Windows Command Line Utilities

The following are some useful little command line utilties that I've written. Most are 32-bit applications and support long file names. They are designed to work with Windows 95 and Windows 98, and should also work with Windows NT (but most have not been tested under NT).

Many of these utilities are most useful when used in Windows batch files. You should have at least a basic knowledge of MS-DOS batch file programming in order to make full use of these utilities.

To download these utilities, save the ZIP file to a temporary directory. Then unzip the file to a directory in your PATH (using WinZip or PKZIP to unzip the file). You can unzip the executable into the "C:\Windows\Command" directory if you don't have any other general-purpose executable directory in your PATH, but I recommend creating a C:\BIN directory and saving the files there. Make sure C:\BIN is in your PATH.

To display a complete usage message for each utility, type the command name followed by "/?" (e.g. "ASSOCIATE /?") on the command line.

Miscellaneous Utilities

The utilities in this package are not related to each other in any way. They are just stand-alone utilities that don't fit into any other package. I just packaged them into a single ZIP file for easy downloading. You can pick and choose which ones you want to keep, and throw away the rest.

Download: CPLUTILS.ZIP (270K bytes)

Command Version    Date    Description   File Name

associate 2.06 8/25/99 Adds a command to the Windows "shortcut menu" (right mouse button) for a particular file extension or type. This utility is similar to the "View/Options.../File Types" menu item in Windows Explorer, but it can be used to automatically add a set of file associations much more easily. It has the unique ability to add shortcut menu commands to existing file types without changing the file type. associate.exe

cdd 1.00 12/4/99 Changes the current drive and/or directory. cdd.exe

dirsize 1.00 10/23/97 Reports the disk space used by each of the subdirectories off the specified directory, and the total space used by the specified directory. This utility properly takes into account cluster size (not updated for FAT32). dirsize.exe

global 2.02 11/17/99 Executes a command in the current directory and all subdirectories (recursively). global.exe

imagedim 1.00 11/23/99 This program adds HEIGHT and WIDTH attributes to all <IMG> tags in an HTML file. imagedim.exe

msgdec 1.04 5/18/99 Decodes an MIME or uuencoded mail message and saves binary attachments as files. msgdec.exe

regexp 1.00 1/21/99 Finds or replaces text using POSIX regular expressions in a stream. Very powerful, but not as fast as the repl utility.   UNIX regexp.exe

repl 1.02 1/13/99 Replaces all occurrences of a string with another string in a stream. The strings can span multiple lines. This utility uses a very fast and efficient algorithm.   UNIX repl.exe

scrsave 1.00 6/20/96 Invokes the Windows 95/NT screen saver immediately. This is not really a command-line utility, and no usage message is available. scrsave.exe

textcvt 1.00 5/16/96 Converts end-of-line characters in a text file to MS-DOS or UNIX format.   UNIX textcvt.exe

txt2html 1.00 8/6/98 Converts text to HTML.   UNIX txt2html.exe

xprune 1.12 6/15/99 Removes files at the destination that do not exist at the source. This utility can be used along with XCOPY to duplicate an entire directory structure on a backup disk (such as a ZIP disk) that already contains previously backed up files. This can save space on the backup disk during incremental backups by deleting files that were deleted at the source since the previous backup. xprune.exe

Command	Version	Date	Description	File Name
associate	2.06	8/25/99	Adds a command to the Windows "shortcut menu" (right mouse button) for a particular file extension or type. This utility is similar to the "View/Options.../File Types" menu item in Windows Explorer, but it can be used to automatically add a set of file associations much more easily. It has the unique ability to add shortcut menu commands to existing file types without changing the file type.	associate.exe
cdd	1.00	12/4/99	Changes the current drive and/or directory.	cdd.exe
dirsize	1.00	10/23/97	Reports the disk space used by each of the subdirectories off the specified directory, and the total space used by the specified directory. This utility properly takes into account cluster size (not updated for FAT32).	dirsize.exe
global	2.02	11/17/99	Executes a command in the current directory and all subdirectories (recursively).	global.exe
imagedim	1.00	11/23/99	This program adds HEIGHT and WIDTH attributes to all <IMG> tags in an HTML file.	imagedim.exe
msgdec	1.04	5/18/99	Decodes an MIME or uuencoded mail message and saves binary attachments as files.	msgdec.exe
regexp	1.00	1/21/99	Finds or replaces text using POSIX regular expressions in a stream. Very powerful, but not as fast as the repl utility. UNIX	regexp.exe
repl	1.02	1/13/99	Replaces all occurrences of a string with another string in a stream. The strings can span multiple lines. This utility uses a very fast and efficient algorithm. UNIX	repl.exe
scrsave	1.00	6/20/96	Invokes the Windows 95/NT screen saver immediately. This is not really a command-line utility, and no usage message is available.	scrsave.exe
textcvt	1.00	5/16/96	Converts end-of-line characters in a text file to MS-DOS or UNIX format. UNIX	textcvt.exe
txt2html	1.00	8/6/98	Converts text to HTML. UNIX	txt2html.exe
xprune	1.12	6/15/99	Removes files at the destination that do not exist at the source. This utility can be used along with XCOPY to duplicate an entire directory structure on a backup disk (such as a ZIP disk) that already contains previously backed up files. This can save space on the backup disk during incremental backups by deleting files that were deleted at the source since the previous backup.	xprune.exe

Disk List Utilities

This set of utilities makes it easy to keep track of the contents of multiple disks. It can be used to keep a master list which has the contents of all your floppy disks, ZIP disks, and CD-RW disks. It's easy to write a simple batch file that updates the contents of the master list from the disk currently inserted in the drive.

Download: DISKLIST.ZIP (63K bytes)

Command Version Date Description File Name

disklist 1.21 7/15/99 Prints a sorted list of all files on a disk (sorted by file name). Each line lists the file name, size, volume label, and path (tab delimited). This utility can also merge to an existing "master list", which lists the files from multiple disks. It is designed to be used with command-line input/output redirection. disklist.exe

diskunls 1.00 3/16/98 Removes all files with a specified disk volume label from a "master list" created by the disklist utility. This utility is designed to be used with command-line input/output redirection. diskunls.exe

finddups 1.01 1/25/98 Finds duplicate files (same name and size) in a file list that was created by the disklist utility. This can be used to find duplicate files on a single disk, or among multiple disks (using a "master list" as input). This utility is designed to be used with command-line input/output redirection. finddups.exe

Command	Version	Date	Description	File Name
disklist	1.21	7/15/99	Prints a sorted list of all files on a disk (sorted by file name). Each line lists the file name, size, volume label, and path (tab delimited). This utility can also merge to an existing "master list", which lists the files from multiple disks. It is designed to be used with command-line input/output redirection.	disklist.exe
diskunls	1.00	3/16/98	Removes all files with a specified disk volume label from a "master list" created by the disklist utility. This utility is designed to be used with command-line input/output redirection.	diskunls.exe
finddups	1.01	1/25/98	Finds duplicate files (same name and size) in a file list that was created by the disklist utility. This can be used to find duplicate files on a single disk, or among multiple disks (using a "master list" as input). This utility is designed to be used with command-line input/output redirection.	finddups.exe

Text File Database Utilities

This set of utilities allows you to manipulate simple tab-delimited text database files. You can use these utilities for simple databases, when you don't need the complexity (or overhead) of a full size database application. They are most useful when used in batch files.

Download: TDBUTILS.ZIP (190K bytes)

Command Version    Date    Description   File Name

sdb2tdb 1.02 8/12/98 Converts a sparse text file database into a tab delimited text file database.   UNIX sdb2tdb.exe

tdb2html 1.04 8/14/98 Converts a tab delimited text file database into an HTML file or files.   UNIX tdb2html.exe

tdbexpan 1.01 8/12/98 Duplicates records in a tab delimited text file database using each item in a list field.   UNIX tdbexpan.exe

tdbfind 1.03 8/19/98 Finds records that match the specified pattern(s) in a tab delimited text file database.   UNIX tdbfind.exe

tdbfmt 1.01 8/12/98 Formats a field in a tab delimited text file database.   UNIX tdbfmt.exe

tdbsort 1.02 8/12/98 Sorts the records in a tab delimited text file database.   UNIX tdbsort.exe

tdbswap 1.00 8/21/98 Rearranges the fields in a tab delimited text file database.   UNIX tdbswap.exe

tdbxlate 1.05 1/12/99 Translates the contents of one or more fields in a tab delimited text file database.   UNIX tdbxlate.exe

Command	Version	Date	Description	File Name
sdb2tdb	1.02	8/12/98	Converts a sparse text file database into a tab delimited text file database. UNIX	sdb2tdb.exe
tdb2html	1.04	8/14/98	Converts a tab delimited text file database into an HTML file or files. UNIX	tdb2html.exe
tdbexpan	1.01	8/12/98	Duplicates records in a tab delimited text file database using each item in a list field. UNIX	tdbexpan.exe
tdbfind	1.03	8/19/98	Finds records that match the specified pattern(s) in a tab delimited text file database. UNIX	tdbfind.exe
tdbfmt	1.01	8/12/98	Formats a field in a tab delimited text file database. UNIX	tdbfmt.exe
tdbsort	1.02	8/12/98	Sorts the records in a tab delimited text file database. UNIX	tdbsort.exe
tdbswap	1.00	8/21/98	Rearranges the fields in a tab delimited text file database. UNIX	tdbswap.exe
tdbxlate	1.05	1/12/99	Translates the contents of one or more fields in a tab delimited text file database. UNIX	tdbxlate.exe

Utilities marked "UNIX" are also available in Sun Solaris versions (not available from this web site).

All software on this page is copyright © 1996-1999 by Christopher P. LaRosa. All rights reserved.
These utilities are being made available to the general public free of charge. Although I have made every effort to ensure that these programs operate as documented, I cannot be responsible for any problems or loss of data that arise from the use of these utilities.
Last update: 12/8/99