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Microsoft Windows 3.1: Quickly Edit bat and pif Files

Disclaimer: The information in this article is not guaranteed by Purdue University or the Engineering Computer Network. ECN does not actively support Windows 3.1. If this article is inaccurate, please contact us using the link at the bottom of this page so we can remove it.

In Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11, you can use File Manager to quickly get to .BAT or .PIF files that you want to edit.

  1. In File Manager, select the name of the file you want to edit.

  2. From the File menu, choose Run, or press ALT+F+R. When the Run dialog box appears, press the HOME key.

  3. If you are editing a .BAT file, in the Command Line box, type notepad, and then press SPACEBAR. If you are editing a .PIF file, type pifedit and press SPACEBAR. For example, if you want to edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, your Command Line box should look like this: notepad AUTOEXEC.BAT

  4. Click OK or press ENTER, and the file editor will appear with the file you want to edit already loaded.

    NOTE: The command C:\\WINDOWS must appear in the PATH line of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file for this tip to work for .BAT files. Unless you have removed it, the command should be in the PATH line.

Last Modified: Dec 19, 2016 11:12 am US/Eastern
Created: May 31, 2007 12:37 pm GMT-4 by admin
JumpURL: https://eng.purdue.edu/jump/b5ae2