SETPATH - create DOS PATH from file


            Syntax

            SETPATH [D:\PATH\]FILENAME.EXT

            Parameters

            FILENAME.EXT is the name of the path file;  a standard ASCII
            file which contains the names of ALL the directories in the
            DOS PATH.  The format of the file is simple: one path entry
            per line, exactly as they would appear in the SET PATH=
            command:

            C:\
            C:\MSDOS
            D:\UTILS
            .
            etc....

            Comments

            SETPATH will create the DOS PATH from the entries in
            FILENAME.EXT.  As with ADDPATH/REMPATH, SETPATH will
            validate each entry, but with a twist: if an invalid entry
            is found in the path file, SETPATH will beep three times,
            display an appropriate error message with the invalid entry
            and its location in the file, and will wait five seconds
            before continuing.  If you use SETPATH as a replacement for
            the DOS PATH command in AUTOEXEC.BAT, this feature is very
            useful, since PATH will still be built, but you will be
            notified of the error.  If you missed the error display, re-
            run SETPATH from the command line.  SETPATH can be used as
            often as desired;  it will create a complete new DOS PATH
            each time it is run.

            Note that the current "." and parent ".." directory entries
            are allowed in the SETPATH file.  Although DOS automatically
            searches the current directory before searching the path,
            this feature allows you to list matching files in the
            current and/or parent directory when using the SRCHPATH
            program.

            IMPORTANT NOTE: DOS ENVIRONMENT SPACE

            The PATH variable is stored in the DOS environment, which 
            normally defaults to 160 bytes.  If your PATH contains 
            many directories, or if you already use a large number of 
            environment variables (e.g., you have many SET commands in
            AUTOEXEC.BAT), DOS may issue an "out of environment space"  
            message.  In such cases, you should increase environment
            allocation via the SHELL command in CONFIG.SYS:

            SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:XXXX

            where XXXX is the desired environment space, in bytes.  If
            you had sufficient environment space before you used SETPATH, 
            and you did not use the SHELL command in CONFIG.SYS, then the 
            value XXXX should be equal to:

            165 + total size of the entries contained in the FILENAME.EXT 
            file + total number of entries in FILENAME.EXT file.

            If you used the SHELL command in CONFIG.SYS, then you should 
            replace 165 with your current environment size in the formula
            above.

            EXAMPLE

            You do not use a SHELL command, and you ran out of environment
            space when running SETPATH. Path entries in PATH.DAT are as 
            follows:
            
            C:\                 (3 characters)
            C:\DOS              (6 characters)
            C:\UTIL             (7 characters)
            D:\GENERAL\BAT      (14 characters)
            F:\WINDOWS          (10 characters)

            The total length of the entries is 3+6+7+14+10=40 characters.
            The formula above yields:

            165 + 40 (length of entries) + 5 (number of entries) = 210

            You should add the following statement to CONFIG.SYS:

            SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:210

            Note: The above method guarantees sufficient environment space
            to store the PATH value.  However:

            - If you increase the number of entries in your path file or if
              you add SET commands in AUTOEXEC.BAT, you may have to increase
              environment space again.

            - If you did not have a SHELL command in CONFIG.SYS, you may  
              not have exceeded the 160 bytes default by much, and the 
              above method will allocate more environment than is actually
              needed (160 bytes at worst).

            - If you want freedom from worry, purposely over-allocate 
              environment space by assigning a larger value to the /E:
              value -- but don't do it if you need every available byte 
              of DOS memory.

            - A utility such as QuarterDesk's Manifest (included in the 
              last few releases of the QEMM memory manager) will let you 
              know if you are over-allocating your environment, and by
              how much.

            - The DOS 6.0 MEM /D command will also show the amount of 
              allocated environment.