I'm writing a batch file to perform recurring operations with choice menu options etc...
but I got stuck on two points.
I tried to read up, but I don't know exactly how to ask questions using search engines.
I try to explain myself.
Problem 1
I need to copy files to a known location, I'd like the batch to stop at some point
and asked me the default source is D:, do you want to copy from here or elsewhere? if so, insert new path
Problem 2
I'm working on Windows .wim images, the command below, as you know, is used to export a single index of these images.
When this command is executed I would like it to stop and ask me if that 4 can go well, or if not
gave me the opportunity to enter another value.
dism /Export-Image /SourceImageFile:d:\Sources\install.wim /SourceIndex:4 /DestinationImageFile:C:\test\install.wim /Compress:Max /CheckIntegrity
At the moment I have not solved the problem.
Related
I am a real novice compared to people on here but I am able to navigate the command line and perform basic actions like move, copy, delete files and folders using the relevant commands. I am aware of the ability to use batch files and I was wondering if anyone coyld help me solve a problem at work. I dont work in IT by the way but I just know there has got to be an easy solution to this from the experience I do have.
Without going into the specifics too much my question comes down to this. I need to move one file at a time(basically a split pdf) from one folder to another at the rate of one per hour. So there may be up to 20 files all in one folder then one gets moved one hour, another the next and so on.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)
What you're looking for is probably a cron. Cron's function is to run a certain command on a certain interval. To move a file once per hour you would use a crontab which is a file that specifies what to run and how often to run it. your cronfile might look somthing like this 0 * * * * <your move command>. The to execute the cron you'd do somthing like contab /path/to/your/crontab/file
We have a 2 step process that collects all filenames from a folder into a Word document for use elsewhere.
The original process was to run an old DOS batchfile that collected the filenames into a DOS .txt. Then we launched a Word .docx with a macro that imported the .txt and massaged the formatting. After visual inspection we hit ‘Save’ and that was it.
I had the bright idea that a step could be taken out by launching Word directly from the batch, so I inserted the line: start winword filename. This works great except that the default location that Word wants to save in is now my Templates folder. Running it the old way still works perfectly.
The question is: why is the default location changed by launching Word programmatically and how can it be forced back to the correct location?
Thanks
you can use:
start /D C:\path\to\folder "" winword.exe
this program starts winword.exe and save all files to C:\path\to\folder
ill assume that winword.exe is in the current directory.
for help with the start command : http://ss64.com/nt/start.htm
I investigated the start command, but never did figure out why it operated differently. The eventual solution was to include the Save action in the macro. I still don't know why we didn't have to do that before, but it works now so we're declaring success and moving on.
I am trying to use the tool here business objects query builder output
And there are virtually no examples, so I'm struggling to make it work. It produces no errors, but outputs no file in the directory where the batch file is, that I can see.
Here is the code inside querybuilder.bat:
set lib=c:\Program Files\Business Objects\Common\4.0\java\lib
java -cp "querybuilder.jar;poi-3.8-20120326.jar;%lib%\*" org.bukhantsov.querybuilder.Program %*
Here is the code inside what I am running, which I've named RunQuery_ALLACTIVE.bat, except of course with my Server, Username, and Password changed for the purpose of this post.
I have this all on one line, with no line breaks.
querybuilder.bat -cms:SERVER -username:OURUSERNAME -password:OURPASSWORD -query:"SELECT * FROM CI_INFOOBJECTS where SI_SCHEDULE_STATUS = 9 order by SI_NAME" -auth:windowsad -excel "Output.xls"
Can't tell if the - options go on different LINES ?
Can't tell if I'm supposed to put output file in quotes, or if it should be an existing file or not?
can't tell if for Windows AD (which we use), I would put "Windows AD" or WindowsAD, I'm assuming no spaces obviously.
Tons of unanswered questions on this tool - it LOOKS cool, but has anyone actually successfully used it? Can't really find comments or history on the 'net..
To answer your questions:
The options go on the same line, not on different ones
As Joe said, you'll need to specify the output file as -excel:"Output.xls"
If you want to use Windows AD, you'll probably need to specify secWinAD (case-sensitive).
If you're not sure about the command line options, I suggest you build up gradually: first only specify the required options, then add the optional ones one by one so you know which one is giving you problems.
Also, I noticed that the download page contains a version compiled for XI3.x and BI4. Make sure you use the correct version, corresponding to the version of BusinessObjects you're using. Also, verify the path in the batch file to see if it points to a valid folder containing the JAR files for the BusinessObjects environment.
Update:
I just noticed that the same author/developer created another application (GUI, not command line) that might be a bit easier to use. Have a look here.
How do I create a batch file that wil automatically install office,java and photoshop without a box asking hundreds of preferences?
for example:
#ECHO OFF
start J:\Batch\test.exe
But if I do that it asks: Select setup language
What is the code for passing that box and automatically select English? I searched on the web but I couldn't find it. Does anyone know it?
Here is the exe file I'm testing: http://pxc-coding.com/downloads/tweaks-for-skype/Tweaks-for-Skype-1.0.0.2-Setup.exe
I' not going to download and run an unknown program.
But you can try this:
1) run the program
2) note every answer
3) put those answers into a textfile (each answer in an own line, no empty lines - except you just hit "enter" to an answer)
4) run test.exe <answers.txt
once it works, you can distribute answers.txt with your package.
I have to maintain a batch script of about 3500 lines littered with GOTO. Seems that the original "developer" hasn't heard of this famous paper and modular programming.
What the script does?
The script deals with the (silent) installation/uninstallation/reinstallation of several programs using different options. It could be split in several files that deal with each program in part. The problem is that if you're trying to take a part in another file that part will still GOTO another section that needs to be in the original script.
Refactoring?
Normally you wouldn't do a refactoring without having automated tests (so you can be sure you didn't break anything), but I don't know how to do it. There's no testing framework for that.
Partial Solution
I have come up with a partial "solution" that is some kind of adaptation of characterization tests (from Working Effectively with Legacy Code by Michael Feathers) and approval tests:
- create another script: test.py that replaces all commands (like copy or msiexec) with echo,
- redirect the output to a text file (good.txt),
- change the original batch script,
- run the test.py script again and save the output to another text file (current.txt),
- diff good.txt and current.txt -> if there are no differences then I didn't break anything, but if they are different I need to check if I broke something.
Problem with partial solution
How can I capture and replace all the commands? I could make a list of commands to replace, but there are also a lot of string concatenations to get the name and path of the program to be installed.
CMD level capture/hook?
Is there any way I can hook into the command line interpreter (CMD.exe) so I can replace on the fly all the calls to installers with echo?
Other suggestions?
Do I approach the problem in the wrong way? Can I do it better somehow? Do you have some advice I could use?
You could replace all COPY, DEL or CALL with %COPY%, %DEL% ,...
So you can use the same file for production and also for the tests.
#echo off
if not defined UNITTEST (
set "COPY=COPY"
set "DEL=DEL"
set "CALL=CALL"
)
%COPY% src dest
%DEL% somefile.txt
%CALL% installer.exe
And from your unittest.bat, you could start it via
#echo off
set "COPY=>>trace.log ECHO COPY"
set "DEL=>>trace.log ECHO DEL"
set "CALL=>>trace.log CALL ECHO "
del trace.log
set "unittest=Active"
call production.bat
fc good.txt trace.log
I'm not an expert in Batch, but I have done my fair share of it. With that said, I can offer a few tips.
Forget trying to do it all at once. Batch is very hard to debug. Echoing out to a log file helps a lot, but it will not capture everything you need if something goes wrong.
Work on breaking out the exe and msiexec calls into self-contained scripts. It is much easier to test the small script for the functionality you desire. Once you have that working, it is simple to call that script from the "Master" script.
Establish a good protocol for passing args to, and return codes from the smaller scripts. If there are common settings needed to be used for all the scripts consider using a central settings file.
GOTOs are not the devil, unless they pass control all over the place. Normally there are two good reasons that I know of to use GOTO’s.
Skip past a block of code that does not need to run.
To SET values into variables. Note there is a bug that can prevent variables from having their value set from within an 'IF' statement block. That little bug caused a big headache for me at one time.
Calls to a label might be better option at times.
Depending on how far back the legacy support is required, consider using Powershell when possible. The power and debugging capabilities of Powershell far out way the benefits of simple scripting of Batch. Which at 3500 lines simplicity has already been lost. You are already looking at Python, so maybe that could be used instead.
If you need a break point, use Pause. ECHO all the settings you need to examine right before the pause. This is as close to a break point I have found for batch.
Echo the command you intend to run to a log file and actually run it.
Write small verification scripts to be used independently or with the “Master” script to confirm you are getting the results you are expecting.
Use the right tool for the job. I like to use EditPadPro, RegexBuddy, and BeyondCompare for batch editing and comparing differences. There free tools that can be used too NotePad++ and Windiff. Making many edits in a file of that size is best handled by a good editor. IE inserting an echo at the beginning of a line that calls a cmd.exe.
Remember it is scripting not programming. While there is a lot of overlap of the two, the same exact approach to a problem may not be viable between the two.
Always make a backup copy of the scripts as a whole before mucking around. A fallback position is greatly appreciated when there is one small bug that you can’t find.
If it ain't broke... well you wouldn't be working on it if everything was working just fine.
Always test changes. And when you are done test it again. After that have someone else test it.
Just my .02. I’m sure someone else can chime in with more advanced advice. My knowledge on Batch has been acquired from the school of hard knocks, supplemented by ss64.com