Classic Computer Magazine Archive COMPUTE! ISSUE 60 / MAY 1985 / PAGE 10

Atari Disk Directories

I have an Atari 800XL and an Atari 1050 disk drive. I would like to know if you could get a disk directory without using DOS. It is very inconvenient to load DOS every time I want to see my programs.

Anthony Bonhomme

Try the following direct-statement line. It lists the directory in BASIC without erasing the program in memory. It always returns an ERROR 136. To keep things clean, type CLOSE#1 or END after you see the error message.

OPEN#1, 6, 0, "D : * . * " : FOR X = 1 TO
1E9 : GET#1, A : PRINT CHR$(A); : NEXT X

You might also want to consider obtaining a different DOS for your computer. There are several good DOS packages available from independent companies which offer disk directories in BASIC and many other features. Usually these DOS programs are compatible with Atari DOS disks as well.