Modify the System and User Path Variables with Pathman.exe

The DOS command PATHMAN.exe can make it easier to modify the system and user paths used by Windows XP.

You can modify the path environment variable directly from set path command in DOS. But if you do this you can remove the already existing paths instead of appending them.

The Windows 2003 Resource Kit comes built-in with a command called PATHMAN, with the help of which you can modify/append the PATH environment variable.

Then you can run pathman.exe and use one of the following options:

• /as PATHAdds a semicolon-separated PATH to the system path
• /au PATHAdds a semicolon-separated PATH to the user path
• /rs PATHRemoves a semicolon-separated PATH from the system path
• /ru PATHRemoves a semicolon-separated PATH from the user path

Example: C:\>pathman /as c:\Program Files\Perl

This adds the directory "c:\Program Files\Perl" to the system path.

You can check the path by executing this command:

C:\>set path

To remove the directory from the path you need to execute the below:

C:\>pathman /rs c:\Program Files\Perl

This removes the directory "c:\Program Files\Perl" from the system path.

To check that the path is gone with your directory you can run the below commmand:

C:\>set path

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