PATH - Set the executable file search path

 Purpose:    Display or alter the list of directories that CMD.EXE will 
             search for executable files, batch files, and files with 
             executable extensions that are not in the current directory. 
             
 Format:     PATH [directory [;directory ...]] 
             
             directory :  The full name of a directory to include in the 
             path setting. 
 

 See also:  ESET and SET. 

 Usage 

 When CMD.EXE is asked to execute an external command (a .COM, .EXE, .BTM, 
 .BAT, or .CMD file or executable extension), it first looks for the file 
 in the current directory. If it fails to find an executable file there, 
 it then searches each of the directories specified in the PATH setting. 

 For example, after the following PATH command, CMD.EXE will search for an 
 executable file in four directories:  the current directory, then the 
 root directory on drive C, then the DOS subdirectory on C, and then the 
 UTIL subdirectory on C: 

 
         [c:\] path c:\;c:\dos;c:\util
 

 The list of directories to search can be set or viewed with the PATH 
 command.  The list is stored as an environment string, and can also be 
 set or viewed with SET, and edited with ESET. 

 Directory names in the path must be separated by semicolons [;].  Each 
 directory name is shifted to upper case to maintain compatibility with 
 programs which can only recognize upper case directory names in the path. 
  If you modify your path with the SET or ESET command, you may include 
 directory names in lower case.  These may cause trouble with some 
 programs, which assume that all path entries have been shifted to upper 
 case. 

 If you enter PATH with no parameters, the current path is displayed: 

 
         [c:\] path
         PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\UTIL
 

 Entering PATH and a semicolon clears the search path so that only the 
 current directory is searched for executable files (this is the default 
 at system startup). 

 Some applications also use the PATH to search for their data files. 

 CMD.EXE normally searches the path for files with the extensions .COM, 
 .EXE, .BTM, .CMD, and .BAT (in that order).  However, if you include an 
 explicit file extension on a command name (for example, WP.EXE), the 
 search will find files with that name and extension in the current 
 directory and every directory in the path.  It will not locate other 
 executable files with the same base name (e.g., WP.COM). 

 The standard list of extensions for which to search can be modified by 
 setting PathExt to Yes in CMD.INI, then setting the PATHEXT variable. 

 If you have an entry in the path which consists of a single period [.], 
 the current directory will not be searched first, but instead will be 
 searched when CMD.EXE reaches the "." in the path.  This allows you to 
 delay the search of the current directory for executable files and files 
 with executable extensions.  In rare cases, this feature may not be 
 compatible with applications which use the path to find their files; if 
 you experience a problem, you will have to remove the "." from the path 
 while using any such application. 

 To create a path longer than the command-line length limit, use PATH 
 repeatedly to append additional directories to the path: 

 
         path [first list of directories]
         path %path;[second list of directories]
         ...
 

 You cannot use this method to extend the path beyond 2042 characters (the 
 internal buffer limit, with room for "PATH ").  It is usually more 
 efficient to use aliases to load application programs than to create a 
 long PATH.  See ALIAS for details. 

 If you specify an invalid directory in the path, it will be skipped and 
 the search will continue with the next directory in the path.