Displaying All the Files in a Folder using the Command Prompt

Written by Barry Dysert (last updated April 19, 2021)

2

You probably already know that you can navigate through folders and view their contents by using the Windows Explorer. Another way to display all the files a folder contains is by using the Command Prompt window. (Accessing the Command Prompt window is covered in this tip.)

At the command prompt, you can navigate through the folders and subfolders by using the CD command to change your current directory. Just follow the command by a space and the name of the directory you want to change to. If the directory name contains spaces, simply surround the directory name with quote marks, as shown in these examples:

CD "my files"
CD "c:/my data/word documents/budgeting"

After navigating to the directory using the CD command, you can see what files are contained in the directory by typing the DIR command at the command prompt.

 This tip (12033) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." ...

MORE FROM BARRY

Increasing the Number of Restore Points

You may feel constrained by the low number of restore points your system is keeping. You can increase the disk space ...

Discover More

Finding New Desktop Widgets

Although there are several widgets that come with Windows, a lot more are available if you're willing to do a little Web ...

Discover More

Understanding the Pictures Folder

The Pictures folder is one of several system libraries specifically optimized to hold digital pictures. This tip tells ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Command Prompt's New Tricks

Command Prompt has been around for a while in various versions of Windows. With Windows 10 the Command Prompt window has ...

Discover More

Using the Sort Command

Sorting data is a common task even of end users. Fortunately, The Windows command line provides us with a Sort utility so ...

Discover More

Clearing the Address Resolution Protocol Cache

Corrupt or unwanted Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache entries can cause connectivity errors. Here is how to flush ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is six minus 5?

2021-06-28 08:07:47

Len Richards

You always leave out some way to do something ... it is because you don't know about it

DIR /B "MY FILES" ==== DISPLAYS THE FILES

no need for your long version of doing something then using cd command to get somewhere else ... c'mon man, do some learning about Windows

2021-04-19 15:42:27

Tomek

@Barry: You forgot to mention that you have to make sure that the directory you want is on the current drive.
If you issue a command "cd E:\MyFiles" but you current drive is C:, the command "dir" will still show files from current directory od drive C:.

Newest Tips
Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.