how to put the directory into alphabetical order?

Robert A. Macy · External Since: Jan 08, 2006 Posts: 124

Running Win98, when use DOS, I want the directory to be reoragnized to
be alphabetical. How do I do that?

I'm NOT talking about how the directory is 'displayed' but how the
directory is actually ordered in the FAT tables.

For example, I want

...\Foldername > dir

to produce identical results to this line

...\Foldername > dir /on

Robert

Bill in Co. · External Since: Apr 24, 2005 Posts: 570

Put the dir /o switch in there (o for organized), at least as I recall.
You can look up the dir switches in Google.

Robert A. Macy wrote:
> Running Win98, when use DOS, I want the directory to be reoragnized to
> be alphabetical. How do I do that?
>
> I'm NOT talking about how the directory is 'displayed' but how the
> directory is actually ordered in the FAT tables.
>
> For example, I want
>
> ..\Foldername > dir
>
> to produce identical results to this line
>
> ..\Foldername > dir /on
>
> Robert

Jeff Richards · External Since: Mar 14, 2004 Posts: 1333

It's the directories you are trying to sequence, not the FAT.

I think one of the early Norton DOS utilities had an option to reorganise
the directory the way you want during some other operation, such as defrag
or disk check or deleted files overwrite. Defrag seems possible. Or it
might have been one of those other DOS File Manager programs. I'm sure I
recall seeing the option, but I can't place it. You might get better
answers in a DOS group.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Robert A. Macy" <macy.TakeThisOut@california.com> wrote in message
news:73c27142-ca94-418e-9867-74add8138224@d19g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
> Running Win98, when use DOS, I want the directory to be reoragnized to
> be alphabetical. How do I do that?
>
> I'm NOT talking about how the directory is 'displayed' but how the
> directory is actually ordered in the FAT tables.
>
> For example, I want
>
> ..\Foldername > dir
>
> to produce identical results to this line
>
> ..\Foldername > dir /on
>
> Robert

thanatoid · External Since: Aug 21, 2006 Posts: 355

"Robert A. Macy" <macy.TakeThisOut@california.com> wrote in
news:73c27142-ca94-418e-9867-74add8138224@d19g2000prh.googlegr
oups.com:

> Running Win98, when use DOS, I want the directory to be
> reoragnized to be alphabetical. How do I do that?
>
> I'm NOT talking about how the directory is 'displayed' but
> how the directory is actually ordered in the FAT tables.

I am quite anal-retentive myself, but even I have not thought of
THIS one before.

WHY on earth would you want to do it anyway? It won't affect the
operations of the computer to ANY extent, AFAIK.

--
(Originally Posted by Ketxxx on forums.techpowerup.com)
I think you got it a bit backwards, spyware comes free with
Vista and is a "product feature".

Franc Zabkar · External Since: Sep 03, 2005 Posts: 991

On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:43:10 +1000, "Jeff Richards"
<JRichards RemoveThis @msn.com.au> put finger to keyboard and composed:

>It's the directories you are trying to sequence, not the FAT.
>
>I think one of the early Norton DOS utilities had an option to reorganise
>the directory the way you want during some other operation, such as defrag
>or disk check or deleted files overwrite. Defrag seems possible. Or it
>might have been one of those other DOS File Manager programs. I'm sure I
>recall seeing the option, but I can't place it. You might get better
>answers in a DOS group.

I found this:
http://www8.pair.com/dmurdoch/programs/lfnsort.htm

It is claimed to support FAT32. I haven't tested it, though.

From the documentation ...

8. Known bugs

When run in Win95 in a DOS window, the window sometimes switches to
full screen when LFNSORT locks a disk drive. On some systems, this
results in junk on the screen.

Very large directories won't be sorted.

International character sets aren't sorted properly.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

John Dulak · External Since: Apr 23, 2009 Posts: 6

Robert A. Macy wrote:
> Running Win98, when use DOS, I want the directory to be reoragnized to
> be alphabetical. How do I do that?
>
> I'm NOT talking about how the directory is 'displayed' but how the
> directory is actually ordered in the FAT tables.
>
> For example, I want
>
> ..\Foldername > dir
>
> to produce identical results to this line
>
> ..\Foldername > dir /on
>
> Robert

Robert:

You need to add a line something like this line to your autoexec.bat file:

SET DIRCMD=/O:GEN

From the DOS dir /? screen:

/O List by files in sorted order.
sortorder N By name (alphabetic) S By size (smallest first)
E By extension (alphabetic) D By date & time
(earliest first)
G Group directories first - Prefix to reverse order
A By Last Access Date (earliest first)

Switches may be preset in the DIRCMD environment variable. Override
preset switches by prefixing any switch with - (hyphen)--for example, /-W.

HTH & GL

John

--
\\\||///
------------------o000----(o)(o)----000o----------------
----------------------------()--------------------------
'' Madness takes its toll - Please have exact change. ''

John Dulak - 40.4913ºN,79.904ºW - http://tinyurl.com/2qs6o6

Robert Macy · External Since: Feb 28, 2009 Posts: 32

On Apr 22, 8:58 pm, thanatoid <wait... DeleteThis @the.exit.invalid> wrote:
> "Robert A. Macy" <m... DeleteThis @california.com> wrote innews:73c27142-ca94-418e-9867-74add8138224@d19g2000prh.googlegr
> oups.com:
>
> > Running Win98, when use DOS, I want the directory to be
> > reoragnized to be alphabetical. How do I do that?
>
> > I'm NOT talking about how the directory is 'displayed' but
> > how the directory is actually ordered in the FAT tables.
>
> I am quite anal-retentive myself, but even I have not thought of
> THIS one before.
>
> WHY on earth would you want to do it anyway? It won't affect the
> operations of the computer to ANY extent, AFAIK.
>

Not TRUE!

If you have 120 documents in a directory which you ordered for viewing
in a directory list like this
01 subject is
02 talk about
03 a different subj
04 etc
..
..
..
120 last one

Very nice for viewing, but when you exercise a macro to print all 20,
the macro likes to follow the FAT table listing and scrambles the
documents into a different order. Result is now one gets to collate
all the print out. Big hassle.

So yes, it does affect the operation of the computer, in a way

Robert

Robert Macy · External Since: Feb 28, 2009 Posts: 32

On Apr 23, 5:11 am, John Dulak <Jo....RemoveThis@Booogus.com> wrote:
> Robert A. Macy wrote:
> > Running Win98, when use DOS, I want the directory to be reoragnized to
> > be alphabetical. How do I do that?
>
> > I'm NOT talking about how the directory is 'displayed' but how the
> > directory is actually ordered in the FAT tables.
>
> > For example, I want
>
> > ..\Foldername > dir
>
> > to produce identical results to this line
>
> > ..\Foldername > dir /on
>
> > Robert
>
> Robert:
>
> You need to add a line something like this line to your autoexec.bat file:
>
> SET DIRCMD=/O:GEN
>
> From the DOS dir /? screen:
>
> /O List by files in sorted order.
> sortorder N By name (alphabetic) S By size (smallest first)
> E By extension (alphabetic) D By date & time
> (earliest first)
> G Group directories first - Prefix to reverse order
> A By Last Access Date (earliest first)
>
> Switches may be preset in the DIRCMD environment variable. Override
> preset switches by prefixing any switch with - (hyphen)--for example, /-W..
>
> HTH & GL
>
> John
>
> --
> \\\||///
> ------------------o000----(o)(o)----000o----------------
> ----------------------------()--------------------------
> '' Madness takes its toll - Please have exact change. ''
>
> John Dulak - 40.4913ºN,79.904ºW -http://tinyurl.com/2qs6o6- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Actually, the directory is on a memory stick that is plugged in AFTER
boot up.

If I plug it in before boot up, will that autoexec.bat line cause this
direcotry to reorder?

Robert

John Dulak · External Since: Apr 23, 2009 Posts: 6

Robert Macy wrote:
> On Apr 23, 5:11 am, John Dulak <Jo....TakeThisOut@Booogus.com> wrote:
>> Robert A. Macy wrote:
>>> Running Win98, when use DOS, I want the directory to be reoragnized to
>>> be alphabetical. How do I do that?
>>> I'm NOT talking about how the directory is 'displayed' but how the
>>> directory is actually ordered in the FAT tables.
>>> For example, I want
>>> ..\Foldername > dir
>>> to produce identical results to this line
>>> ..\Foldername > dir /on
>>> Robert
>> Robert:
>>
>> You need to add a line something like this line to your autoexec.bat file:
>>
>> SET DIRCMD=/O:GEN
>>
>> From the DOS dir /? screen:
>>
>> /O List by files in sorted order.
>> sortorder N By name (alphabetic) S By size (smallest first)
>> E By extension (alphabetic) D By date & time
>> (earliest first)
>> G Group directories first - Prefix to reverse order
>> A By Last Access Date (earliest first)
>>
>> Switches may be preset in the DIRCMD environment variable. Override
>> preset switches by prefixing any switch with - (hyphen)--for example, /-W.
>>
>> HTH & GL
>>
>> John
>>
>> --
>> \\\||///
>> ------------------o000----(o)(o)----000o----------------
>> ----------------------------()--------------------------
>> '' Madness takes its toll - Please have exact change. ''
>>
>> John Dulak - 40.4913ºN,79.904ºW -http://tinyurl.com/2qs6o6- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
> Actually, the directory is on a memory stick that is plugged in AFTER
> boot up.
>
> If I plug it in before boot up, will that autoexec.bat line cause this
> direcotry to reorder?
>
> Robert

Robert;

Yes. If the line is added to autoexec.bat the environment variable is
set at each boot. The DOS dir command will use the settings in the
environment variable to format the display each time it is run on any
filesystem. I just checked it on a USB flash drive and the display is
according to the environment variable. After you edit autoexec.bat you
will have to reboot to have the changes take effect. Once the change
is made it is permanent until you change it.

HTH & GL

John

--
\\\||///
------------------o000----(o)(o)----000o----------------
----------------------------()--------------------------
'' Madness takes its toll - Please have exact change. ''

John Dulak - 40.4913ºN,79.904ºW - http://tinyurl.com/2qs6o6

thanatoid · External Since: Aug 21, 2006 Posts: 355

Robert Macy <macy.TakeThisOut@california.com> wrote in
news:733385af-0bbf-4260-a309-7cc659ac8ced@q33g2000pra.googlegr
oups.com:

> On Apr 22, 8:58 pm, thanatoid <wait....TakeThisOut@the.exit.invalid>
> wrote:

<SNIP>

>> WHY on earth would you want to do it anyway? It won't
>> affect the operations of the computer to ANY extent,
>> AFAIK.
>>
>
> Not TRUE!
>
> If you have 120 documents in a directory which you ordered
> for viewing in a directory list like this
> 01 subject is
> 02 talk about
> 03 a different subj
> 04 etc
> .
> .
> .
> 120 last one
>
> Very nice for viewing, but when you exercise a macro to
> print all 20, the macro likes to follow the FAT table
> listing and scrambles the documents into a different order.

I didn't know that. I am not a DOS expert Wink

> Result is now one gets to collate all the print out. Big
> hassle.

Absolutely.

> So yes, it does affect the operation of the computer, in a
> way

Well, I actually thought it /might/ to a very tiny degree, but
not with a fast machine.

There are a number of great utilities for combining text and
printing a files/dirs for 98SE and that's what I use. I still
use XTree Gold 3 and ALIAS but that's about it AFA DOS for me
these days...

Regards

--
(Originally Posted by Ketxxx on forums.techpowerup.com)
I think you got it a bit backwards, spyware comes free with
Vista and is a "product feature".

Jeff Richards · External Since: Mar 14, 2004 Posts: 1333

Aha - so it was a Norton utility, but it predates LFN. The on-screen option
I recall must have been from the graphical interface, which presumably
included the ability to manually control the sequence. It MIGHT still work
if the directory doesn't happen to contain any LFNs.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Franc Zabkar" <fzabkar.TakeThisOut@iinternode.on.net> wrote in message
news:i2svu4532if1jej0fpa0vde7n0t9ds48ro@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:43:10 +1000, "Jeff Richards"
> <JRichards.TakeThisOut@msn.com.au> put finger to keyboard and composed:
>
>>It's the directories you are trying to sequence, not the FAT.
>>
>>I think one of the early Norton DOS utilities had an option to reorganise
>>the directory the way you want during some other operation, such as defrag
>>or disk check or deleted files overwrite. Defrag seems possible. Or it
>>might have been one of those other DOS File Manager programs. I'm sure I
>>recall seeing the option, but I can't place it. You might get better
>>answers in a DOS group.
>
> I found this:
> http://www8.pair.com/dmurdoch/programs/lfnsort.htm
>
> It is claimed to support FAT32. I haven't tested it, though.
>
> From the documentation ...
>
> 8. Known bugs
>
> When run in Win95 in a DOS window, the window sometimes switches to
> full screen when LFNSORT locks a disk drive. On some systems, this
> results in junk on the screen.
>
> Very large directories won't be sorted.
>
> International character sets aren't sorted properly.
>
> - Franc Zabkar
> --
> Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Jeff Richards · External Since: Mar 14, 2004 Posts: 1333

That command will not re-order the directory - it simply makes the DIR
command default to the /O option, which you have indicated is not adequate
for your problem.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Robert Macy" <macy RemoveThis @california.com> wrote in message
news:41160edc-3cb4-41df-afb0-bfc9215163c0@a5g2000pre.googlegroups.com...
On Apr 23, 5:11 am, John Dulak <Jo... RemoveThis @Booogus.com> wrote:
> Robert A. Macy wrote:
> > Running Win98, when use DOS, I want the directory to be reoragnized to
> > be alphabetical. How do I do that?
>
> > I'm NOT talking about how the directory is 'displayed' but how the
> > directory is actually ordered in the FAT tables.
>
> > For example, I want
>
> > ..\Foldername > dir
>
> > to produce identical results to this line
>
> > ..\Foldername > dir /on
>
> > Robert
>
> Robert:
>
> You need to add a line something like this line to your autoexec.bat file:
>
> SET DIRCMD=/O:GEN
>
> From the DOS dir /? screen:
>
> /O List by files in sorted order.
> sortorder N By name (alphabetic) S By size (smallest first)
> E By extension (alphabetic) D By date & time
> (earliest first)
> G Group directories first - Prefix to reverse order
> A By Last Access Date (earliest first)
>
> Switches may be preset in the DIRCMD environment variable. Override
> preset switches by prefixing any switch with - (hyphen)--for example, /-W.
>
> HTH & GL
>
> John
>
> --
> \\\||///
> ------------------o000----(o)(o)----000o----------------
> ----------------------------()--------------------------
> '' Madness takes its toll - Please have exact change. ''
>
> John Dulak - 40.4913ºN,79.904ºW -http://tinyurl.com/2qs6o6- Hide quoted
> text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Actually, the directory is on a memory stick that is plugged in AFTER
boot up.

If I plug it in before boot up, will that autoexec.bat line cause this
direcotry to reorder?

Robert

rebel · External Since: Apr 18, 2007 Posts: 10

On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:38:47 +0000 (UTC), thanatoid <waiting.DeleteThis@the.exit.invalid>
wrote:
(snippo)

>There are a number of great utilities for combining text and
>printing a files/dirs for 98SE and that's what I use. I still
>use XTree Gold 3

I used Xtree Gold 3 passionately until its limitattions under 98SE/LFN
environments wore me down. Have a serious look at eXTreme as a replacement.

thanatoid · External Since: Aug 21, 2006 Posts: 355

rebel <me.DeleteThis@privacy.net> wrote in
news:2672v49h56pu9vmskt1s723ohq925i1vba@4ax.com:

> On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:38:47 +0000 (UTC), thanatoid
> <waiting.DeleteThis@the.exit.invalid> wrote:
> (snippo)
>
>>There are a number of great utilities for combining text
>>and printing a files/dirs for 98SE and that's what I use. I
>>still use XTree Gold 3
>
> I used Xtree Gold 3 passionately until its limitattions
> under 98SE/LFN environments wore me down. Have a serious
> look at eXTreme as a replacement.

I will, thanks. My attachment to XTree is largely sentimental p
nit that it's not a fantastic program - but IIRC it was the
first program I learned to use. I actually found that the DOS
Norton Commander had some VERY useful functions which Xtree did
not, but it is also clunkier and uglier.

BTW you probably know about it, but there is something called
Ztree which is a Win32 version of Xtree with LFN and ten times
more features than Xtree had. Very nice, but a little too hairy
for a simple lad like me.

--
(Originally Posted by Ketxxx on forums.techpowerup.com)
I think you got it a bit backwards, spyware comes free with
Vista and is a "product feature".

thanatoid · External Since: Aug 21, 2006 Posts: 355

rebel <me DeleteThis @privacy.net> wrote in
news:2672v49h56pu9vmskt1s723ohq925i1vba@4ax.com:

> On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:38:47 +0000 (UTC), thanatoid
> <waiting DeleteThis @the.exit.invalid> wrote:
> (snippo)
>
>>There are a number of great utilities for combining text
>>and printing a files/dirs for 98SE and that's what I use. I
>>still use XTree Gold 3
>
> I used Xtree Gold 3 passionately until its limitattions
> under 98SE/LFN environments wore me down. Have a serious
> look at eXTreme as a replacement.

Well, I only looked at the first 5 Googlers, but all I found
were multiple links to a system file cleaner, a movie database
manager and an internet "accelerator". So I don't now. But
thanks anyway.

--
(Originally Posted by Ketxxx on forums.techpowerup.com)
I think you got it a bit backwards, spyware comes free with
Vista and is a "product feature".

rebel · External Since: Apr 18, 2007 Posts: 10

On Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:24:34 +0000 (UTC), thanatoid <waiting.RemoveThis@the.exit.invalid>
wrote:

>rebel <me.RemoveThis@privacy.net> wrote in
>news:2672v49h56pu9vmskt1s723ohq925i1vba@4ax.com:
>
>> On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:38:47 +0000 (UTC), thanatoid
>> <waiting.RemoveThis@the.exit.invalid> wrote:
>> (snippo)
>>
>>>There are a number of great utilities for combining text
>>>and printing a files/dirs for 98SE and that's what I use. I
>>>still use XTree Gold 3
>>
>> I used Xtree Gold 3 passionately until its limitattions
>> under 98SE/LFN environments wore me down. Have a serious
>> look at eXTreme as a replacement.
>
>Well, I only looked at the first 5 Googlers, but all I found
>were multiple links to a system file cleaner, a movie database
>manager and an internet "accelerator". So I don't now. But
>thanks anyway.

Googling for "extreme advanced file manager" located

http://file.xtreme.googlepages.com/

"J. P. Gilliver · External Since: Feb 08, 2009 Posts: 44

In message <uqq4v4dd6ht30s3a6dbcqjqjubsn9m31gr RemoveThis @4ax.com>, rebel
<me RemoveThis @privacy.net> writes:
[]
>>rebel <me RemoveThis @privacy.net> wrote in
>>news:2672v49h56pu9vmskt1s723ohq925i1vba@4ax.com:
>>
>>> On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:38:47 +0000 (UTC), thanatoid
>>> <waiting RemoveThis @the.exit.invalid> wrote:
>>> (snippo)
>>>
>>>>There are a number of great utilities for combining text
>>>>and printing a files/dirs for 98SE and that's what I use. I
>>>>still use XTree Gold 3
>>>
>>> I used Xtree Gold 3 passionately until its limitattions
>>> under 98SE/LFN environments wore me down. Have a serious
>>> look at eXTreme as a replacement.
[]
>Googling for "extreme advanced file manager" located
>
>http://file.xtreme.googlepages.com/

Thanks for that; am I right in that it's freeware? I couldn't see any
mention of payment, anyway.

It provided a link to (the middle of, a tips page in) the excellent
Xtree fan site at http://www.xtreefanpage.org/, which tells you more
than you could possibly want to know about Xtree, and also recommends
Ztree, which I see still costs ($29.95).

How do the two (eXTreme and Ztree) compare? (I notice eXTreme claims
"80%" of Xtree functionality; I was wondering what was missing, and were
those bits in Ztree [and were they bits I use!].)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

"Relationships are complex because they are part real, part imaginary."
- Martin F. Terman

rebel · External Since: Apr 18, 2007 Posts: 10

On Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:38:15 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
<G6JPG.TakeThisOut@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>In message <uqq4v4dd6ht30s3a6dbcqjqjubsn9m31gr.TakeThisOut@4ax.com>, rebel
><me.TakeThisOut@privacy.net> writes:

>>Googling for "extreme advanced file manager" located
>>
>>http://file.xtreme.googlepages.com/
>
>Thanks for that; am I right in that it's freeware? I couldn't see any
>mention of payment, anyway.

AFAICT it is and always has been freeware.

>It provided a link to (the middle of, a tips page in) the excellent
>Xtree fan site at http://www.xtreefanpage.org/, which tells you more
>than you could possibly want to know about Xtree, and also recommends
>Ztree, which I see still costs ($29.95).
>
>How do the two (eXTreme and Ztree) compare? (I notice eXTreme claims
>"80%" of Xtree functionality; I was wondering what was missing, and were
>those bits in Ztree [and were they bits I use!].)

I haven't tried Ztree. With eXtreme I have noted the Gather function appears
nobbled, and also the CapsLock plays havoc with key functionality.

thanatoid · External Since: Aug 21, 2006 Posts: 355

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JPG.DeleteThis@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in
news:zcgF1gX3vs8JFwY6@soft255.demon.co.uk:

<SNIP>

> It provided a link to (the middle of, a tips page in) the
> excellent Xtree fan site at http://www.xtreefanpage.org/,

Yes, excellent link. Worth the visit to eXTreme.

> which tells you more than you could possibly want to know
> about Xtree, and also recommends Ztree, which I see still
> costs ($29.95).

And the absolutely INSANE thing about considering the talents of
the programmer is that its way of making it stop working is
placing a single file in the c root directory which you delete
and that's it. You have another 30 (or whatever) days. At least
that's how it was when I first tried it 10 years ago and it was
still like that a few versions later. I don't know how it is now
but it might well have remained the same. Truly baffling.

Anyway, anyone with Total Commander needs neither.

> How do the two (eXTreme and Ztree) compare? (I notice
> eXTreme claims "80%" of Xtree functionality; I was
> wondering what was missing, and were those bits in Ztree
> [and were they bits I use!].)

Well, DL it and you'll find out!

--
(Originally Posted by Ketxxx on forums.techpowerup.com)
I think you got it a bit backwards, spyware comes free with
Vista and is a "product feature".

"J. P. Gilliver · External Since: Feb 08, 2009 Posts: 44

In message <8l96v455rhu9s2d5ta6s3n02k1ciku74bm DeleteThis @4ax.com>, rebel
<me DeleteThis @privacy.net> writes:
[]
>>>Googling for "extreme advanced file manager" located
>>>
>>>http://file.xtreme.googlepages.com/
>>
>>Thanks for that; am I right in that it's freeware? I couldn't see any
>>mention of payment, anyway.
>
>AFAICT it is and always has been freeware.
[]
>I haven't tried Ztree. With eXtreme I have noted the Gather function appears
>nobbled, and also the CapsLock plays havoc with key functionality.

Thanks for that. I'll be trying it out soon with my new netbook. (I
don't _think_ I've ever used the Gather function, unless it's something
I think of under another name.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.