How to pass parameter into variable in batch file? - batch-file

Is there anyway to do like this?
#echo off
ECHO WHAT do you want to do?
ECHO 1.MOVE
ECHO 2.COPY
set "Act="
IF %Act% EQU 1 SET process=MOVE ELSE SET process=COPY
%process% testfile.txt New
pause

#echo off
SETLOCAL
ECHO WHAT do you want to do?
ECHO 1.MOVE
ECHO 2.COPY
set /p "Act="
IF "%Act%" EQU "1" (SET "process=MOVE") ELSE (SET "process=COPY")
%process% testfile.txt New
pause
The setlocal makes sure that the environment changes made in the program (like setting act and process are discarded when the process ends, so the environment does not become contaminated with stale data.
the /p option to set means accept input implicitly from the keyboard but may also be from a file if redirected.
The quotes in the if ensure that each side of the comparison operator is non-null and interpreted as a single string if it contains separators like spaces.
The parentheses in the if are required (at least about the if-true part) in order that the else is not seen as a parameter to the potential executable in the if-true part.
The quotes in the plain set statements ensure that trailing spaces are not included in the value assigned (probably not actually required here, but it's a good idea to get used to doing that...you only need to be caught out once to waste a number of hours chasing stray spaces...)

Related

Using xcopy or copy for a single file from multiple folders

So in the batch script I'm building I am taking a single file from a folder, copying it over to a destination folder, and renaming it based on the number of times that the script has been looped. Essentially I need to take a file that's named the samething from a bunch of different folders spread across multiple computers at times and copy them into a new folder to work with. I've read up on xcopy and copy as that seemed like the thing to use but I haven't been able to find anything that lets me tell it to only copy over a single named file. I've posted what I have so far for the script below with commented lines for the sections I haven't figured out:
ECHO off
SETLOCAL enabledelayedexpansion
ECHO Note: Your combined permission list cvs can be found in the desktop folder
SET /A #=-1
:start
SET /A #+=1
:again
ECHO Please input the file path to the permissionoutput.txt
SET /p permissionoutputpath=
SET "sourcefolder=%permissionoutputpath%"
SET "destinationfolder=C:\Users\kayla\Desktop\HOLDER-CombinedPermissionsLists"
IF not exist "%sourcefolder%\permissionoutput.txt" Echo file not found&goto again
copy "%sourcefolder%\permissionoutput.txt" "%destinationfolder%\permissionoutput%#%.txt"
ECHO Add another file to combine: y or n?
SET /p addanotherfile=
if %addanotherfile%==y goto :start
UPDATE: Code corrected with answer to be fully functional for use as a reference
SET /A #=-1
:start
SET /A #+=1
:again
ECHO Please input the file path to the permissionoutput.txt
SET /p permissionoutputpath=
SET "sourcefolder=%permissionoutputpath%"
SET "destinationfolder=C:\Users\kayla\Desktop\HOLDER-CombinedPermissionsLists"
IF not exist "%sourcefolder%\permissionoutput.txt" Echo file not found&goto again
copy "%sourcefolder%\permissionoutput.txt" "%destinationfolder%\permissionoutput%#%.txt"
ECHO Add another file to combine: y or n?
SET /p addanotherfile=
if /i "%addanotherfile%"=="y" goto start
# is a legitimate variable-name. It's initialised to -1 then incremented on each loop through :start so the first value it will have when it's used is 0. (If you want to start at 1 just initialise it to 0 instead)
Next - your sets - BUT spaces are significant in a string set command are would be included in the variablename/value assigned if present in the set instruction. "quoting the assignment" ensures any stray trailing spaces on the line are not included in the value assigned.
Well - next, make sure the file exists and if it doesn't, then produce a message and loop back to :again which bypasses the increment of #.
Otherwise, simply copy the file. You're aware of its sourcename, and your destinationname is constructed by including %#% to include the current value of # (all batch variables without exception are strings - the set /a instruction merely converts from string to binary to perform the required calculation, then converts the result back to a string for storage in the environment.)
Finally, interpreting the request to add another file. if /i makes the comparison case-insensitive. Since you have no direct control over the user's response, "quoting each side" ensures the if syntax isn't violated in case the user enters "yup sure 'nuff" or some other unexpected response.
The leading colon is not required in a goto. I prefer to omit it to keep conguity with the call command where no-colon means an external routine will be called and a colon means the routine is in this batch file.

Safe way to concatenate DOS variables to avoid unseen tab characters causing a double execution of a DEL command?

I have a batch file:
C:\zzzztemp\zzzBUG_TEST.cmd
set backup_folder=.\BUG_TEST
echo %backup_folder%\*.*
del %backup_folder%\*.*
pause
...whose output is:
C:\zzzztemp>set backup_folder=.\BUG_TEST
C:\zzzztemp>echo .\BUG_TEST\*.*
.\BUG_TEST\*.*
C:\zzzztemp>del .\BUG_TEST\*.*
C:\zzzztemp\BUG_TEST\*.*, Are you sure (Y/N)? y
C:\zzzztemp>pause
Press any key to continue . . .
So far so good, just as expected.
But, if I accidentally have a tab at the end of specifying the folder variable
set backup_folder=.\BUG_TEST{accidentally had a tab here}
Results in:
C:\zzzztemp>set backup_folder=.\BUG_TEST
C:\zzzztemp>echo .\BUG_TEST \*.*
.\BUG_TEST \*.*
C:\zzzztemp>del .\BUG_TEST \*.*
C:\zzzztemp\BUG_TEST\*, Are you sure (Y/N)? y
C:\*.*, Are you sure (Y/N)?
As you can see from the echo output, this is being interpreted as two arguments to the DEL command, and as a result the DEL operation is being performed twice, on two folders, one of which is c:\*.*
If one was to run this delete with the /Q (quiet, not requiring prompt to confirm delete), he could wipe out all the files in the root of c: !!!
So, I guess my question comes down to...
Is there a safe way to write:
del %backup_folder%\*.*
...Such that I would get a runtime error rather than an unintentional execution of delete with two arguments in the event that an unseen tab gets appended onto the variable assignment?
set "backup_folder=.\BUG_TEST" extra chars after last quote are ignored
Any characters after the last quote in the above assignment are ignored. No more accidental trailing tabs or spaces in your assignments :-)
EDIT:
if not "%backup_folder%"=="" if exist "%backup_folder%\*.*" del "%backup_folder%\*.*"
#ECHO OFF
SETLOCAL
ECHO test 1 - no stray TAB
set backup_folder=.\BUG_TEST
CALL :check %backup_folder%
IF NOT "%fcheck%"=="%backup_folder%" ECHO Suspect foldername +%backup_folder%+&GOTO :EOF
echo %backup_folder%\*.*
ECHO del %backup_folder%\*.*
ECHO test 2 - deliberate stray TAB
:: generate a TAB character
SET "TAB= "
ECHO testing tab exists:%tab%:exists IF there's a gap between the colons
ECHO show it is a TAB%tab%:the
ECHO show it is a TAB%tab%:colons
ECHO show it is a TAB%tab%:should
ECHO show it is a TAB%tab%:align
set backup_folder=.\BUG_TEST%tab%
CALL :check %backup_folder%
IF NOT "%fcheck%"=="%backup_folder%" ECHO Suspect foldername +%backup_folder%+&GOTO :EOF
echo %backup_folder%\*.*
ECHO del %backup_folder%\*.*
GOTO :eof
:check
SET fcheck=%1
GOTO :eof
Hmm - don't be alarmed by its size - most is commentary and there are two separate situations tested (with and without TAB)
Not sure whether cut-and-paste will work successfully here - the tab actually must be a tab - but OP is good at those - perhaps overly so...
Note the set "var=value" syntax - designed to stop um - stray invisible characters at the end of lines being included in the value assigned...
The :check routine uses the separators [space][tab][;][,][=] to assign a value - if the value assigned is identical to the original, then there were no separators.

How to split string without for loop in batch file

I want to split a string in two parts, without using any for loop.
For example, I have the string in a variable:
str=45:abc
I want to get 45 in a variable and abc in another variable. Is it possible in batch file?
pattern is like somenumber:somestring
You could split the str with different ways.
The for loop, you don't want use it.
The trailing part is easy with the * (match anything until ...)
set "var2=%str:*:=%"
The leading part can be done with a nasty trick
set "var1=%str::="^&REM #%
The caret is needed to escape the ampersand,
so effectivly the colon will be replaced by "&REM #
So in your case you got the line after replacing
set "var1=4567"&REM #abcde
And this is splitted into two commands
set "var1=4567"
REM #abcde`
And the complete code is here:
set "str=4567:abcde"
echo %str%
set "var1=%str::="^&REM #%
set "var2=%str:*:=%"
echo var1=%var1% var2=%var2%
Edit 2: More stable leading part
Thanks Dave for the idea to use a linefeed.
The REM technic isn't very stable against content with quotes and special characters.
But with a linefeed trick there exists a more stable version which also works when the split argument is longer than a single character.
#echo off
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
set ^"str=456789#$#abc"
for /F "delims=" %%a in (^"!str:#$#^=^
!^") do (
set "lead=%%a"
goto :break
)
:break
echo !lead!
Solution 3: Adpated dbenhams answer
Dbenham uses in his solution a linefeed with a pipe.
This seems a bit over complicated.
As the solution uses the fact, that the parser removes the rest of the line after an unescaped linefeed (when this is found before or in the special character phase).
At first the colon character is replaced to a linefeed with delayed expansion replacement.
That is allowed and the linefeed is now part of the variable.
Then the line set lead=%lead% strips the trailing part.
It's better not to use the extended syntax here, as set "lead=%lead%" would break if a quote is part of the string.
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
set "str=45:abc"
set ^"lead=!str::=^
!"
set lead=%lead%
echo "!lead!"
You can try this . If its fixed that numbers to left of the colon will be always 2 & to the right will be 3. Then following code should work assuming your str has the value.
set "str=45:abc"
echo %str%
set var1=%str:~0,2%
set var2=%str:~3,3%
echo %var1% %var2%
Keep me posted. :)
It seems pointless to avoid using a FOR loop, but it does make the problem interesting.
As jeb has pointed out, getting the trailing part is easy using !str:*:=!.
The tricky bit is the leading part. Here is an alternative to jeb's solution.
You can insert a linefeed into a variable in place of the : using the following syntax
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
set "str=45:abc"
echo !str::=^
!
--OUTPUT--
45
abc
The empty line above the last ! is critical.
I'm not sure why, but when the output of the above is piped to a command, only the first line is preserved. So the output can be piped to a FINDSTR that matches any line, and that result directed to a file that can then be read into a variable using SET /P.
The 2nd line must be eliminated prior to using SET /P because SET /P does not recognize <LF> as a line terminator - it only recognizes <CR><LF>.
Here is a complete solution:
#echo off
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
set "str=45:abc"
echo(!str::=^
!|findstr "^" >test.tmp
<test.tmp set /p "var1="
del test.tmp
set "var2=!str:*:=!"
echo var1=!var1! var2=!var2!
Update
I believe I've mostly figured out why the 2nd line is stripped from the output :)
It has to do with how pipes are handled by Windows cmd.exe with each side being processed by a new CMD.EXE thread. See Why does delayed expansion fail when inside a piped block of code? for a related question with a great answer from jeb.
Just looking at the left side of the piped command, I believe it is parsed (in memory) into a statement that looks like
C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe /S /D /c" echo {delayedExpansionExpression}"
I use {delayedExpansionExpression} to represent the multi-line search and replace expansion that has not yet occurred.
Next, I think the variable expression is actually expanded and the line is broken in two by the search and replace:
C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe /S /D /c" echo 43
abc"
Only then is the command executed, and by normal cmd.exe rules, the command ends at the linefeed. The quoted command string is missing the end quote, but the parser doesn't care about that.
The part I am still puzzled by is what happens to the abc"? I would have thought that an attempt would be made to execute it, resulting in an error message like 'abc"' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. But instead it appears to simply get lost in the ether.
note - jeb's 3rd comment explains why :)
Safe version without FOR
My original solution will not work with a string like this & that:cats & dogs. Here is a variation without FOR that should work with nearly any string, except for string length limits and trailing control chars will be stripped from leading part.
#echo off
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
set "str=this & that:cats & dogs"
set ^"str2=!str::=^
!^"
cmd /v:on /c echo ^^!str2^^!|findstr /v "$" >test.tmp
<test.tmp set /p "var1="
del test.tmp
set "var2=!str:*:=!"
echo var1=!var1! var2=!var2!
I delay the expansion until the new CMD thread, and I use a quirk of FINDSTR regex that $ only matches lines that end with <cr>. The first line doesn't have it and the second does. The /v option inverts the result.
Yes, I know this is a very old topic, but I just discovered it and I can't resist the temptation of post my solution:
#echo off
setlocal
set "str=45:abc"
set "var1=%str::=" & set "var2=%"
echo var1="%var1%" var2="%var2%"
You may read full details of this method here.
In the Light of people posting all sorts of methots for splitting variables here i might as well post my own method, allowing for not only one but several splits out of a variable, indicated by the same symbol, which is not possible with the REM-Method (which i used for some time, thanks #jeb).
With the method below, the string defined in the second line is split into three parts:
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
set fulline=one/two/three or/more
set fulline=%fulline%//
REM above line prevents unexpected results when input string has less than two /
set line2=%fulline:*/=%
set line3=%line2:*/=%
set line1=!fulline:/%line2%=!
set line2=!line2:/%line3%=!
setlocal DisableDelayedExpansion
echo."%line1%"
echo."%line2%"
echo."%line3%"
OUTPUT:
"one"
"two"
"three or/more//"
i recommend using the last so-created partition of the string as a "bin" for the remaining "safety" split-characters.
Here's a solution without nasty tricks for leading piece
REM accepts userID#host
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
set "str=%1"
set "host=%str:*#=%"
for /F "tokens=1 delims=#" %%F IN ("%str%") do set "user=%%F"
echo user#host = %user%#%host%
endlocal

Variable assignment problem in DOS batch file for loop

I have a variable assignment problem inside the DOS script for loop. It never assigns the value, its always blank. Below the sample code
#echo off
set ans=%1
SET STRING=%ans:"=%
echo Parsing the string "%STRING%":
for /f "tokens=1-2" %%a in ("%STRING%") do (
set Word1 =%%a
echo Word 1: %%a
echo Word 1: %Word1%
set Word2 =%%b
if %%b.==. (Set server =\\.\pipe\mssql$microsoft##ssee\sql\query ) else (Set server =%%b)
)
echo Server name "%server%"
sqlcmd -s %server%
value of %%a is not assigned to variable Word1. But when i echo the %%a, it shows the correct value. As well in the last empty value check if condition, the server variable never set. I am very confused here. can someone help me out??
P.S: input to the script is any 2 word string (ex: a.bat "l dev-server")
You need to use delayed expansion - !Word1! instead of %Word1%.
By default, when the shell first reads the statement, all variables are substituted with their current values, and the modified statement is used every time that line is hit. This is simply how DOS works, and it's kept that way in the Windows shell for backwards compatibility.
Delayed expansion, on the other hand, reinserts the value every time the statement is hit. That will give you the desired result.

Batch file include external file for variables

I have a batch file and I want to include an external file containing some variables (say configuration variables). Is it possible?
Note: I'm assuming Windows batch files as most people seem to be unaware that there are significant differences and just blindly call everything with grey text on black background DOS. Nevertheless, the first variant should work in DOS as well.
Executable configuration
The easiest way to do this is to just put the variables in a batch file themselves, each with its own set statement:
set var1=value1
set var2=value2
...
and in your main batch:
call config.cmd
Of course, that also enables variables to be created conditionally or depending on aspects of the system, so it's pretty versatile. However, arbitrary code can run there and if there is a syntax error, then your main batch will exit too. In the UNIX world this seems to be fairly common, especially for shells. And if you think about it, autoexec.bat is nothing else.
Key/value pairs
Another way would be some kind of var=value pairs in the configuration file:
var1=value1
var2=value2
...
You can then use the following snippet to load them:
for /f "delims=" %%x in (config.txt) do (set "%%x")
This utilizes a similar trick as before, namely just using set on each line. The quotes are there to escape things like <, >, &, |. However, they will themselves break when quotes are used in the input. Also you always need to be careful when further processing data in variables stored with such characters.
Generally, automatically escaping arbitrary input to cause no headaches or problems in batch files seems pretty impossible to me. At least I didn't find a way to do so yet. Of course, with the first solution you're pushing that responsibility to the one writing the config file.
If the external configuration file is also valid batch file, you can just use:
call externalconfig.bat
inside your script. Try creating following a.bat:
#echo off
call b.bat
echo %MYVAR%
and b.bat:
set MYVAR=test
Running a.bat should generate output:
test
Batch uses the less than and greater than brackets as input and output pipes.
>file.ext
Using only one output bracket like above will overwrite all the information in that file.
>>file.ext
Using the double right bracket will add the next line to the file.
(
echo
echo
)<file.ext
This will execute the parameters based on the lines of the file. In this case, we are using two lines that will be typed using "echo". The left bracket touching the right parenthesis bracket means that the information from that file will be piped into those lines.
I have compiled an example-only read/write file. Below is the file broken down into sections to explain what each part does.
#echo off
echo TEST R/W
set SRU=0
SRU can be anything in this example. We're actually setting it to prevent a crash if you press Enter too fast.
set /p SRU=Skip Save? (y):
if %SRU%==y goto read
set input=1
set input2=2
set /p input=INPUT:
set /p input2=INPUT2:
Now, we need to write the variables to a file.
(echo %input%)> settings.cdb
(echo %input2%)>> settings.cdb
pause
I use .cdb as a short form for "Command Database". You can use any extension.
The next section is to test the code from scratch. We don't want to use the set variables that were run at the beginning of the file, we actually want them to load FROM the settings.cdb we just wrote.
:read
(
set /p input=
set /p input2=
)<settings.cdb
So, we just piped the first two lines of information that you wrote at the beginning of the file (which you have the option to skip setting the lines to check to make sure it's working) to set the variables of input and input2.
echo %input%
echo %input2%
pause
if %input%==1 goto newecho
pause
exit
:newecho
echo If you can see this, good job!
pause
exit
This displays the information that was set while settings.cdb was piped into the parenthesis. As an extra good-job motivator, pressing enter and setting the default values which we set earlier as "1" will return a good job message.
Using the bracket pipes goes both ways, and is much easier than setting the "FOR" stuff. :)
So you just have to do this right?:
#echo off
echo text shizzle
echo.
echo pause^>nul (press enter)
pause>nul
REM writing to file
(
echo XD
echo LOL
)>settings.cdb
cls
REM setting the variables out of the file
(
set /p input=
set /p input2=
)<settings.cdb
cls
REM echo'ing the variables
echo variables:
echo %input%
echo %input2%
pause>nul
if %input%==XD goto newecho
DEL settings.cdb
exit
:newecho
cls
echo If you can see this, good job!
DEL settings.cdb
pause>nul
exit
:: savevars.bat
:: Use $ to prefix any important variable to save it for future runs.
#ECHO OFF
SETLOCAL
REM Load variables
IF EXIST config.txt FOR /F "delims=" %%A IN (config.txt) DO SET "%%A"
REM Change variables
IF NOT DEFINED $RunCount (
SET $RunCount=1
) ELSE SET /A $RunCount+=1
REM Display variables
SET $
REM Save variables
SET $>config.txt
ENDLOCAL
PAUSE
EXIT /B
Output:
$RunCount=1
$RunCount=2
$RunCount=3
The technique outlined above can also be used to share variables among multiple batch files.
Source: http://www.incodesystems.com/products/batchfi1.htm
Kinda old subject but I had same question a few days ago and I came up with another idea (maybe someone will still find it usefull)
For example you can make a config.bat with different subjects (family, size, color, animals) and apply them individually in any order anywhere you want in your batch scripts:
#echo off
rem Empty the variable to be ready for label config_all
set config_all_selected=
rem Go to the label with the parameter you selected
goto :config_%1
REM This next line is just to go to end of file
REM in case that the parameter %1 is not set
goto :end
REM next label is to jump here and get all variables to be set
:config_all
set config_all_selected=1
:config_family
set mother=Mary
set father=John
set sister=Anna
rem This next line is to skip going to end if config_all label was selected as parameter
if not "%config_all_selected%"=="1" goto :end
:config_test
set "test_parameter_all=2nd set: The 'all' parameter WAS used before this echo"
if not "%config_all_selected%"=="1" goto :end
:config_size
set width=20
set height=40
if not "%config_all_selected%"=="1" goto :end
:config_color
set first_color=blue
set second_color=green
if not "%config_all_selected%"=="1" goto :end
:config_animals
set dog=Max
set cat=Miau
if not "%config_all_selected%"=="1" goto :end
:end
After that, you can use it anywhere by calling fully with 'call config.bat all' or calling only parts of it (see example bellow)
The idea in here is that sometimes is more handy when you have the option not to call everything at once. Some variables maybe you don't want to be called yet so you can call them later.
Example test.bat
#echo off
rem This is added just to test the all parameter
set "test_parameter_all=1st set: The 'all' parameter was NOT used before this echo"
call config.bat size
echo My birthday present had a width of %width% and a height of %height%
call config.bat family
call config.bat animals
echo Yesterday %father% and %mother% surprised %sister% with a cat named %cat%
echo Her brother wanted the dog %dog%
rem This shows you if the 'all' parameter was or not used (just for testing)
echo %test_parameter_all%
call config.bat color
echo His lucky color is %first_color% even if %second_color% is also nice.
echo.
pause
Hope it helps the way others help me in here with their answers.
A short version of the above:
config.bat
#echo off
set config_all_selected=
goto :config_%1
goto :end
:config_all
set config_all_selected=1
:config_family
set mother=Mary
set father=John
set daughter=Anna
if not "%config_all_selected%"=="1" goto :end
:config_size
set width=20
set height=40
if not "%config_all_selected%"=="1" goto :end
:end
test.bat
#echo off
call config.bat size
echo My birthday present had a width of %width% and a height of %height%
call config.bat family
echo %father% and %mother% have a daughter named %daughter%
echo.
pause
Good day.
The best option according to me is to have key/value pairs file as it could be read from other scripting languages.
Other thing is I would prefer to have an option for comments in the values file - which can be easy achieved with eol option in for /f command.
Here's the example
values file:
;;;;;; file with example values ;;;;;;;;
;; Will be processed by a .bat file
;; ';' can be used for commenting a line
First_Value=value001
;;Do not let spaces arround the equal sign
;; As this makes the processing much easier
;; and reliable
Second_Value=%First_Value%_test
;;as call set will be used in reading script
;; refering another variables will be possible.
Third_Value=Something
;;; end
Reading script:
#echo off
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
set "VALUES_FILE=E:\scripts\example.values"
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
FOR /F "usebackq eol=; tokens=* delims=" %%# in (
"%VALUES_FILE%"
) do (
call set "%%#"
)
echo %First_Value% -- %Second_Value% -- %Third_Value%
While trying to use the method with excutable configuration
I noticed that it may work or may NOT work
depending on where in the script is located the call:
call config.cmd
I know it doesn't make any sens, but for me it's a fact.
When "call config.cmd" is located at the top of the
script, it works, but if further in the script it doesn't.
By doesn't work, I mean the variable are not set un the calling script.
Very very strange !!!!

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