2.3.3.7 Customizing the PATH for MySQL Tools

Warning

You must exercise great care when editing your system PATH by hand; accidental deletion or modification of any portion of the existing PATH value can leave you with a malfunctioning or even unusable system.

To make it easier to invoke MySQL programs, you can add the path name of the MySQL bin directory to your Windows system PATH environment variable:

• On the Windows desktop, right-click the My Computer icon, and select Properties.

• Next select the Advanced tab from the System Properties menu that appears, and click the Environment Variables button.

• Under System Variables, select Path, and then click the Edit button. The Edit System Variable dialogue should appear.

• Place your cursor at the end of the text appearing in the space marked Variable Value. (Use the End key to ensure that your cursor is positioned at the very end of the text in this space.) Then enter the complete path name of your MySQL bin directory (for example, C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 9.1\bin)

  Note

  There must be a semicolon separating this path from any values present in this field.

  Dismiss this dialogue, and each dialogue in turn, by clicking OK until all of the dialogues that were opened have been dismissed. The new PATH value should now be available to any new command shell you open, allowing you to invoke any MySQL executable program by typing its name at the DOS prompt from any directory on the system, without having to supply the path. This includes the servers, the mysql client, and all MySQL command-line utilities such as mysqladmin and mysqldump.

You should not add the MySQL bin directory to your Windows PATH if you are running multiple MySQL servers on the same machine.