/B Switch Does Not Work Together with All DIR Commands

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This article was previously published under Q240666

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SYMPTOMS

When you use the dir command at a command prompt, you can use multiple switches at once. However, some switches are ignored when you use the /b switch. The /b switch uses "bare" format.

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The /b switch displays files in a bare format with no heading information or summary. Using the /b switch in the same command with the following switches causes only the /b switch information to be displayed:

/c
/d
/n
/w
/x
/4

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STATUS

This behavior is by design.

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MORE INFORMATION

The dir command has the following syntax:

DIR [drive:][path][filename] [/A[[:]attributes]][/B][/C][/D][/L][/N]
[/O[[:]sortorder]] [/P] [/Q] [/S] [/T[[:]timefield]] [/W] [/X] [/4]

/A          Displays files with specified attributes.
/B          Uses bare format (no heading information or summary).
/C          Display the thousand separator in file sizes.  This is the
            default.  Use /-C to disable display of separator.
/D          Same as wide but files are list sorted by column.
/L          Uses lowercase.
/N          New long list format where filenames are on the far right.
/O          List by files in sorted order.
/P          Pauses after each screenful of information.
/Q          Display the owner of the file.
/S          Displays files in specified directory and all subdirectories. 
/T          Controls which time field displayed or used for sorting
/W          Uses wide list format.
/X          This displays the short names generated for non-8dot3 file
            names.  
/4          Displays four-digit years

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