DOS Command Expand 

Type: External (5.0 and later)

Syntax:

EXPAND [d:][path]filename [[d:][path]filename[ . . .]]

Purpose: Expands a compressed file.

Discussion

This command can be used to expand compressed files. In fact, several of the files on the DOS 6 Setup disks cannot be used unless you expand them.

If you use the following syntax:

expand [d:][path]filename

a prompt will be displayed asking you to enter a name and a location for the expanded file. If you only enter

expand

you will be prompted to enter the location and name for the file you want to expand as well as the location and a name for the expanded file.

Example

To retrieve the SORT.EX file from MS-DOS 6.2 Setup disks and save the expanded file as SORT.EXE in the DOS directory on drive C, first locate the disk that contains the SORT.EXE file and insert it in drive A. Then, enter the following:

expand a:\sort.ex c:\dos\sort.exe
 

This page is from http://www.easydos.com. I pasted it on my website to avoid possible broken links. For further help with DOS commands, Check easydos.com out.