Editing Guides/DDS compression with DirectXTex (section)

== Basic Command-line Usage ==
DirectXTex tools are only operable through the Windows Command Prompt, so first we must understand how to operate the command line.
[[File:Command Prompt after startup.png|alt=The window has a line with the current selected directory, waiting for user input.|left|thumb|Command Prompt window upon opening it.]]
First, open up Command Prompt (you may need to use the search bar). You will be met with a screen like this.

The input line tells you the current selected directory, which by default is your user folder. To run any DirectXTex tool, it is best to navigate to the directory which you have the tools stored in. To change the active directory, you need the '''cd''' (Change Directory) command. Enter:<syntaxhighlight>
cd <filepath-to-directxtex>
</syntaxhighlight>Make sure to replace <filepath-to-directxtex> with the actual filepath, without the angle brackets included. If the tools are on another drive, e.g. D: or E:, you may also need to switch to this drive by simply enter the name of the drive. For example:<syntaxhighlight>
D:
</syntaxhighlight>Once this is done, you should be in the correct directory, ready to run the tools. You could test this by typing the name of the tool's exe (without the .exe extension) and it should show you the tool's help menu:<syntaxhighlight>
texconv
</syntaxhighlight>Extra tip: you can enter filepaths quickly by dragging a file or folder into the command prompt window, it will quickly insert the file or folder's filepath at the cursor's location.