Using MS-DOS Environment Variable as Command-Line Option

• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you use an MS-DOS environment variable (such as %VARIABLE%) as a command-line option when you run a program (such as Notepad), you may receive the following message:

   Cannot find the %VARIABLE%.txt file.

   Do you want to create a new file?

CAUSE

Windows 95 interprets the environment variable as a file name because the percent (%) character is a valid character in a long file name in Windows 95.

RESOLUTION

To work around this behavior, use any of the following methods:

• Use the following method to start the program:

  1. Click the Start button, and then click Run.

  2. Type the following command in the Open box

           command.com /c <program.exe> %<variable>%
  
        where <program.exe> is the program you want to run and <variable>
        is the environment variable you want to use.
  
  

• Create an MS-DOS batch file that starts the program with the command- line variable set to the appropriate MS-DOS environment variable. Then, create a shortcut to the batch file and use the shortcut to start the program.
• Start an MS-DOS session and type the command at the command prompt.