DosTips.com

• Allows passing just the base name of a command, and uses the PATHEXT environment variable to infer possible extensions.
  (Like Windows' own where.exe, but unlike all Windows ports of Unix which.)
• Uses Unicode internally, and outputs file pathnames correctly in any code page. (Provided that the console font has the necessary characters!)
  (Again, Windows ports of Unix which all fail at that if a pathname contains non-ASCII characters.)
• Knows about command.com, cmd.exe, and PowerShell specific rules. For example, the latter searches for *.ps1 before trying extensions from PATHEXT.
  Also command.com and cmd.exe search in ".", whereas PowerShell does not. (Both where.exe and Windows ports of Unix which fail at that!)
• Recognizes UWP applications execution links, and displays their target.
• By default outputs only the first match. Use option -a to display all matching programs. (Like Unix which)
• A -i option allows to efficiently detect cmd.exe doskey macros, and PowerShell aliases.
  Run 'which -?' to get help on how to configure both shells for this to work.
  (where.exe has no equivalent; Unix which has this option for Unix shells, but Windows ports don't support that in Windows.)
• A unique -l option displays the program(s) date/time and size; Resolves symbolic links; etc.
• A unique -v option displays verbose comments about why some seemingly obvious programs will NOT run.
  For example in Vista and later, with cmd.exe variable NoDefaultCurrentDirectoryInExePath set, cmd does not search in ".". In Linux, it'll report name case errors.
• A unique ability to search for names with wildcards. This is useful when you don't quite remember the exact name of a program.
• Avoids listing twice the same executable when a path appears multiple times in the PATH.
• Last, but not least, a single .exe that runs in all versions of DOS and Windows, from DOS 3 16-bits to Windows 10 64-bits. Including Windows 95 and XP.

which -?

doskey /macros which=^(help ^& doskey /macros^) ^| which.exe -i $*

• 1.16 2020-12-16 Recognize pwsh.exe as PowerShell. Option -l also shows the executable size. Supports UWP App. Exec. Links.
• 1.15 2020-04-20 Internal changes for MacOS support. Features otherwise unchanged.
• 1.14 2019-09-26 Added the ability to search names with wildcards. Added a verbose msg about case-independent matches in Unix.
• 1.13 2019-06-22 Avoid searching twice in the same directory. Added program properties, visible in the .exe properties box Details tab.
• 1.12 2019-03-01 Added a -i option allows to efficiently detect cmd.exe doskey macros, and PowerShell aliases.
• 1.11 2019-01-16 Added option -- to stop processing switches. Allows searching for names that begin with a -.
• 1.10 2018-03-22 Added option -l, and changed -v to display comments about programs excluded.
• ...
• 1.0 1987 Initial version for MS-DOS only

jfl wrote: ↑

26 Mar 2019 12:54

a single .exe that runs in all versions of DOS and Windows, from DOS 3 16-bits to Windows 10 64-bits. Including Windows 95 and XP.

aGerman wrote: ↑

28 Mar 2019 11:58

That's a neat tool, I like it

aGerman wrote: ↑

28 Mar 2019 11:58

I have a question as to how option -a is intended to work. If I run 'which -a cmd.exe' I was expecting that more than one file was found on my Win10 x64. Also if I run it in the WOW64 subsystem, it reports that cmd.exe was found in System32, which isn't wrong since I know that System32 is the virtualized SysWOW64 folder in this case. Is there a way to see the real path? Same maybe if a path gets redirected via junction?

aGerman wrote: ↑

28 Mar 2019 11:58

jfl wrote: ↑

26 Mar 2019 12:54

a single .exe that runs in all versions of DOS and Windows, from DOS 3 16-bits to Windows 10 64-bits. Including Windows 95 and XP.

What kind of black magic did you apply here Windows Defender didn't like that witchcraft. I had to restore it from quarantine several times

jfl wrote: ↑

02 Apr 2019 09:44

It's because the WIN32 version does not use the default DOS stub.

jfl wrote: ↑

02 Apr 2019 09:44

If this triggers your Windows Defender, it's a false positive

• It can now search for names with wildcards. This is useful when you don't quite remember the exact name of a program.
  Example:

  Code: Select all

  C:\JFL\Temp>which -a *zip*
  C:\JFL\Tools\MakeZip.bat
  C:\JFL\Tools\UnxUtils\usr\local\wbin\bunzip2.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\UnxUtils\usr\local\wbin\bzip2.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\UnxUtils\usr\local\wbin\bzip2recover.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\UnxUtils\usr\local\wbin\gunzip.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\UnxUtils\usr\local\wbin\gzip.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\UnxUtils\usr\local\wbin\unzip.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\UnxUtils\usr\local\wbin\zip.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\bunzip2.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\bzip2.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\bzip2recover.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\funzip.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\gzip.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\unzip.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\unzipsfx.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\zip.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\zipcloak.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\zipinfo.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\zipnote.exe
  C:\JFL\Tools\GnuWin32\bin\zipsplit.exe
  
  C:\JFL\Temp>

• The .exe property sheet details tab now reports lots of information about the program, and where it comes from.
  
  @aGerman: I hoped that this would prevent false positives with some anti-virus, but unfortunately this did not
  A few anti-virus still refuse to let it run
   
• I've joined a Linux build. Obviously Linux does not need it, as it already has its own which program. This is more like a demonstration of the source portability.
  There's one useful thing though: The -v option will output a comment for every program that matches with the wrong case - A common error in Linux!
  Warning: Be cautious not to overwrite the original Linux which with this one: The original one is critical for lots of system management scripts, and mine probably isn't fully compatible.
  Recommendation: Rename it as Which (with a capital W), for example, to avoid overwriting the original Linux which.
   
• I've joined an ARM64 build for Windows 10/arm64. I've never tested it as I don't have access to such a machine. If you do, please give it a try and tell me how it works!
   
• Version 1.13 had a minor improvement: It avoided to report a program multiple times, when its path appears multiple times in a PATH. (A common problem in Windows, apparently)

jfl wrote: ↑

26 Sep 2019 05:45

@aGerman: I hoped that this would prevent false positives with some anti-virus, but unfortunately this did not
A few anti-virus still refuse to let it run

• It now identifies pwsh.exe as PowerShell, and uses PowerShell search rules when invoked inside pwsh.exe. (pwsh.exe, also known as PowerShell Core, is the new cross-platform version of PowerShell.)
• The -l option now displays the executable size, in addition to its time stamp.
• It recognizes UWP applications execution links, and displays their target.

C:\JFL\Temp>which wt
C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.4.3243.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\wt.exe

C:\JFL\Temp>which -v wt
# C:\Users\Larvoire\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\wt.exe # UWP App. Exec. Link
C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.4.3243.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\wt.exe

C:\JFL\Temp>which -l -v wt
# 2020-11-20 13:26:46        0 C:\Users\Larvoire\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\wt.exe -> C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.4.3243.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\wt.exe # UWP App. Exec. Link
2020-11-20 13:26:44    92672 C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.4.3243.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\wt.exe

C:\JFL\Temp>truename C:\Users\Larvoire\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\wt.exe
C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.4.3243.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\wt.exe

C:\JFL\Temp>dirc C:\Users\Larvoire\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\wt.exe

C:\Users\Larvoire\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps

wt.exe -> C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.4.3243.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\wt.exe  <APPEXECL> 2020-11-20 13:26:46

1 files or directories listed.

C:\JFL\Temp>