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Information
on batch files




QUICK LINKS
Batch file ABCs
Creating a batch file
Batch commands
Batch file examples
Technical support
Debug Routines

BATCH FILE ABCs
Batch files are files that allow MS-DOS
and Microsoft Windows users to create a lists of commands
and/or programs to run once the batch file has been executed.
For example, a batch file could be used to run frequently run
commands, deleting a series of files, moving files, etc. A
simple
batch file does not require any special programming skills and can be done by
users who only know DOS commands.

A
good example of
a batch file for someone who is more familiar with Windows or
the MacOS is to think of a batch file as a shortcut in Windows or
an icon on the MacOS. Much like a shortcut, batch files could be
used to run one or more commands and/or programs through the command
line. Another
example of a very well known batch file is the autoexec.bat, which
is a simple boot file loaded each time the computer is loaded
on MS-DOS and early Windows computers. This batch file contained
all the necessary commands and programs used to run MS-DOS and
Windows each time the computer booted.
 






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CREATING
A BATCH FILE

MS-DOS users
Microsoft Windows and other users

MS-DOS users

To create a basic batch file
in MS-DOS, follow the below steps which give you an example of
how to create a basic batch file.

Open an MS-DOS command window or get to MS-DOS.
Additional information about doing this can be found on document
CHDOS. 
At the MS-DOS prompt, type edit test.bat and press
enter.
If typed properly, you should now be in a blue screen.
Within
the screen, type:

pause
dir c:\windows
dir c:\windows\system


Once the above three lines have been typed in,
click File and choose exit; when prompted to save,
click "Yes". Users who do not have a mouse
cursor can accomplish this same task by pressing ALT+F
to access the file menu, then pressing "X" to
exit, and pressing enter to save changes.
Once you are back at the MS-DOS
prompt, type test and press enter. This will execute the test.bat file and begin running
the file. Because the first line is pause, you will first be
prompted to press a key. Once you press a key the batch file
will run line-by-line; in this case, listing the files in the
windows and windows\system directories.

If you wish to add more lines to this batch file you would
simply type "edit test.bat" to edit the file again.Additional
information about the MS-DOS edit
command can be found on our edit command page. Some
versions of MS-DOS and bootable diskettes may not have the
edit command; if this is the case, you would either need to
obtain the edit.com file to access this file or use the copy
con command.

Microsoft
Windows and other users

A Windows user can still use
the above MS-DOS steps if they wish to create a batch file. If,
however, you're more comfortable using Microsoft Windows or
your operating system, you can use any text editor, such as
notepad or wordpad, to create your batch files, as long as the file
extension ends with .bat. In the below example we use the
Windows notepad to create a batch file.

Click Start
Click Run
Type "notepad"
and press enter.
Once notepad is open, type
the below lines in the file or copy
and paste the below lines
into notepad.

@echo off
echo Hello this is a test batch file
pause
dir c:\windows


Click File and click Save;
browse to where you want to save the file. For the file
name, type "test.bat", and if your version of
Windows has a "Save as type" option, choose
"All files", otherwise it will save as a text
file. Once all of this has been done click the Save button
and exit notepad.
Now, to run the batch file,
simply double-click or run the file like any other
program. Once the batch file has completed running it will
close the window automatically.


BATCH COMMANDS
Just like all MS-DOS commands,
all batch file commands are not case
sensitive. However, in the below listing we have listed all commands in all caps to help you
identify what is a command and what is not.


@
Does not echo back the text after the at symbol. This is
most commonly used as @ECHO OFF to prevent any of the commands in the
batch file from being displayed, just the information needed.


%1
The
percent followed by a numeric value, beginning with one, allows
users to add variables within a batch file. The below line
is an example of what can be used in a batch file.
echo Hello %1

When the above one-line batch file is created, add your
name after the batch file. For example, typing myname (being the
name of the bat file) and then your name:


myname bob 

would output:

Hello bob

Note: This can be
extended to %2, %3, and so on.



:LABEL
By adding a colon in front of a word, such as LABEL,
you create a category, more commonly known as a label. This allows
you to skip to certain sections of a batch file such as the end of
the batch file. Also see GOTO.


CALL
This is used to run another batch file within a batch file.
When the batch file that is called is completed, the remainder of the original batch file
is completed. Note if the batch file
does not exist it will give an error message.


CHOICE
See running different programs for an example
of how to use this command.

Additional information
and the syntax of this command in each version of
Windows and MS-DOS can be found on our CHOICE
command page.




CLS
Just like the DOS command would clear your screen.

Additional information
and the syntax of this command in each version of
Windows and MS-DOS can be found on our CLS
command page.




ECHO
Will echo a message in the batch file. Such as
"ECHO
Hello World" will print Hello World on the screen when
executed. Note if you have
not typed @ECHO OFF at the beginning of the file this will
also print "ECHO Hello
World" and "Hello World". If you would just like to create a blank line, type ECHO. adding
the period creates an empty line.


EXIT
Exits out of the DOS window if the batch file is running from
Windows.

Additional information
and the syntax of this command in each version of
Windows and MS-DOS can be found on our EXIT
command page.




GOTO LABEL
Used to go to a certain label, such as LABEL. An example of
GOTO would be to GOTO END. For an example of this see running different programs.

Additional information
and the syntax of this command in each version of
Windows and MS-DOS can be found on our GOTO
command page.




IF
Used to check for a certain condition if the condition
exists. If that condition exists it will perform that function. To see an example of this see
running different programs.

Additional information
and the syntax of this command in each version of
Windows and MS-DOS can be found on our IF
command page.




PAUSE
Prompt the user to press any key to continue.


REM
Allows you to place comments into the batch file without
displaying or executing that line when the batch file is run.


SHIFT
Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch
program.

Additional information
and the syntax of this command in each version of
Windows and MS-DOS can be found on our SHIFT
command page.




START
Used for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT 4.0 and above to
start a windows application; such as START C:\WINDOW\CALC would run the
Windows Calculator. Users running Windows
3.x need to utilize the WIN command.  For example, WIN
C:\WINDOWS\CALC.EXE would run Windows and then Calculator after Windows has finished
loading. 

Additional information about the start command can be
found on our start command page.




BATCH FILE EXAMPLES

Running different programs

How to start Windows files and programs from a batch file
Creating a batch file delay
How to make a time log

RUNNING DIFFERENT PROGRAMS
Below is a simple example of how you can implement
the choice options
into your batch files. Each line that is in red can be left out of the batch file.
They have been included to help explain some of what the batch file means.
Windows 2000 and Windows
XP users will need to substitute the choice command with the
set command; see our set command page for
additional help and information with this command.

@ECHO OFF
REM - LABEL INDICATING THE BEGINNING OF THE DOCUMENT.
:BEGIN
CLS
REM - THE BELOW LINE GIVES THE USER 3 CHOICES (DEFINED AFTER /C:)
CHOICE /N /C:123 PICK A NUMBER (1, 2, or 3)%1
REM - THE NEXT THREE LINES ARE DIRECTING USER DEPENDING UPON INPUT
IF ERRORLEVEL ==3 GOTO THREE
IF ERRORLEVEL ==2 GOTO TWO
IF ERRORLEVEL ==1 GOTO ONE
GOTO END
:THREE
ECHO YOU HAVE PRESSED THREE
GOTO END
:TWO
ECHO YOU HAVE PRESSED TWO
GOTO END
:ONE
ECHO YOU HAVE PRESSED ONE
:END

HOW TO START WINDOWS
FILES AND PROGRAMS FROM A BATCH FILE
To run
Microsoft Windows programs or files use the START command. The
below example would run Windows Notepad.

START /M "C:\WINDOWS\NOTEPAD.EXE"

The /m representing it to start the window Maximized.
See our start command page for
additional information about this command.
CREATING A BATCH FILE DELAY
Below is an example of how to delay a batch file any where from 5
to 99 seconds. In the below example we illustrate a 5 second delay.

TYPE NUL | CHOICE.COM /N /CY /TY,5 >NUL
Additionally, you
could use the sleep file found on our utility
download section.

HOW TO MAKE A TIME LOG
The below example
demonstrates how to create a time
log of when the batch file is loaded, or for example, this could be
used in the autoexec.bat when someone logs
into a computer that supports this file.

ECHO. |TIME > TIME
COPY LOG +TIME
An alternate, slightly
more complicated method that, to our knowledge, cannot be used in
Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows ME would be the following:
echo @prompt set date=$d$_set time=$t$h$h$h > {a}.bat
%comspec% /e:2048 /c {a}.bat > {b}.bat
for %%v in ({b}.bat del) do call %%v {?}.bat
echo %date% %time% >> log
Another alternative
is:
echo. |time |find "current" >>
log

For the above batch file to work properly you must create a file called
log by typing "edit log" (without the quotes) and then
save and exit the file which will create the file at 0 bytes. If this file is not created
or not created properly you will receive the error message "Content of destination
lost before copy".


   TECHNICAL
SUPPORT









Reference
Issue
/ Question



MS-DOS
Additional help
and information with MS-DOS.



MS-DOS Q&A
Listing of
Questions and answers relating to MS-DOS.



FORUM
If
your question is not listed on this page, please try our
online forum.



CH000010
Deleting files in MS-DOS
without a prompt.



CH000036
How
to execute commands in a batch file in timed intervals.



CH000209
Information
about long file names.



CH000319
Creating
a blank line in a batch file.



CH000320
How to
exit a Windows MS-DOS window through a batch file.



CH000321
How to
shut down / restart the computer with a batch file.



CH000322
How to
run a batch file each time the computer boots.



CH000323
How to
quickly replace the file extensions of several files.



CH000435
How to
make a bat executable?



CH000540
How
to change the title of a MS-DOS Window.



CH000570
Additional information and options for the rundll32.exe file.



CH000738

Preventing a MS-DOS window from automatically closing in
Windows.



CH000754
Deleting
files equal to 0 in a batch file.



CH000785

How can I run a batch file at a specific time?


 























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