Non-alphanumeric character folder name auto-completion problems

Posted by viking on Super User See other posts from Super User or by viking
Published on 2011-06-15T18:59:03Z Indexed on 2011/06/21 16:25 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 310

I have been working with Windows 7's command line and have some folders that begin with non-alphanumeric characters. When I try to use tab completion to complete the folder name, the initial character is not included inside of the quotation marks. Example: C:\Users\username\!example is the folder I want to get into, but when I type:

cd !

and press <Tab> to autocomplete, it will complete to

cd !"!example" 

instead of the expected

cd "!example"

Any ideas on how to fix this besides changing the folder names?

EDIT: I realize I could just tab through the entire list after entering cd, but I'm looking for a way to speed up the process. I have been spending a significant amount of time navigating these folders.

UPDATE: This also happens if there is a space in the directory. For example: "c:\Program Files". In order to continue using tab to complete, first the second quote has to be deleted.

C:\Program

press Tab

"C:\Program Files" is what appears. To navigate to a subdirectory, first the quote after Program Files has to be deleted before the next directory can be spelled out.

© Super User or respective owner

Related posts about windows-7

Related posts about command-line