Run Command on Start Menu Does Not Accept Redirection or Pipes

Last reviewed: August 22, 1995
Article ID: Q134521

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you type a command that contains the pipe symbol (|) or the redirection symbols (< or > or >>) in the Open box of the Run command, the command is not carried out. For example, if you type the following line

   MEM | MORE

you receive the following error message:

   Parse error 4

CAUSE

Pipes and redirections are handled by Command.com and not by the Run command on the Start menu. If you type a pipe or redirection symbol in the Open box of the Run command, the symbol is given to the program as a command-line parameter.

In the example above, the MEM program is given a command line of "| more" and encounters the parse error because "| more" is not a valid switch.

WORKAROUND

To pass pipes and redirections to a program, invoke Command.com explicitly by typing a line such as the following:

   COMMAND.COM /c MEM | MORE

KBCategory: kbenv
KBSubcategory: posfest win95 msdos winshell
Additional reference words: 95

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Last reviewed: August 22, 1995
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