Q63071: Only First 8 Characters in a Batch Label Recognized
Article: Q63071
Product(s): Microsoft Disk Operating System
Version(s): MS-DOS:4.01,5.x,6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s):
Last Modified: 17-DEC-2000
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 4.01, 5.0, 5.0a, 6.0, 6.2, 6.21, 6.22
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SUMMARY
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MS-DOS recognizes only the first eight characters of a batch file label;
subsequent characters are ignored.
NOTE: This eight-character limitation also applies to the %config% variable
passed to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file in MS-DOS versions 6.0 or later when you use
multi-boot configurations.
For example, the labels LATESTCHANGE and LATESTCHANGES are identical to MS- DOS.
The line "GOTO LATESTCHANGE" (without the quotation marks) transfers to the
first label in the file that has same first eight characters as LATESTCHANGE.
MORE INFORMATION
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The following examples illustrate this limitation.
Example 1
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The following example
goto latestch
: latestchanges
echo two
: latestch
echo three
displays the following
two
three
rather than displaying the following:
three
Example 2
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The following example
:latestch
echo zero
:latestchanges
echo one
goto latestchanges
displays the following until CTRL+C is pressed, terminating the batch file:
zero
one
zero
one
zero
one
etc.
Additional query words: 6.22 4.01 5.00 5.00a 6.00 6.20 multiboot
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Keywords :
Technology : kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS621 kbMSDOS622 kbMSDOS620 kbMSDOS600 kbMSDOS500 kbMSDOS401 kbMSDOS500a
Version : MS-DOS:4.01,5.x,6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22
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