TYPE (DOS command)

For the Unix command that looks up command names, see type (Unix).

In computing, type is a command in various command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe, 4DOS/4NT and Windows PowerShell used to display the contents of specified files on the computer terminal. The analogous Unix command is cat.

type

The BW-DOS TYPE command
Developer(s)	Various open-source and commercial developers
Operating system	RT-11, OS/8, RSX-11, TOPS-10, TOPS-20, VMS, CP/M, MP/M, CDOS, TRIPOS, HDOS, AmigaDOS, DOS, MSX-DOS, FlexOS, PC-MOS, SpartaDOS X, 4690 OS, OS/2, Windows, AROS, ReactOS, SymbOS
Platform	Cross-platform
Type	Command
License	PC-MOS: GPLv3 AROS: AROS Public ReactOS: GPLv2

Implementations

Description of the TYPE command of RT-11SJ displayed on a VT100.

The command is available in the operating systems DEC RT-11,^[1] OS/8,^[2] RSX-11,^[3] TOPS-10,^[4] TOPS-20,^[5] VMS, Digital Research CP/M,^[6] MP/M,^[7][8] MetaComCo TRIPOS,^[9] Heath Company HDOS,^[10] AmigaDOS,^[11] DOS, FlexOS,^[12] TSL PC-MOS,^[13] SpartaDOS X,^[14] IBM/Toshiba 4690 OS,^[15] IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows,^[16] ReactOS,^[17] AROS,^[18] and SymbOS.^[19]

The type command is supported by Tim Paterson's SCP 86-DOS.^[20] On MS-DOS, the command is available in versions 1 and later.^[21] DR DOS 6.0 also includes an implementation of the TYPE command.^[22]

It is also available in the open source MS-DOS emulator DOSBox and the EFI shell.^[23]

In Windows PowerShell, type is a predefined command alias for the Get-Content Cmdlet which basically serves the same purpose. TYPE originated as an internal command in 86-DOS.

The command-syntax and feature set between operating systems and command shell implementations can differ as can be seen in the following examples.

DEC RT-11

In Digital Equipment Corporation's RT-11, the command accepts up to six input file specifications. Multiple file specifications are separated with commas.

The default filetype is .LST. Wildcards are accepted in place of filenames or filetypes.

Syntax

The command-syntax on RT-11 is:

TYPE[/options] filespecs

• COPIES:n – Specify the number of times the file will be typed
• DELETE – Delete the file after typing it
• LOG – Log the names of the files typed
• NEWFILES – Only files dated with the current system date will be typed
• NOLOG – Suppress the log of the files typed
• QUERY – Require confirmation before typing each file
• WAIT – Wait for user response before proceeding with the type

Examples

TYPE/COPIES:3 REPORT

TYPE/NEWFILES *.LST

DR CP/M, MP/M, FlexOS

In Digital Research CP/M, the command expands tabs and line-feed characters (CTRL-I), assuming tab positions are set at every eighth column.

The command does not support wildcard characters on FlexOS.^[12]

Syntax

The command-syntax on CP/M is:

TYPE ufn

Note: ufn = unambiguous file reference

In MP/M, the command has a pause mode. It is specified by entering a 'P' followed by two decimal digits after the filename. The specified number of lines will be displayed and then the command will pause until a carriage return is entered.^[7]

Examples

A>TYPE FILE.PLM

A>TYPE B:X.PRN

0A>TYPE CODE.ASM P23

TSL PC-MOS

The Software Link's PC-MOS includes an implementation of TYPE. Like the rest of the operating system, it is licensed under the GPL v3.^[24] It supports an option to display the file content in hexadecimal form.^[13]

Syntax

The command-syntax on PC-MOS is:

.TYPE filename [/h]

• filename – The name of the file to display
• /h – Display content in hexadecimal form

Examples

[A:\].TYPE FILE.BIN /h

Microsoft Windows, OS/2, ReactOS

The ReactOS type command

The command supports wildcard characters. In Microsoft Windows and OS/2 it includes the filename in the output when typing multiple files.

Syntax

The command-syntax on Microsoft Windows and ReactOS is:

type [Drive:][Path]FileName

• [Drive:][Path]FileName – This parameter specifies the location and name of the file or files to view. Multiple file names need to be separated with spaces.
• /? – This parameter displays help for the command.

Examples

C:\>type "my report.txt"

C:\>type *.txt

See also

• List of DOS commands
• List of Unix commands

References

1. "RT-11 HELP FILE". paleoferrosaurus.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
2. "Concise Command Language" (CCL)."OS/8 Handbook" (PDF). April 1974. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
3. John F. Pieper (1987). RSX A Guide for Users (PDF). Digital Equipment Corporation. ISBN 0-932376-90-8. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
4. TOPS-10 Operating System Commands Manual (PDF). Digital Equipment Corporation. August 1980. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
5. "TOPS-20 Command manual" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
6. "Manual" (PDF). www.cpm.z80.de. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
7. Digital Research (July 1981) [1979]. MP/M - Multi-Programming Monitor Control Program - User's Guide (PDF) (4 ed.). Pacific Grove, CA, USA: Digital Research. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
8. Digital Research (1981-09-25). MP/M-86 Operating System - User's Guide (PDF) (1 ed.). Pacific Grove, CA, USA: Digital Research. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
9. "Manual" (PDF). www.pagetable.com. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
10. Heath Company. "Software Reference Manual HDOS SYSTEM Chapter 2 General Operations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
11. Rügheimer, Hannes; Spanik, Christian (September 19, 1988). AmigaDOS quick reference. Grand Rapids, Mi : Abacus. ISBN 9781557550491 – via Internet Archive.
12. FlexOS User's Guide Version 1.3 (PDF). 1.3 (1 ed.). Digital Research. November 1986. 1073-2003-001. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
13. "roelandjansen/pcmos386v501". GitHub. 2 January 2022.
14. SpartaDOS X 4.48 User Guide
15. "Users guide" (PDF). archive.org. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
16. "Microsoft TechNet Type article". 11 September 2009.
17. "reactos/reactos". GitHub. 3 January 2022.
18. "AROS Research Operating System". aros.sourceforge.io.
19. "Data sheet". www.symbos.de. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
20. 86-DOS - Disk Operating System for the 8086 - User's Manual (PDF). Version 0.3 (Preliminary ed.). Seattle, Washington, USA: Seattle Computer Products, Inc. 1980. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-14. (59 pages)
21. Wolverton, Van (2003). Running MS-DOS Version 6.22 (20th Anniversary Edition), 6th Revised edition. Microsoft Press. ISBN 0-7356-1812-7.
22. DR DOS 6.0 User Guide Optimisation and Configuration Tips
23. "EFI Shells and Scripting". Intel. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
24. Jansen, Roeland (8 February 2018). "pcmos386v501: PC-MOS/386 v5.01 final release including cdrom driver sources" – via GitHub.

Further reading

• Townsend, Carl (1983). Practical Guide to CP/M. Dilithium Press. ISBN 978-0880560771.
• Kathy Ivens; Brian Proffit (1993). OS/2 Inside & Out. Osborne McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9780078818714.
• John Paul Mueller (2007). Windows Administration at the Command Line for Windows Vista, Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0470165799.

External links

• type | Microsoft Docs