•Arnošt Havelka
DIR Options - Command Switches
Learn how to use /? to discover command options
Start Interactive Lesson
Every Windows command supports options (or switches) that customize its behavior. You can discover these options by appending the /? help switch to any command.
Try the command
Try using dir /? or dir /w to see options!
Build the command
dir
Terminal
C:\Users\Student>dir /?
DIR
Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.
DIR [drive:][path][filename] [/A] [/B] [/O:{D | -D}] [/P] [/S] [/W]
Using the Help Switch
To see all available options for the dir command, you run:
dir /?
This displays a list of all options, such as /w for wide format and /p to pause after each screenful.
Knowledge Check
1 / 1Which switch displays help and options for any command?
References
These documentation links provide authoritative details for the commands used in this article.
Up Next
The Echo Command
Learn how to speak to the terminal.