You can also use the following command to create a file (not edit).

copy con

Once you have entered the command above, a file with specified name is created.

Once you have typed all the lines you want to be in the file, press and hold Ctrl+Z. Pressing these keys will enter ^Z, once seen press Enterand one file should be copied.

EDLIN [drive:][path][file name]

The example below demonstrates the basic steps needed to edit the autoexec.bat. Below demonstration illustrates both what you would see and what you would type. What you type is displayed in red.

EDLIN C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT

*L

The line above would display the contents of the autoexec.bat that are demonstrated below (contents may vary).

1: @echo off
2: cls
3: prompt $p$g
4: path=c:\dos

In the example below, we choose one of the lines to edit, which in this case is line number 4. Once you have chosen a line number to edit and press Enter, edlin will then display the line that you are editing with a blank line beneath it. If you press Enter without typing anything, this line is not changed. To make changes, type the information you want to place on this line and press Enter.

*4

4:path=c:\dos
path=c:\windows

Once changes are made, ensure the changes are correct by typing Lagain to list the file. If the changes are correct, type E save and quit editing the autoexec.bat. However, if you do not want to save the changes, type Q and press Enter to quit without saving the changes.

Helpful tips 

• Use the ";" (semicolon) between multiple commands to execute all commands at once.
• Use the "." (period) in your command statements, which represents the current line. For example, 1,.,5c would copy line 1 to current line and insert the copied text before line 5.