>expand vga.gr_              c:\dos\dosshell.grb
   a:\>expand ega.in_              c:\dos\dosshell.ini
				

However, you can also use the following sequence with 5.0a and later as follows:

1. At the A: prompt, enter the following command on a single line:

   expand dosshell.com dosshell.exe dosswap.exe vga.vid vga.grb
   ega.ini c:\dos

   The following is displayed:

           DOSSHELL.CO_  ->  C:\DOS\DOSSHELL.COM
         DOSSHELL.EX_  -> C:\DOS\DOSSHELL.EXE
         DOSSWAP.EX_  ->  C:\DOS\DOSSWAP.EXE
         VGA.VI_  ->  C:\DOS\VGA.VID
         VGA.GR_  ->  C:\DOS\VGA.GRB
         EGA.IN_  ->  C:\DOS\EGA.INI
                 6 files expanded
   						

2. At the A: prompt, enter the following command

   copy c:\dos\?ga.* c:\dos\dosshell.*

   and the following is displayed:

         C:\DOS\VGA.VID
         C:\DOS\VGA.GRB
         C:\DOS\EGA.INI
            3 file(s) copied