{*! 17Jan2008}-----------------------------------------------------------------
help for shortdir                                             manual:  [R] none
                                                             dialog:   none    
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Returns the short directory name in `r(shortdir)'

        shortdir using"directory path" [, short]

        
Description

    shortdir is designed for programmers using Stata on the Windows operating
    system who want to know what the short directory name (a.k.a. "8.3" name)
    that DOS names a directory when it contains spaces in the name or has
    more than 8 characters in the name.  This command only works in Windows
    because it shells out to a DOS prompt in order to get the short directory
    name that Windows came up with.  The formula "Take the first 6 non-space
    characters and add '~1'" to the directory name does not reliably work in
    all situations.

Examples

    shortdir "c:\Documents and Settings\dan\Local Settings\temp"

    returns in r(shortdir):

    "c:\Docume~1\dan\LocalS~1\temp"

    shortdir "c:\Documents and Settings\dan_blanchette\Local Settings\temp"

    returns in r(shortdir):

    "c:\Docume~1\dan_blanchette\LocalS~1\temp"

    since "dan_blanchette" has no spaces in the name.

    shortdir "c:\Documents and Settings\dan_blanchette\Local Settings\temp",
        short

    returns in r(shortdir):

    "c:\Docume~1\dan_bl~1\LocalS~1\temp"

    since "dan_blanchette" is longer than 8 characters.


Saved Results

    The shortdir command saves in r():
 
    Macros         
{synopt:r(shortdir)the directory path.{p_end}


Author

    Dan Blanchette
    The Carolina Population Center
    University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, USA
    dan_blanchette@unc.edu


Also see

    On-line: tempfile _getfilename , confirmdir (if installed) tmpdir (if
             installed)