DOS ain't dead - DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory?

DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? (Users)

posted by CluelessInSeattl, Seattle, USA, 21.12.2012, 17:00

> I thought I once had a little DOS utility that would display a list of the
> first lines of all the text files in a specified directory.
>
> I thought it was called DIRFIRST.
>
> But I can't find it on any of my old floppies.
>
> And when I Google "DIRFIRST" I get something completely different.
>
> Could I be thinking of an old CP/M utility?

If any of you are interested, I finally tracked down that old utility, and it was indeed called DIRFIRST.COM.

Last night I dug through boxes of old 5.25 disks from my days running CP/M on a bunch of Kaypros, and found a neatly labeled utility disk on which I'd pasted a printout of the disk's directory, and, lo and behold, there it was: DIRFIRST.COM.

So, that explains why I've struck out over and over again trying to find it on websites with old DOS utilities. It's not a DOS utility at all. It was a CP/M utility.

So, this morning when I Googled: cp/m OR cpm dirfirst.com utilit*

I got a number of hits, including this one, a list of CP/M utilities compiled back in 1986 by fellow Seattleite Norm Gregory.

I also found a scrap of an old yellowed printout on pinfeed paper of the Qbasic or QuickBasic code I wrote back in the mid 90s to try to produce a DOS program that would do what DIRFIRST.COM did. I called it SEEFIRST, and then later, CFIRST. But I'll be danged if I can find the disk with the .BAS file for that program.

I do have a compiled .EXE version of it, but it stalls when I try to run it. I think I've forgotten what parameters to enter on the command line. I know it used to work for me way back when. I kept it in the UTILITY folder on my DOS machine, along with BRUN45.

Anyway, it looks like you guys are providing me the tools I'm going to need to come up with an elegant batch file that will duplicate what that old CPM utility used to do so well.

Many thanks!

---
Will in Seattle
a.k.a. "Clueless"
Running MS-DOS 6.21

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Complete thread:

DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - CluelessInSeattl, 18.12.2012, 03:07 (Users)
- DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - Doug, 18.12.2012, 06:46
  - DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - CluelessInSeattl, 18.12.2012, 15:37
    - DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - myrkraverk, 18.12.2012, 20:09
  - DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - CluelessInSeattl, 18.12.2012, 20:19
    - DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - Rugxulo, 18.12.2012, 20:38
      - DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - CluelessInSeattl, 19.12.2012, 17:55
        DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - Rugxulo, 19.12.2012, 20:44
        DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - CluelessInSeattl, 20.12.2012, 18:14
        DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - Rugxulo, 20.12.2012, 21:10
        DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - CluelessInSeattl, 28.12.2012, 17:42
      - DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - CluelessInSeattl, 26.12.2012, 16:32
        DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - Rugxulo, 26.12.2012, 23:05
        DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - CluelessInSeattl, 31.12.2012, 17:24
        DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - Rugxulo, 03.01.2013, 10:55
    - DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - j_hoff, 19.12.2012, 09:47
- DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - ron, 18.12.2012, 22:48
  - DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - CluelessInSeattl, 19.12.2012, 18:10
    - DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - ron, 19.12.2012, 22:28
- DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - Doug, 21.12.2012, 00:26
  - DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - CluelessInSeattl, 21.12.2012, 16:40
- DOS utility to display 1st line of all files in directory? - CluelessInSeattl, 21.12.2012, 17:00