BASICS:

df0: - the first floppy drive.
df1: - the second floppy drive.
dh0: (sometimes hd0:) - the first hard drive or partition.
dh1: (sometimes hd1:) - the second hard drive or partition.
cd0: - the first CDROM drive.

CTRL C To stop a command.

Using the command cd:

cd dirname - go to the directory called "dirname".

cd df0: - go to floppy drive df0:

cd dh1: - go to the hard drive called dh1:

cd devs - goes to the devs directory.

cd dh0: - returns you to the root directory of the hard drive called dh0:

endcli - closes the CLI or Shell.

/ To move up one directory.

: To go to the root directory.

/// To move up three directories.

Note: if a directory or filename has a space in it, it must be surrounded by quotes.

To copy a file to df0:
copy file.ext df0:

For a directory listing:
list

To pause the listing as it scrolls:
Click and hold the Right Mouse Button.

List all directories and their files:
dir all

To list all files that contain the characters "ami" :
list sub ami#?

To delete a file:
delete file.ext

Deleting a protected file:
delete file.ext force

To delete a directory and its contents:
delete directoryname all

MORE COMMANDS:

To make a diskette bootable (OFS Original File System):
install df0:

To make a diskette bootable (FFS Fast File System):
install df0: ffs

To make a disk non-bootable:
install df0: noboot

To search for a file called "Schmuck" in the DH1:Graphics/pics directory:
search dh1:graphics/pics schmuck

To search the entire drive DH1:, type:
search dh1:filename file all

copy * to myfile
After entering this line, whatever you type will be copied to a file named myfile.

To set your prompt to say "By your command:"
PROMPT By your command:

To send the contents of the file named "myfile" to the printer, type:
type >prt:myfile

To append all files in a directory with the same extension -- ex) .pic
LIST >rename.script WORK:PICTURES LFORMAT RENAME %S%S %S%S.pic
EXECUTE rename.script

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mount - activate a device like a CDROM drive. ex) Mount CD0:

Say - to activate the Amiga's speech synthesizer.
To set the synth up in Dos 2.x and up, copy the file called "SAY" from the Dos 1.3 "Utilities" directory, to you hard drive "Utilities" directory. Then copy the 1.3 "Speak-Handler" from the 1.3 "L" directory to your HD "L" directory. Next, copy the file called "Narrator.device" from the 1.3 Devs directory to your hard drive's "Devs" directory.

The UPARROW - scrolls through the previously typed commands (DOS 2.x and up).

Shift Backspace - Deletes all text before the cursor in one keystroke.

Shift Arrow - Moves cursor to beginning or end of a line of text.

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INFORMATION:

Designed by Amiga corporation in 1983/4 and released in early 1985, the AMIGA was originally intended to be a kick-ass game console. However, recognizing the potential of the system being developed, the five designers of the machine decided to give it added expansion possibilities by adding on serial and parallel ports, more RAM, a keyboard port, etc.... The video game console was growing into a fully-fledged computer. While this was a very forward-thinking idea (the video game console market was about to crash -- in favor of home computers), the costs of developing a computer system greatly outstripped the initial sum of money supplied by the investors. Soon out of money, things were beginning to look pretty grim for the team at Amiga, Inc. Despite this, the brave (and brilliant) men who designed the Amiga, continued to develop the hardware and software, until a runnable system was ready for the soon to arrive consumer electronics show.

A functioning Amiga was, indeed, at the 1984 show... barely.
Since they didn't have the time or money to press the chipset to silicon, the designers strung the chip designs up on breadboards, placed them on an anti-static mat, and wired it up to a monitor. The reaction to the high-resolution graphics bouncing around on the screen was very positive -- to say the least. One suitably impressed company was Commodore, who purchased the technology and rights, allowing the designers of the system to run out and buy themselves each a Sun workstation (and something to eat).

Sadly, Commodore allocated relatively little money to future research and development for the Amiga, and had the short-sightedness to alienate the designers. Hence, the machine slowly lost its industry lead over the next 10+ years. Some very intelligent and dedicated people continued to work on the Amiga over the years, but with a tiny fraction of the resources available to Apple and IBM platforms of the time.

Every Amiga is based on a multi-processor arrangement, with specific-purpose processors taking care of many of the tasks that typical computer systems assigned to the CPU. This arrangement allowed for separate RAM and DMA for these custom chips, and -- in some cases -- a higher-priority level for the custom chips over the CPU itself. As well, the graphics circuitry was cycle-interleaved with the CPU, adding to the efficiency of its use of system RAM.
The audio chip assists in taking care of drive access, while providing digital 8-bit, 4-channel synthesizer/sample handling, with superior filtering for its time.

In addition, the Amiga used a highly sophisticated autodetection system for all expansion cards (true plug and play, long before Windows 9x), and included a full 32-bit pre-emptive multitasking operating system right from day one. This O/S provided both GUI and command-line interfaces (much like X-Window), and the ability to write scripts in order to automate O/S functions and application useage.

W. J. Brookes.