Display Based on File Attributes
Can add /a followed by a letter code after the dir command to display files with a specific attribute. These letter codes include:
- d Displays all directories in the current path
- r Displays read-only files
- h Displays hidden files
- a Files that are ready for archiving
- s System files
- i Not content indexed files
- l Reparse points
To display just the directories in the current path, type:
dir /ad
then hit the Enter key.
The codes can be combined. Example: to show only system files that are also hidden, use the command:
dir /ash
Can add a - (minus) in front of any of those letter codes to specify that the dir command does not show that kind of file. Example: don’t want to see any directories in the results, use command:
dir /a-d dir /ash
📝 Another Tip: Instead of cramming the main switch and the letter code together the way that was done in previous examples, can use a colon, : , to separate the options from its the codes:
dir /a:d
This can make it easier to read and understand.
Display Stripped Results
Use the /b option to strip excess information. It will display only the name of the folders and files in the current directory. The command:dir /b
Display Using Thousands Separator
In recent versions of Windows, the dir shows large numbers separated by commas - ie. 25,000 instead of 25000. In older versions, the /c option was used to show commas.
If you don’t want to show commas, use this option with the - (minus sign):dir /-c
Display Results in Columns
Use /d to display results in 2 or more columns instead of one column.
The number of columns shown depends how wide the Command Prompt window is - 2, 3, 5 or ...
When used just the names of the files and directories are shown.
When the result is piped to a text file only 2 columns are shown.
The command:dir /d
Display Results in Lowercase
The /l option displays all names of files and folders in lowercase:dir /l
Display Filename Results on the Far Right or Left
By default, dir displays the names of files to the far right.In the past the /n option had been used to display file names to the far right.
📝 Note : When the names are shown on the left they are shown in the 8.3 filename format and all in uppercase characters .
To show file names on the left, use /n along with a - (minus):dir /-n
Display Results in Sorted Order
Use /o option followed by a letter code to display directory results sorted in various ways. Those letter codes include:- d Sorts by date/time. Older entries appear first.
- e Sorts by file extension in alphabetical order.
- g Sorts by listing folders first, then files.
- n Sorts by the name of file/folder in alphabetical order.
- s Sorts by file size, smallest to largest.
To sort results by time and date, with older entries appearing first:
dir /od
Can add - (minus) before any of the above options to reverse the order.
To sort files by time and date with newer entries appearing first, use:dir /o-d
Display Results One Page at a Time
When directories have hundreds or thousands of files, use the /p option to have dir pause the results after it displays each screen. A key is pressed to view the next page of files.
The command:dir /p
Display Metadata
Use the /q option with the dir command to show metadata tied to files and directories, with the ownership details:dir /q
Display Alternate Data Streams (ADS)
The /r option displays any alternate data streams (ADS) that files might contain. ADS are a feature of the NTFS file system that let files contain additional metadata for locating files by author and title:dir /r
Display All Files and Folders and Everything Inside
Use the /s option to recursively show all files and folders inside the current directory. This means all files and folders in every subdirectory, all files and folders in those subdirectories, and so on. Be prepared for a lot of results:dir /s
Display Results Sorted by Time
Use /t option with a letter code to sort results by the different time stamps associated with files and folders. These letter codes include:- a The time the item was last accessed.
- c The time the item was created.
- w The time the item was last written to. This is the default option used.
Example: to sort results by the time items were created, use the command:
dir /tc
Display Results in Wide Format
The /w option is similar to /d (which shows columns), but instead, it sorts the results in wide format horizontally.
The command:dir /w
Display Short Name Filenames
The /x option shows a file’s short name when the long name doesn’t comply with 8.3 naming rules.
The command:dir /x
Display Help Pages For dir
Use the /? option displays helpful information regarding the dir command, including a brief description of all the options shown above.dir Command Examples
A simple dir command shows a list of all files and folders in the current directory shown.The following command shows all system files inside your current path by using the s option:
dir /a:s
To view all files of a certain type within all subsequent folders of the current path:
dir \*.mp3 /s
The asterisk (*) acts as a wildcard, it means find anything with .mp3 file format at the end while the /s recursively looks through all folders within the current path.
If a LOT of files - too many to read before they scroll off the screen, use the /p pause option to allow the list to be read before moving to the next page:dir \*.mp3 /s /p
Piping
dir allows piping .Use > character to send the results of the dir command to another place or service.
A common practice is to send the file list to a text file. The list can be viewed later or import the file into other types of documents.
To do piping, use the command:
dir \*.mp3 /s /b > filename.txt
The /b option in the above command is there to only output the filenames themselves, without any of the other details.
The greater than > symbol reroutes everything normally displayed in the Command Prompt window directly to the file.
