When writing a DOS batch file in Windows XP, have you ever needed to acquire the list of files in the current directory without all of the header information (volume name and serial number), footer information (number of files and/or directories, bytes used and free), or extra file information (date and time, file type, and file size)?

The /b parameter, when added to the dir command, displays a "bare" directory listing, only providing a list of files and/or directories with no extraneous information.

The following command displays all files and subdirectories in the current directory:

dir /b

For just a list of files:

dir /b /a-d

For just a list of subdirectories:

dir /b /ad

Like many other DOS commands the results can be piped to an external file, if desired. For example:

dir /b /ad > list_of_directories.txt

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