Im making a small script but i reached a head scratch
I want the batch file to look for example.exe or Folder name in all drives then cd to it and create a txt file inside it? is that even possible :P?
cd /d D:
dir example.exe /s /p
lets say its found and the dir is D:/Example.exe
so i want the batch to do this,
if example.exe is found cd to it directory then
REM. >> "D:/logs.txt
is that possible? –
what do i put after "if exist" for the batch file to automatically switch to the found file directory
#echo on
cd /d D:
dir example.exe /s /p if exist (whether its in D:/Folder/folder or D:/Folder go to directory)
echo >test.txt
pause
Finally Solution by #Stephan best working answer
#echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
for /f "delims=:" %%a in ('wmic logicaldisk where "size>0" get caption^|find ":"') do (
for /f "delims=" %%A in ('dir /s /b %%a:\example.exe 2^>nul') do (
ECHO break>"%%~dpAtest.txt"
)
)
To catch the output of a command, use for.
dir /p does not make sense here (it's to pause if the output is longer than the screen). You want /b (bare format; filename only / drive/path/filename when used with /s).
%%~dpA gives drive:\path\ only.
break>filename to create an empty file (REM. does also work, but I prefer break)
#echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
for /f "delims=:" %%a in ('wmic logicaldisk where "size>0" get caption^|find ":"') do (
for /f "delims=" %%A in ('dir /s /b %%a:\example.exe 2^>nul') do (
ECHO break>"%%~dpAtest.txt"
)
)
this puts an empty test.txt to every folder in every available drive where there is an example.exe. If there already should be a test.txt, it gets overwritten by an empty file.
NOTE: this only echoes the break command to the screen (for security reason). If the output is like you want it, remove the ECHO.
Updated answer, since I got your question after this update:
In order to process all the files you found:
FOR /F "delims=#" %%f IN ('dir example.exe /s /b ') DO (
echo example.exe was found at path %%~pf
)
Now you can modify your ECHO statement:
ECHO some text > C:\logs.txt
If you want to append to the file instead of replacing, you have to use two brackets:
ECHO some text >> C:\logs.txt
You can enter a path after > . You don't need to CD before.
You can also use the variable for CD:
cd %%~pf
If you want some other part of %%f, you can do FOR /? on your command line or see the reference
How can I iterate over each file in a directory using a for loop?
And how could I tell if a certain entry is a directory or if it's just a file?
This lists all the files (and only the files) in the current directory and its subdirectories recursively:
for /r %i in (*) do echo %i
Also if you run that command in a batch file you need to double the % signs.
for /r %%i in (*) do echo %%i
(thanks #agnul)
Iterate through...
...files in current dir: for %f in (.\*) do #echo %f
...subdirs in current dir: for /D %s in (.\*) do #echo %s
...files in current and all subdirs: for /R %f in (.\*) do #echo %f
...subdirs in current and all subdirs: for /R /D %s in (.\*) do #echo %s
Unfortunately I did not find any way to iterate over files and subdirs at the same time.
Just use cygwin with its bash for much more functionality.
Apart from this: Did you notice, that the buildin help of MS Windows is a great resource for descriptions of cmd's command line syntax?
Also have a look here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490890.aspx
To iterate over each file a for loop will work:
for %%f in (directory\path\*) do ( something_here )
In my case I also wanted the file content, name, etc.
This lead to a few issues and I thought my use case might help. Here is a loop that reads info from each '.txt' file in a directory and allows you do do something with it (setx for instance).
#ECHO OFF
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
for %%f in (directory\path\*.txt) do (
set /p val=<%%f
echo "fullname: %%f"
echo "name: %%~nf"
echo "contents: !val!"
)
*Limitation: val<=%%f will only get the first line of the file.
There is a subtle difference between running FOR from the command line and from a batch file. In a batch file, you need to put two % characters in front of each variable reference.
From a command line:
FOR %i IN (*) DO ECHO %i
From a batch file:
FOR %%i IN (*) DO ECHO %%i
This for-loop will list all files in a directory.
pushd somedir
for /f "delims=" %%f in ('dir /b /a-d-h-s') do echo %%f
popd
"delims=" is useful to show long filenames with spaces in it....
'/b" show only names, not size dates etc..
Some things to know about dir's /a argument.
Any use of "/a" would list everything, including hidden and system attributes.
"/ad" would only show subdirectories, including hidden and system ones.
"/a-d" argument eliminates content with 'D'irectory attribute.
"/a-d-h-s" will show everything, but entries with 'D'irectory, 'H'idden 'S'ystem attribute.
If you use this on the commandline, remove a "%".
Hope this helps.
%1 refers to the first argument passed in and can't be used in an iterator.
Try this:
#echo off
for %%i in (*.*) do echo %%i
I had trouble getting jop's answer to work with an absolute path until I found this reference: https://ss64.com/nt/for_r.html
The following example loops through all files in a directory given by the absolute path.
For /R C:\absoulte\path\ %%G IN (*.*) do (
Echo %%G
)
Here's my go with comments in the code.
I'm just brushing up by biatch skills so forgive any blatant errors.
I tried to write an all in one solution as best I can with a little modification where the user requires it.
Some important notes: Just change the variable recursive to FALSE if you only want the root directories files and folders processed. Otherwise, it goes through all folders and files.
C&C most welcome...
#echo off
title %~nx0
chcp 65001 >NUL
set "dir=c:\users\%username%\desktop"
::
:: Recursive Loop routine - First Written by Ste on - 2020.01.24 - Rev 1
::
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
rem THIS IS A RECURSIVE SOLUTION [ALBEIT IF YOU CHANGE THE RECURSIVE TO FALSE, NO]
rem By removing the /s switch from the first loop if you want to loop through
rem the base folder only.
set recursive=TRUE
if %recursive% equ TRUE ( set recursive=/s ) else ( set recursive= )
endlocal & set recursive=%recursive%
cd /d %dir%
echo Directory %cd%
for %%F in ("*") do (echo → %%F) %= Loop through the current directory. =%
for /f "delims==" %%D in ('dir "%dir%" /ad /b %recursive%') do ( %= Loop through the sub-directories only if the recursive variable is TRUE. =%
echo Directory %%D
echo %recursive% | find "/s" >NUL 2>NUL && (
pushd %%D
cd /d %%D
for /f "delims==" %%F in ('dir "*" /b') do ( %= Then loop through each pushd' folder and work on the files and folders =%
echo %%~aF | find /v "d" >NUL 2>NUL && ( %= This will weed out the directories by checking their attributes for the lack of 'd' with the /v switch therefore you can now work on the files only. =%
rem You can do stuff to your files here.
rem Below are some examples of the info you can get by expanding the %%F variable.
rem Uncomment one at a time to see the results.
echo → %%~F &rem expands %%F removing any surrounding quotes (")
rem echo → %%~dF &rem expands %%F to a drive letter only
rem echo → %%~fF &rem expands %%F to a fully qualified path name
rem echo → %%~pF &rem expands %%A to a path only
rem echo → %%~nF &rem expands %%F to a file name only
rem echo → %%~xF &rem expands %%F to a file extension only
rem echo → %%~sF &rem expanded path contains short names only
rem echo → %%~aF &rem expands %%F to file attributes of file
rem echo → %%~tF &rem expands %%F to date/time of file
rem echo → %%~zF &rem expands %%F to size of file
rem echo → %%~dpF &rem expands %%F to a drive letter and path only
rem echo → %%~nxF &rem expands %%F to a file name and extension only
rem echo → %%~fsF &rem expands %%F to a full path name with short names only
rem echo → %%~dp$dir:F &rem searches the directories listed in the 'dir' environment variable and expands %%F to the fully qualified name of the first one found. If the environment variable name is not defined or the file is not found by the search, then this modifier expands to the empty string
rem echo → %%~ftzaF &rem expands %%F to a DIR like output line
)
)
popd
)
)
echo/ & pause & cls
To iterate through all files and folders you can use
for /F "delims=" %%a in ('dir /b /s') do echo %%a
To iterate through all folders only not with files, then you can use
for /F "delims=" %%a in ('dir /a:d /b /s') do echo %%a
Where /s will give all results throughout the directory tree in unlimited depth. You can skip /s if you want to iterate through the content of that folder not their sub folder
Implementing search in iteration
To iterate through a particular named files and folders you can search for the name and iterate using for loop
for /F "delims=" %%a in ('dir "file or folder name" /b /s') do echo %%a
To iterate through a particular named folders/directories and not files, then use /AD in the same command
for /F "delims=" %%a in ('dir "folder name" /b /AD /s') do echo %%a
for %1 in (*.*) do echo %1
Try "HELP FOR" in cmd for a full guide
This is the guide for XP commands. http://www.ss64.com/nt/
The following code creates a file Named "AllFilesInCurrentDirectorylist.txt" in the current Directory, which contains the list of all files (Only Files) in the current Directory. Check it out
dir /b /a-d > AllFilesInCurrentDirectorylist.txt
It could also use the forfiles command:
forfiles /s
and also check if it is a directory
forfiles /p c:\ /s /m *.* /c "cmd /c if #isdir==true echo #file is a directory"
I would use vbscript (Windows Scripting Host), because in batch I'm sure you cannot tell that a name is a file or a directory.
In vbs, it can be something like this:
Dim fileSystemObject
Set fileSystemObject = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Dim mainFolder
Set mainFolder = fileSystemObject.GetFolder(myFolder)
Dim files
Set files = mainFolder.Files
For Each file in files
...
Next
Dim subFolders
Set subFolders = mainFolder.SubFolders
For Each folder in subFolders
...
Next
Check FileSystemObject on MSDN.
I use the xcopy command with the /L option to get the file names. So if you want to get either a directory or all the files in the subdirectory you could do something like this:
for /f "delims=" %%a IN ('xcopy "D:\*.pdf" c:\ /l') do echo %%a
I just use the c:\ as the destination because it always exists on windows systems and it is not copying so it does not matter. if you want the subdirectories too just use /s option on the end. You can also use the other switches of xcopy if you need them for other reasons.
Try this to test if a file is a directory:
FOR /F "delims=" %I IN ('DIR /B /AD "filename" 2^>^&1 ^>NUL') DO IF "%I" == "File Not Found" ECHO Not a directory
This only will tell you whether a file is NOT a directory, which will also be true if the file doesn't exist, so be sure to check for that first if you need to. The carets (^) are used to escape the redirect symbols and the file listing output is redirected to NUL to prevent it from being displayed, while the DIR listing's error output is redirected to the output so you can test against DIR's message "File Not Found".
try this:
::Example directory
set SetupDir=C:\Users
::Loop in the folder with "/r" to search in recursive folders, %%f being a loop ::variable
for /r "%SetupDir%" %%f in (*.msi *.exe) do set /a counter+=1
echo there are %counter% files in your folder
it counts .msi and .exe files in your directory (and in the sub directory). So it also makes the difference between folders and files as executables.
Just add an extension (.pptx .docx ..) if you need to filter other files in the loop
In my case I had to delete all the files and folders underneath a temp folder. So this is how I ended up doing it. I had to run two loops one for file and one for folders. If files or folders have spaces in their names then you have to use " "
cd %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp\
rem files only
for /r %%a in (*) do (
echo deleting file "%%a" ...
if exist "%%a" del /s /q "%%a"
)
rem folders only
for /D %%a in (*) do (
echo deleting folder "%%a" ...
if exist "%%a" rmdir /s /q "%%a"
)
To list full pathnames of files in specified path I may use:
FOR /F "tokens=*" %G IN ('DIR /B "path\*.*"') DO echo %~fG
WRONG result: <current_directory>\*.*
ss64.com says: "If a filename with no drive letter/path is expanded to display a drive letter/path the command shell will assume; often incorrectly; that the file resides in the current directory."
This is quite a silly behaviour. However this is probably the problem as DIR here returns a bare filename.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO AVOID SUCH MISTAKE?
As it is very easy to make.
I know I can use /S option in DIR command, which makes the result be a full pathname but it also goes through subfolders which is undesired.
Using following syntax everything goes fine but I can't use the advantages of DIR command:
FOR %G IN ("path\*.*") DO echo %~fG
result: <path>\*.*
Do you have any tips or tricks how to work with DIR and full paths?
The environment variable CD contains at any time the path of current directory always without backslash at the end.
So you can use for your example:
#echo off
set "DirectoryPath=%CD%\path"
for /F "tokens=*" %%G in ('dir /B "path\*.*"') do echo %DirectoryPath%\%%G
Therefore whenever using DIR with bare output format without using also /S, it is necessary to determine first the directory path and reference this path within body of FOR loop.
Example on using fixed absolute paths:
#echo off
for /F "tokens=*" %%G in ('dir /B "C:\Temp\My Folder\*.*"') do echo C:\Temp\My Folder\%%G
Don't forget the double quotes with path or file name containing a space on other commands than echo!
How about using FORFILES? This will give you the full path for any desired folder:
forfiles /p C:\Some\Directory\ /c "cmd /c echo #path"
FORFILES is really mighty as it povides lots of options such as filters, rucursion into subfolders, etc. For more info check this website.
If you really need to use the dir command
#echo off
setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
set _subdir=path
set _mask=*.*
call :get_absolute_path _prefix "%CD%\%_subdir%"
rem Iterate through a list of files, including files in subdirectories
for /f "tokens=*" %%A in ('dir /b /s /a:-d "%_prefix%\%_mask%"') do (
rem The current full file path
set _f=%%A
rem Cut the "%CD%\%_subdir%\" prefix from the current file path
set _f=!_f:%_prefix%\=!
rem Test whether the relative file path has a "subdir\" prefix:
rem split the relative file path by "\" delimiter and
rem pass %%B and %%C tokens (subdir and the remainder) to the loop
for /f "delims=\ tokens=1*" %%B in ("!_f!") do (
rem If the remainder is empty string then print the full file path
if "%%C"=="" echo %%A
)
)
endlocal
exit /b 0
:get_absolute_path
set %1=%~f2
exit /b 0
I need help with a script that first finds all files in a directory with a certain string, then uses the filenames in a variable to be used in a script.
So:
Find files and filenames
Saves file?
Start some kind of loop? that changes a variable then executes the
belonging script
Repeat till all filenames have been used.
My code here..
#Echo off
For /r C:\work %%G In (*) Do #Findstr /M /S "string" > filenames.txt %%G
Set Var1=0
For %%G In (*) Do (
Var1=<filenames.txt (???)
script
script
I haven't writen "script" myself and friend help me with it, if you would like to see it do you need to wait until I can get to my other computer at home.
Thanks on beforehand!
Find files and filenames
Saves file
set "search=what I want to find"
(for /f "delims=" %%a in ('dir /a-d /b /s "C:\work" ^| findstr "%search%"') do echo (%%~fa)>filenames.txt
Start some kind of loop? that changes a variable then executes the belonging script
Repeat till all filenames have been used.
for /f "delims=" %%a in (filenames.txt) do (
REM here do something inside the loop
REM until all file names from filenames.txt were processed
)
This is designed to find files in c:\work that match a string, and echo the filenames.
#echo off
cd /d "c:\work"
for %%a in ("*string*") do (
echo "%%a"
)
For example, I will supply a filename and I want the script to search the computer for this file and return the path to a variable. Psuedo call is:
Set pathToMyFile = SomeSearchFunction(myFileToSearchFor.ext)
Thanks
dir /b /s "c:\myFileToSearchFor.ext" will list every occurance of the file within the C: drive, including the full path information.
The file could exist in multiple locations.
This batch command will set a variable to the last found location:
for /f "delims=" %%F in ('dir /b /s "c:\myFileToSearchFor.ext"') do set "pathToMyFile=%%~dpF"
This batch script will set a variable to the first found location:
for /f "delims=" %%F in ('dir /b /s "c:\myFileToSearchFor.ext"') do (
set "pathToMyFile=%%~dpF"
goto :foundIt
)
:foundIt
There is no function/program that I know of that performs this. If you need efficiency you could write a program that does a fancy tree search through all the directories. I did however find a solution in batch!
#echo off
for /r "C:\somebasepath" %%i in (*) do (
if "%%~nxi" EQU "%1" (
echo %%i
break
)
)
Passing the file to be found as the first argument to the batch file. But this is very very slow if its in a deep directory.