What's New?

This section provides a comprehensive list of what's changed since our 
previous major release, version 2.52.  Maintenance changes made between 
versions 3.00 and 3.04 are indicated notes in the left margin (such as 
3.04). 

This topic does not explain how to use each new feature.  Instead, where 
appropriate we have provided links below to the detailed help topics 
containing additional usage information or other documentation. 

Some of the descriptions here may be more detailed than you need; if you 
aren't using a feature, feel free to skip to the next item.  If you are 
new to CMD.EXE with version 3.04, you can skip this topic entirely. 

This topic is divided into the following subtopics: 

            General Features and Enhancements 
            Line Editing and History 
            Command Changes 
            Variables and Variable Functions 
            Startup and Configuration 
            Technical and Compatibility Enhancements 
            Bugs Fixed 
 

 The major new features in this release include: 

    »   Extended Directory Searches:  allow you to change to a directory 
        anywhere on your system by entering only part of its name.  They 
        must be explicitly enabled before you can use them.  See Directory 
        Navigation for complete details. 

    »   New File Exclusion Ranges: provide a convenient way to exclude 
        files from any internal command -- faster and more flexible than 
        using EXCEPT. 

    »   The new Batch File Debugger can execute each line step by step, 
        process or trace into additional batch files, and display 
        variables, aliases, and expanded commands at each step. 

    »   New commands include: 

        OPTION:  Offers complete configuration adjustment, either through 
        interactive dialogs or on the command line. 

        SWITCH:  Provides for "case" statements in batch files. 

        TOUCH:  Adjusts file dates and times. 

        TREE:  Displays the directory tree, with or without file names, in 
        a variety of formats.