A pointer to a location in the file system, represented as a letter assigned to a directory path on a volume.

To locate a file, you follow a path that includes the volume, directory, and any subdirectories leading to the file.

You create drive mappings to follow these paths for you. You assign a letter to the path, and then use the letter in place of the complete path name.

Drive mappings can be temporary or permanent:

Local Drive Mappings

Local drive mappings are paths to local media such as hard disk drives and floppy disk drives.

In DOS 3.0 and later versions, drives A: through E: are reserved for local mappings.

To change this default (for example, if you are using the NetWare DOS Requester, you need all of your drives mapped as DOS drives), use the DOS LASTDRIVE command in your workstation CONFIG.SYS file.

Network Drive Mappings

Network drive mappings point to volumes and directories on the network. Normally, drives F: through Z: are used for network mappings. Each user can map drive letters to different directories.

To create a network drive mapping, use the MAP command, the NETUSER text utility, or the NetWare User Tools graphical utility

Network Search Drive Mappings

Network search drive mappings point to directories containing files such as applications or files.

Search drive mappings enable the system to locate a program even if it isn't located in the directory you're working in.

Search drive mappings are numbered, although they also have drive letters. For example, search drive 1 (or S1) may also be known as network drive Z:.

You can map up to 16 network search drives (letters K: through Z:, starting with Z:). You can't map a search drive and a regular network drive to the same letter.

When you request a file and the system can't find it in your current directory, the system looks in every directory a search drive is mapped to.

The system searches, following the numerical order of the search drives, until either the program file is found or can't be located.

NOTE:  Search drive mappings aren't supported on OS/2 workstations. The search functionality is provided with the OS/2 PATH, LIBPATH, and DPATH commands.

Directory Map objects can point to directories that contain frequently-used files such as applications.

If you create a Directory Map object to point to an application, users can access the application by clicking on the Directory Map icon from the browser.

If the application's location in the directory structure changes, you can update the object instead of having to change all users' drive mappings.