ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
                     INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND COMPUTING
                             TECHNICAL SUPPORT


Descriptive Title:                  Change Directory - A concise  method
                                    for moving about VMS directories

Usage Restrictions:                 None.

Calling Name:                       CD

Project Number:

Author and Affiliation:             Andrew W.  Potter
                                    Rochester Institute of Technology

Installed at RIT by:                Andrew W.  Potter
Language:                           VAX/VMS Extended FORTRAN-77

Computer:                           Digital VAX/VMS

Program Availability:               This Utility is available  on  VAXA,
                                    VAXB, VAXC, VAXD, and VAXV.

Contact:                            Internal:   User  Computing  Center,
                                    Rochester Institute of Technology

                                    External:  Academic Computing
                                    Information Systems  and  Computing,
                                    Rochester  Institute  of Technology.
                                    One Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester NY
                                    14623

Date                                15 December, 1983
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                          FUNCTIONAL ABSTRACT

CD is a utility that  is  intended  to  replace  the  many  DCL  command
procedures  that  have written to simplify the moving about the VMS tree
structured file system.


                             USER INSTRUCTIONS


                                  NOTE

               These  Instructions  assume  the  user  is
               familiar   with   the  VMS  "SET  DEFAULT"
               command


Before CD can be used, it must be defined by entering the following:

                     $ CD == "$LIB$DISK:[ACCLIB.CD]CD"
                       CD == "$LIB$DISK:[ACCLIB.CD]CD"

If the user intends to use CD frequently then it would be  advisable  to
place  the  above  definition  in the account LOGIN.COM file.  (For more
information on LOGIN.COM files and command definitions please  refer  to
the  VMS  publications  "Guide  to  Writing  Command Procedures" and the
"Command Language Users Guide".)

The CD command takes the following form:

        $ CD [directive][directory][[subdirective][subdirectory]...]
          CD [directive][directory][[subdirective][subdirectory]...]

The directive can be as follows:

".." or ""          Move  one  level  up  in   the   current   directory
 ..      "
                    structure.   This is equivalent to "SET DEFAULT [-]"
                    This directive may be repeated to move more than one
                    level up at a time.

"/" or "%"          Move to the top directory  on  the  current  device.
 /      %
                    This is the same as SET DEFAULT [000000].

"~" or "\"          Move to the users default login directory
 ~      \

"&"                 Move to the top of the USER public  volume.   Equiv-
 &
                    alent to SET DEF USER:[000000]

"#"                 Move to the top of the SYSTEM device volume.  Equiv-
 #
                    alent to SET DEFAULT SYS$SYSDEVICE:[000000]

"<"                 Move to the Top of the RIT Library volume Equivalent
 <
                    to SET DEFAULT LIB$DISK:[000000]

"?"                 Type a quick command reference.
 ?
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Directive is optionally followed by Directory.  A directory  name  would
Directive                           Directory
be  the  name  of  a top level directory specified without the enclosing
brackets and without the 'DIR' file type.  For example, CD /USER is  the
                                                        CD /USER
same  as  SET  DEFAULT  [USER] and CD <LIBDIR is the same as SET DEFAULT
                                   CD <LIBDIR
LIB$DISK:[LIBDIR].

Directory may be followed by zero or more  occurrences  of  subdirective
Directory                                                   subdirective
(either  "."  or  "/")  and  then a subdirectory name.  If the specified
          .        /
subdirectory is down one level from the users current working  directory
then  the directive and directory specifications are not necessary.  For
Example if the users default working directory is USER:[USERNAME] and he
wishes  to move into USER:[USERNAME.SUBDIR] then the command "CD SUBDIR"
                                                              CD SUBDIR
is all that is needed.   This  is  the  same  as  if  the  user  entered
"CD &USERNAME.SUBDIR".
 CD &USERNAME.SUBDIR

                                   EXAMPLES

        CD /USER/SUB/LOWERSUB   ==>  SET DEFAULT [USER.SUB.LOWERSUB]

        CD SUB                  ==>  SET DEFAULT [.SUB]

        CD SUB.LOWERSUB         ==>  SET DEFAULT [.SUB.LOWERSUB] 

        CD ~OFFROOT             ==>  SET DEFAULT USER:[USERNAME.OFFROOT]

        CD .. or CD ^           ==>  SET DEFAULT [-]

        CD ....SUB or CD ^^SUB  ==>  SET DEFAULT [--.SUB]