join(CMD) 19 June 1992 join(CMD) Name join - join a disk drive to a directory on another disk drive Syntax join [drive1: [drive2:]path] join drive: /d Description When you use the join command, MS-DOS treats the directories and files on a disk drive as the contents of the other drive and path you specify. Parameters drive1: Specifies the floppy disk drive or logical drive that you want to join to a different drive and directory. drive2: Specifies the floppy disk drive or logical drive to which you want to join drive1. path Specifies the directory to which you want to join drive1. This directory must be empty before you join drive1 to it. It must also be a directory other than the root directory. drive: Specifies a floppy disk drive or logical drive that was previ- ously specified in a join command that you are now canceling. Switch /d Cancels any previous join commands for the drive you specify. Notes drive1 becomes invalid After you use the join command, the drive1 you specify becomes invalid. If you then try to use it, MS-DOS displays the following message: Invalid drive specification Limitations on path If the directory specified by path already exists before you use the join command, you cannot use that directory for any other purpose while join is in effect. If the directory is not empty, MS-DOS does not complete the join operation and displays the following message: Directory not empty If the directory does not exist, MS-DOS tries to create it. Limitations on using join with other commands The following commands do not work with drives formed by the join com- mand: assign diskcopy mirror backup fdisk recover chkdsk format restore diskcomp label sys Using join with no parameters You can use the join command with no parameters to see a list of the currently joined drives. Examples You can join any directory or subdirectory in a tree structure. For example, the following commands are valid: join d: c:\sales join d: c:\sales\october To reverse either of the previous join commands, type the drive1 value followed by the /d switch, as follows: join d: /d Related commands For information about redirecting disk operations from one drive to another, see the assign(CMD) command. For information about substituting a drive letter for a directory name, see the subst(CMD) command.