My mic to the world... |
Here are the commands I tend to use the most in my batch files. Note that Change & Answer are both 3rd party apps. See makebld.bat for an example using all these commands!
:<LABEL> | CLS | ECHO | SET |
IF | GOTO <LABEL> | PAUSE | TYPE |
DELTREE | SYS | FORMAT | DEL |
CHOICE | ATTRIB | REBOOT | |
CHANGE | ANSWER |
:<label> | The colon ":" is used to denote a "label". Labels are used in conjunction with the "GOTO" command. |
CLS | CLS will clear the screen. This is handy when switching between menus. |
ECHO | Displays messages, or turns command-echoing on or
off. ECHO [ON | OFF] ECHO [message] Type ECHO without parameters to display the current echo setting. |
SET | Sets
an environment variable *** Very useful !! ie: set imageloc=win95 Now, whenever the batch file sees %imageloc% , it will replace that with win95 . ie: set imageloc=win95\100full Yes, you can even include a back-slash! This is great for determining where to copy a file based on a menu choice. Official /? result: Displays, sets, or removes Windows environment
variables. |
IF | Performs conditional processing in batch programs. IF [NOT] ERRORLEVEL number command IF [NOT] string1==string2 command IF [NOT] EXIST filename command NOT Specifies that Windows should carry out the command only if the condition is false. ERRORLEVEL number Specifies a true condition if the last program run returned an exit code equal to or greater than the number specified. command Specifies the command to carry out if the condition is met. string1==string2 Specifies a true condition if the specified text strings match. EXIST filename Specifies a true condition if the specified filename exists. |
GOTO | Directs Windows to a labelled line in a batch
program. GOTO <label> <label> Specifies a text string used in the batch program as a label. You type a label on a line by itself, beginning with a colon. |
PAUSE | Suspends processing of a batch program and displays the
message: Press any key to continue.... |
TYPE | Displays the contents of text files. TYPE [drive:][path]filename |
DELTREE | Deletes a directory and all the subdirectories and files
in it. To delete one or more files and directories: DELTREE [/Y] [drive:]path [[drive:]path[...]] /Y Suppresses prompting to confirm you want to delete the subdirectory. [drive:]path Specifies the name of the directory you want to delete. Note: Use DELTREE cautiously. Every file and subdirectory within the specified directory will be deleted. |
SYS | Copies MS-DOS system files and command interpreter to a disk you
specify. SYS [drive1:][path] drive2: [drive1:][path] Specifies the location of the system files. drive2: Specifies the drive the files are to be copied to. |
FORMAT | Formats a disk for use with MS-DOS. FORMAT drive: [/V[:label]] [/Q] [/S] [/C] [/U] /V[:label] Specifies the volume label. /Q Performs a quick format. /S Copies system files to the formatted disk. /C Tests clusters that are currently marked "bad." /U Forces "Unconditional" format I've removed the older switches that aren't really needed any longer.. especially when working with hard drives :) |
DEL | Deletes one or more files. DEL [drive:][path]filename [/P] ERASE [drive:][path]filename [/P] [drive:][path]filename Specifies the file(s) to delete. Specify multiple files by using wildcards. /P Prompts for confirmation before deleting each file. |
CHOICE | Waits for the user to choose one of a set of
choices. CHOICE [/C[:]choices] [/N] [/S] [/T[:]c,nn] [text] /C[:]choices Specifies allowable keys. Default is YN /N Do not display choices and ? at end of prompt string. /S Treat choice keys as case sensitive. /T[:]c,nn Default choice to c after nn seconds text Prompt string to display ERRORLEVEL is set to offset of key user presses in choices. |
ATTRIB | Displays or
changes file attributes. ATTRIB [+R | -R] [+A | -A] [+S | -S] [+H | -H] [[drive:][path]filename] [/S] + Sets an attribute. - Clears an attribute. R Read-only file attribute. A Archive file attribute. S System file attribute. H Hidden file attribute. /S Processes files in all directories in the specified path. |
CHANGE | Usage: change [/!IP] filespec "expr1" "expr2" Change processes all files matching the file specification passed and replaces all occurances of expression 1 with expression 2. The switches perform the following: /! - Display general program and OzWoz information. /I - Ignore case of expressions. /P - Prompt before changing. |
ANSWER | There are
no switches to this one, including /? - This small file waits for
the user to type something and hit enter. It then sets %answer% to
whatever the user typed. IE:
Echo Enter your name: \utils\answer : <--- that colon will be displayed on a blank line as a prompt for the user to enter a name : username <--- Now, %answer% = "username" (without the quotes of course) |
REBOOT | Reboots a pc while in dos mode |