Filename
Just
as
each
folder in a file
cabinet
has a label,
each
file
on
a disk
has a name. This name has
two
parts: a
filename
and an exten-
sion.
A filename
can
be
from 1
to
8 characters in length,
and
can
be
typed
in uppercase
or
lowercase letters.
MS·
DOS automatically
converts
filenames
to
uppercase letters.
Filename extensions consist
of
a
period
followed by one, two,
or
three
characters. Extensions are optional,
but
it's a
good
idea
to
use them, since they are useful for describing
the
contents
of
a
file
to
you and
to
MS·
DOS. For instance, if
you
want
to
be
able
to
quickly identify
your
report
files, you
can
add
the
filename exten-
sion
.rpt
to
each
one. Here's an example
of
a filename
with
this
extension:
p'rogress.rpt
I filename I filename extension
Directory
A
directory
is a table
of
contents
for a disk. It contains
the
names
of
your
files,
their
sizes, and
the
dates
they
were
last modified.
When
you
look at the
directory
on
your
MS-DOS
master disk,
you
will
see
many files
with
the
extension .exe
or
. com. The
extension
.exe means executable,
and
.
com
means
command.
These
exten-
sions tell
MS·
DOS that
the
files are programs
that
can
be
run. Many
files will have
other
kinds
of
extensions,
such
as .doc
and
.
txt,
which
might contain text. Another
common
program file
exten-
sion is . bas for
BASIC
programs.
Volume Label
When
you use a
new
disk,
you
can
put
a label
on
the
outside
of
it
to
help
you identify its contents. You
can
also give
each
of
your
disks an internal name, called a volume label.
You
can
look at the volume label
on
a disk by displaying its direc-
tory. Some programs may look at
the
volume label
to
see
if
you
are
using
the
correct
disk. So make
sure
that
you label
your
disks.
Disk Drive
Floppy disk drives are
commonly
referred
to
as
the
A
drive
and
the
B drive; a hard disk is usually referred
to
as
the
C drive.
Check
your
computer
manual
to
see
which
drive
is
A
and
which
is B
(or
C).
Learning
About
MS-DOS
31
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