AmigaOS 3.1 Command Reference

DELETE


Format:
DELETE {<name|pattern>} [ALL] [QUIET] [FORCE]

Template:
FILE/M/A, ALLL/S, QUlET/S, FORCE/S

Purpose:
To delete files or directories.

Path:
C:DELETE

Specification:


DELETE attempts to delete (erase) the specified files. If more than one
file was specified, AmigaDOS continues to the next file in the list.

You can use pattern matching to delete files. The pattern may specify
directory levels as well as filenames. All files that match the pattern
are deleted. To abort a multiple-file DELETE, press Ctrl+C.

Caution!
AmigaDOS does not request confirmation of deletions. An error in a
pattern-matching DELETE can have severe consequences, as deleted files are
unrecoverable. Be sure you understand pattern matching before you use this
feature, and keep backups of important files.

If you try to delete a directory that contains files, you will receive a
message stating that the directory could not be deleted as it is not empty.
To override this, use the ALL option. DELETE ALL deletes the named directory,
its subdirectories, and all files.

Filenames are displayed on the screen as they are deleted. To suppress the
screen output, use the QUIET option.

If the d (deletable) protection bit of a file has been cleared, that file
cannot be deleted unless the FORCE option is used.

Example 1:

1> DELETE Old-file

Deletes the file named Old-file in the current directory.

Example 2:

1> DELETE Work/Prog1 Work/Prog2 Work

Deletes the files Prog1 and Prog2 in the Work directory, and then deletes
the Work directory (if there are no other files left in it).

Example 3:

1> DELETE T#?/#?(1|2)

Deletes all the files that end in 1 or 2 in directories that start with T.

Example 4:

1> DELETE DF1:#? ALL FORCE

Deletes all the files on DF1:, even those set as not deletable.

See also:

PROTECT


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