UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

dear members;
I am trying to placea directory to keep minor records in particular directories.. rather than just rely on hard links.. I would like to set the $PATH variable so that I can access the directory itself from anywhere; ex./ /tmp or /bin /var...
I know how to export enviromental variables.(i think!)... but this does not seem to do the job ver well ..ex,.
path=`~/dir1/dira1/filesys:~/dir2/dira2/../dirb2/filesys/:etc' EXPORT $PATH...
so far this has not worked.. and i can't seem to imagine how placing the dirctory in ex,. /sbin and creating hard links would work in place of a direct pth export... .
thanx for your ideas moxx68

Setting the PATH environment variable is for locating commands, not data files. If that is what you are attempting to do (use data files versus running commands) then it will not work.

did some quick research and found out something to that extent while i was waiting for a reply.. but this text mentioned something about a cdpath in env.. if i set the directory to the cdpath it should do precisely that unless i did'nt undertsand what it was saying.. but I tried this trick with cdpath several months ago and it worked to a certain extent otherwise I can't say that i knew what I was doing.. (first time)... will setting the cdpath work. and do i set the same way as the $PATH (text not very clear)..
thanx moxxx68

I've never used it but find that cdpath will look for the first instance of the directory you are looking for in the path specified - if you have two directories with the same named sub-directory, you will change directory to the first in the list when you may have wanted the second. Consider that when you start using that variable.

thanx moxxx68