I have a string which ends with \.. All I want is the string before \.
Ex.:
My String is: D:\Work\WelCome\.
Output String should be: D:\Work\WelCome
Please excuse if you find this question very general. I have search on net of splitting string by special characters but did not get the expected result.
I am not very new to batch scripting but not enough expert.
Being a file/folder path, it is easier to let the os solve it for you than having to split the string (if you only need the left part)
for %%a in ("D:\Work\WelCome\.") do echo %%~fa
In the theoretical case that the ending dot could include aditional data (but no more backslashes), this can be converted to
rem The string with more data
set "myString=D:\Work\WelCome\.blah"
for %%a in ("%myString%.#\..") do echo %%~fa
The aditional # ensures that there is always aditional information (that way the previous dot ending case will still work), the for command will see a file reference and we just need to get the reference to the parent folder.
But note this is only a way to clean a file/folder reference, not a way to split the string on an precise character.
For an easy solution to split the string (or to be more precise, remove the suffix)
#echo off
setlocal enableextensions disabledelayedexpansion
rem The string
set "myString=D:\Work\WelCome\.test"
rem Do the split
set "myString=%myString:\.="&rem %"
set "myString=%myString%"
rem Show data
echo %myString%
It replaces the splitting substring with a command concatenation and a comment start (rem). So
set "myString=D:\Work\WelCome\.test"
is converted into
set "myString=D:\Work\WelCome"& rem test"
This way, in the next line, when the variable is assigned to itself, the unneeded part will be removed (hidden by the rem).
I have tested this code and it works:
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set p=D:\Work\WelCome\.
set v=
:: v is the output
for %%a in (%p:.= %) do (
set "v=!v!.%%~a"
set q=%%~a
if "!q:~-1!"=="\" goto :end
)
:end
set v=%v:~1%
set v=%V:~0,-1%
echo %v%
Here are cases I used:
C:\> split.bat C:\1\2\3\.
C:\1\2\3
C:\> split.bat C:\1\2\3\.4\5\
C:\1\2\3
C:\> split.bat C:\1\2\3\.4\5\.6\7\8
C:\1\2\3
C:\> split.bat C:\1\2.\ .3.\...4\.5
C:\1\2.\ .3.
C:\> split.bat C:\.1\2\3\4\5\6\7\8\9\
C:
Which is what you were looking for. If you want to do more with the variable then just echo it simply refer to %v% following that line.
#ECHO OFF
SETLOCAL
SET "string=D:\Work\WelCome\."
:: Classic solution if the string is in an environment variable
ECHO %string:~0,-2%
:: solution if the string is in a metavariable
FOR %%z IN ("%string%") DO ECHO %%z becomes %%~dpnz
GOTO :EOF
which should be self-explanatory.
Related
I'm trying to remove an asterisk from an environmental variable string, but can't seem to do it.
I'm creating an m3u file based around search strings, so for instance I if I want to make an m3u file containing every song with the word love in it, I would enter:
m3u *Love*
And m3u.bat would create the file:
xLovex.m3u
But the regular method of replacing characters does not work with an asterisk. (Though I don't have that problem with the question mark.)
set nam=%nam:*=x%.m3u
Instead creates the filename
x.m3u
The easy answer is no.
The problem that you're encountering stems from the fact that the asterisk * is a special character when used with the SET search and replace method. It matches multiple characters in a limited, but still useful, way. You can learn about that here.
The hard answer is Yes!
I will provide you with two solutions. One an incomplete solution but elegent,
the other complete and inelegent.
Both methods will search for * and replace it with an x.
Both methods will both search and modify the following string:
*love*
The first method that comes to mind is using a 'FOR /L' statement, and requires that you know how many characters long the environmental variable is.
::Major Edit::
I thought I knew the various maximum size strings of environmental variables, but dbenham has taken me to school, shown me a kick-in-the-behind length function, and in the mean time completely reversed my opinions of the two solutions I'm presenting.
Other than for the Windows 95/98/ME limitation of a 256 Character maximum environmental variable size. It seems that all versions of Windows using CMD.EXE have a limitation of 8,192 characters, well below what the documentation suggests.
Both versions require delayed environmental variable expansion, but for two different reasons. One because I'm operating inside a FOR statement. The other because you cannot put a % pair inside another % pair because the command processor matches the second % that it encounters to the first one it encounters, but we need to use a variable inside another variable expression. (You'll see.)
This solution uses the strLen function (in line 3) from DosTips.com that can be found Here. Just slap it into a file called strLen.bat and be amazed at it's speed!
Solution 1: (FOR /L Solution) :: Preferred Solution ::
setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
set nam=*love*
rem calling strLen
call :strLen nam len
for /l %%x in (0,1,%len%) do if not "!nam:~%%x,1!"=="" if "!nam:~%%x,1!"=="*" (
set /a plusone=%%x+1
for /l %%y in (!plusone!, 1, !plusone!) do (
set nam=!nam:~0,%%x!x!nam:~%%y!
)
)
echo %nam%
ENDLOCAL
I think this is a quick and elegant solution It could be sped up by adding the contents of strLen.bat to the routine, but I wanted no confusion as to the author.
If you, for some reason, do not wish to use strLen, then the next quickest method would probably use a GOTO loop.
Solution 2: (Goto Solution)
setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
set nam=*love*
set num=0
:loop
set /a plusone=%num%+1
if "!nam:~%num%,1!"=="*" set nam=!nam:~0,%num%!x!nam:~%plusone%!
set /a num=%num%+1
if not "!nam:~%num%,1!"=="" goto :loop
echo %nam%
EndLocal
Special thanks to dbenham for pointing out the strLen function. It works faster than any batch based function has a right to!
Although there were already some very good and robust ways explained here, I'd still like to add another option for the sake of completion.
It's not as good as the other options but I personally use it in some cases where I'd like to keep the code clean and where I know that it will suffice:
The way it works is by using for /f's delims to cut the string into two parts, which are then put back together, getting rid of the * in the process:
for /f "tokens=1,* delims=*" %%a in ("a*b") do (set string=%%a%%b)
>>> string=ab
Obviously, the downside to this is that it can only be used to remove one *.
To remove more, we can either just use more tokens...
for /f "tokens=1-3,* delims=*" %%a in ("a*b*c*d") do (set string=%%a%%b%%c%%d)
>>> string=abcd
... or we can put the first line in a for /l-loop:
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
set string=a*b*c*d
for /l %%a in (1, 1, 3) do (
for /f "tokens=1,* delims=*" %%b in ("!string!") do (set string=%%b%%c)
)
>>> string=abcd
Another thing to note is that you can define more than one character in delims, and they will all be removed at once:
for /f "tokens=1,* delims=+-*/" %%a in ("a*-/+b") do (set string=%%a%%b)
>>> string=ab
Another solution to the stated problem is to use a PowerShell replace command within your batch script.
set var=*Love*
echo %var%>var.txt | powershell -command "((get-content var.txt) -replace '[\x2A]','x') -replace '.{1}$' | set-content var.txt"
set /p var=<var.txt
set var=%var%.m3u
echo %var%
In the above code, the second line
writes your string into a text file
calls a PowerShell command to get the contents of that file
replaces the * character with null
overwrites the text file with the new value
Once that is done, you read the value back into your variable.
To further explain the replace command, the first single quotes is what you are searching for. We are using square brackets to identify the * character as a hex character (\x2A is the hex value for *). After the comma, the second set of single quotes contains no value so that the searched object is removed. To prevent a space between xLovex and the .m3u, we have to use -replace '.{1}$' before writing the result to the text file.
Once you are done with the text file, enter a line to delete it.
if exist var.txt del var.txt
Here is an approach that does not walk through all characters of a string, but it uses a for /F loop to split the string at every occurrence of a (sequence of a) certain character. The actual functionality is packed into a sub-routine for easy reuse, so the main section of the following script just contains some code to test:
#echo off
setlocal EnableExtensions DisableDelayedExpansion
::This is the main routine of the script holding code for test and demonstration:
rem // Definition of some sample text to test (note that `%%` becomes one literal `%`):
set "DATA=some text,"^&"&;0'#%%~#`$:wild**card*?.re<dir>=|+([{parens}])-^/equal==to=!_"
echo/
call :REPL_CHAR TEXT DATA "*" "?"
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
echo(In: !DATA!
echo(Out:!TEXT!
echo/
echo(In: !TEXT!
call :REPL_CHAR TEXT TEXT "=" "/"
echo(Out:!TEXT!
endlocal
endlocal
exit /B
:REPL_CHAR
::This function replaces in a string every occurrence of a sequence of a certain character
::by another character or a string. It even correctly handles the characters `*` and `=`.
:: USAGE:
:: call :REPL_CHAR ref_output_string ref_input_string val_search_char val_replace_char
:: PARAMETERS:
:: ref_output_string reference to (name of) variable to receive the resulting string;
:: ref_input_string reference to variable that holds the original string; if empty
:: (`""`), the variable referenced by `ref_output_string` is used;
:: val_search_char single character that is to be replaced;
:: val_replace_char character or string to replace every sequence of `val_search_char`
:: with; this may even be empty;
rem // Localise environment and detect whether delayed expansion is enabled (needed later):
setlocal & set "$NDX=!"
setlocal DisableDelayedExpansion
rem // Fetch arguments and verify them:
set "#RET=%~1" & if not defined #RET endlocal & endlocal & exit /B 2
set "#STR=%~2" & if not defined #STR set "#STR=%#RET%"
set "CHR=%~3"
if not defined CHR endlocal & endlocal & exit /B 1
set "RPL=%~4"
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
rem // Initialise several auxiliary variables:
set "TST=!%#STR%!" & set "CHR=!CHR:~,1!" & set "INS="
if "!CHR!"=="_" (set "BUF=#" & set "WRK=!TST!#") else (set "BUF=_" & set "WRK=!TST!_")
:REPL_CHAR_LOOP
rem // Check whether the end of the string has been reached:
if not defined TST set "BUF=!BUF:~1,-1!" & goto :REPL_CHAR_NEXT
rem // Split the string at the next sequence of search characters:
for /F tokens^=1*^ delims^=^%CHR%^ eol^=^%CHR% %%S in ("!BUF!!INS!!WRK!") do (
rem // Store the portions before and after the character sequence:
endlocal & set "BUF=%%S" & set "TST=%%T" & set "WRK=%%T" & setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
)
rem // Loop back and find the next character sequence:
set "INS=!RPL!" & goto :REPL_CHAR_LOOP
:REPL_CHAR_NEXT
rem // Return the resulting string with all special characters properly handled:
if not defined $NDX if defined BUF set "BUF=!BUF:"=""!^"
if not defined $NDX if defined BUF set "BUF=!BUF:^=^^^^!"
if not defined $NDX if defined BUF set "BUF=%BUF:!=^^^!%" !
if not defined $NDX if defined BUF set "BUF=!BUF:""="!^"
for /F "delims=" %%S in (^""!BUF!"^") do endlocal & endlocal & endlocal & set "%#RET%=%%~S" !
exit /B
The input and output data of this script (let us call it repl_char_demo.bat) are:
>>> repl_char_demo.bat
In: some text,"&"&;0'#%~#`$:wild**card*?.re<dir>=|+([{parens}])-^/equal==to=!_
Out:some text,"&"&;0'#%~#`$:wild?card??.re<dir>=|+([{parens}])-^/equal==to=!_
In: some text,"&"&;0'#%~#`$:wild?card??.re<dir>=|+([{parens}])-^/equal==to=!_
Out:some text,"&"&;0'#%~#`$:wild?card??.re<dir>/|+([{parens}])-^/equal/to/!_
This is a script that uses for /L loops to walk through all characters of the string, to check each character against a predefined one and replaces it as specified. This method replaces every single matching character rather than sequences. Again the functionality is put into a sub-routine (the main section is dismissed this time):
:REPL_CHAR
::This function replaces in a string every occurrence of one certain character by another
::character or a string. It even correctly handles the characters `*` and `=`, as well as
::sequences of search characters so that every single one becomes replaced.
:: USAGE:
:: call :REPL_CHAR ref_output_string ref_input_string val_search_char val_replace_char
:: PARAMETERS:
:: ref_output_string reference to (name of) variable to receive the resulting string;
:: ref_input_string reference to variable that holds the original string; if empty
:: (`""`), the variable referenced by `ref_output_string` is used;
:: val_search_char single character that is to be replaced;
:: val_replace_char character or string to replace every single `val_search_char`
:: with; this may even be empty;
rem // Localise environment and detect whether delayed expansion is enabled (needed later):
setlocal & set "$NDX=!"
setlocal DisableDelayedExpansion
rem // Fetch arguments and verify them:
set "#RET=%~1" & if not defined #RET endlocal & endlocal & exit /B 2
set "#STR=%~2" & if not defined #STR set "#STR=%#RET%"
set "CHR=%~3"
if not defined CHR endlocal & endlocal & exit /B 1
set "RPL=%~4"
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
rem // Initialise several auxiliary variables:
set "WRK=!%#STR%!" & set "CHR=!CHR:~,1!" & set "BUF="
rem // Loop through all characters and check for match:
if defined WRK for /L %%J in (0,1,63) do for /L %%I in (0,1,127) do (
set /A "POS=%%J*64+%%I" & for %%P in (!POS!) do (
set "TST=!WRK:~%%P,1!" & if not defined TST goto :REPL_CHAR_QUIT
rem // Store character or replacement depending on whether there is a match:
if "!TST!"=="!CHR!" (set "BUF=!BUF!!RPL!") else (set "BUF=!BUF!!TST!")
)
)
:REPL_CHAR_QUIT
rem // Return the resulting string with all special characters properly handled:
if not defined $NDX if defined BUF set "BUF=!BUF:"=""!^"
if not defined $NDX if defined BUF set "BUF=!BUF:^=^^^^!"
if not defined $NDX if defined BUF set "BUF=%BUF:!=^^^!%" !
if not defined $NDX if defined BUF set "BUF=!BUF:""="!^"
for /F "delims=" %%S in (^""!BUF!"^") do endlocal & endlocal & endlocal & set "%#RET%=%%~S" !
exit /B
There are actually two nested for /L loops rather than a single one, both of which become broken as soon as the end of the string is reached, using the goto command. Breaking a for /L loop means that it completes iterating in the background although its body is no longer executed. Therefore, using a single loop takes much more time to finish after being broken rather than two nested ones.
The input and output data of this script (with the same main section as above) are:
>>> repl_char_demo.bat
In: some text,"&"&;0'#%~#`$:wild**card*?.re<dir>=|+([{parens}])-^/equal==to=!_
Out:some text,"&"&;0'#%~#`$:wild??card??.re<dir>=|+([{parens}])-^/equal==to=!_
In: some text,"&"&;0'#%~#`$:wild??card??.re<dir>=|+([{parens}])-^/equal==to=!_
Out:some text,"&"&;0'#%~#`$:wild??card??.re<dir>/|+([{parens}])-^/equal//to/!_
See this answer, and with set-ast.bat you'll want to put set-ast nam "x" in your file where needed.
set-ast takes the parameters <variable-to-modify> <string-to-replace-asterisks-with>
This question already has answers here:
Arrays, linked lists and other data structures in cmd.exe (batch) script
(11 answers)
Closed 3 years ago.
I have a list of paths from which I want to extract folder name
I wrote:
#echo off
set paths[0]="C:\p\test1"
set paths[1]="C:\p\test2"
set paths[2]="C:\p\test3"
(for %%p in (%paths%) do (
for %%F in (%%p) do echo Processing %%~nxF
))
but seems that nothing is shown.
I expected to see:
Processing test1
Processing test2
Processing test3
It makes a big difference if first " is specified on a set command line left to variable name or left to variable value. In most cases it is better to specify it left to the variable name, especially if a variable value holding a path should be concatenated later with a file name to a full qualified file name.
See also: Why is no string output with 'echo %var%' after using 'set var = text' on command line?
The solution for this task is:
#echo off
set "paths[0]=C:\p\test1"
set "paths[1]=C:\p\test2"
set "paths[2]=C:\p\test3"
for /F "tokens=1* delims==" %%I in ('set paths[ 2^>nul') do echo Processing %%~nxJ
The command FOR with option /F and a set enclosed in ' results in starting one more command process running in background with %ComSpec% /c and the command line specified between the two ' appended as further arguments. So executed is in this case with Windows installed to C:\Windows:
C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c set paths[ 2>nul
The command SET outputs all environment variables of which name starts with paths[ line by line using the format VariableName=VariableValue to handle STDOUT of started background command process.
It could be that there is no environment variable of which name starts with paths[ which would result in an error message output to handle STDERR by command SET which would be redirected from background command process to handle STDERR of the command process which is processing the batch file and for that reason would be displayed in console window. For that reason a possible error message is redirected by the background command process to device NUL to suppress it with using 2>nul.
Read the Microsoft article about Using command redirection operators for an explanation of 2>nul. The redirection operator > must be escaped with caret character ^ on FOR command line to be interpreted as literal character when Windows command interpreter processes this command line before executing command FOR which executes the embedded set command line with using a separate command process started in background.
FOR captures in this case everything written to handle STDOUT of started background command process and process this output line by line after started cmd.exe terminated itself.
Empty lines are ignored by FOR which does not matter here as there are no empty lines to process.
FOR would split up a non-empty line into substrings using normal space and horizontal tab as string delimiters and would assign just first space/tab separated string to specified loop variable, if it does not start with default end of line character ;. This default line splitting behavior is not wanted here. For that reason the option delims== defines the equal sign as string delimiter.
The option tokens=1* instructs FOR to assign in this case the variable name to specified loop variable I and assign everything after the equal sign(s) after variable name without any further string splitting on equal signs to next loop variable according to ASCII table which is in this case J. That is the reason why loop variables are interpreted case-sensitive while environment variables are handled case-insensitive by the Windows command processor.
In this case only the variable value is of interest in the body of the FOR loop. For that reason just loop variable J is used on ECHO command line while I is not used at all.
The modifier %~nxJ results in removing surrounding double quotes from string value assigned to loop variable J and next get the string after last backslash or beginning of string in case of the string value does not contain a backslash at all. This is the name of the last folder in folder path string.
For understanding the used commands and how they work, open a command prompt window, execute there the following commands, and read entirely all help pages displayed for each command very carefully.
echo /?
for /?
set /?
UPDATE:
There is a big advantage of this solution in comparison to the other two solutions posted up to now here:
There is not used delayed environment variable expansion which is always problematic on working with file or folder names on not being 100% sure that no folder and no file contains ever an exclamation mark in its name.
Let us compare the three solutions with unusual folder names containing !.
#echo off
rem Make sure there is no environment variable defined of which name starts with
rem paths[ as suggested by Compo which is a very valuable addition on my code.
for /F "delims==" %%I in ('set paths[ 2^>nul') do set "%%I="
set "paths[0]=C:\p\test1!"
set "paths[1]=C:\p\!test2"
set "paths[2]=C:\p\!test!3"
echo/
echo Results of solution 1:
echo/
for /F "tokens=1* delims==" %%I in ('set paths[ 2^>nul') do echo Processing %%~nxJ
echo/
echo Results of solution 2:
echo/
SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion
for /L %%i in (0,1,2) do (
for %%j in (!paths[%%i]!) do echo Processing %%~nxj
)
endLocal
echo/
echo Results of solution 3:
echo/
Setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
Call :process paths "!paths[0]!" "!paths[1]!" "!paths[2]!"
Endlocal
echo/
pause
goto :EOF
:process
Set P_C=0
Set /a P_C-=1
For %%a in (%*) DO (
CALL :populate %1 "%%~a"
)
Set /a P_C-=1
For /L %%b in (0,1,!P_C!) DO (
ECHO Processing %1[%%b] = "!%1[%%b]!"
)
GOTO :EOF
:populate
Set "%1[!P_C!]=%~2"
Set /a P_C+=1
GOTO :EOF
The output on running this batch file is:
Results of solution 1:
Processing test1!
Processing !test2
Processing !test!3
Results of solution 2:
Processing test1
Processing test2
Processing 3
Results of solution 3:
Processing paths[0] = "C:\p\test1\p\\p\3"
Solution 1 as posted here works for all three folder names correct.
Solution 2 omits for first and second folder name the exclamation mark which will most likely cause errors on further processing. The third folder name is modified to something completely different. Enabled delayed expansion results in parsing a second time echo Processing %%~nxj after %~nxj being replaced by !test!3 with interpreting test in folder name now as environment variable name of which value is referenced delayed. There was no environment variable test defined on running this batch file and so !test!3 became just 3 before echo was executed by Windows command processor.
Solution 3 produces garbage on any folder name contains an exclamation mark, even on full qualified folder name defined before enabling delayed expansion and referenced with delayed expansion on calling the subroutine process.
Well, folder and file names with an exclamation mark in name are fortunately rare which makes the usage of delayed expansion usually no problem. But I want to mention here nevertheless the potential problems which could occur on any folder name containing one or more !.
Something like that should work :
#echo off
set paths[0]="C:\p\test1"
set paths[1]="C:\p\test2"
set paths[2]="C:\p\test3"
SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion
for /L %%i in (0,1,2) do (
for %%j in (!paths[%%i]!) do echo Processing %%~nxj
)
pause
Define the Array within the function.
This approach can be used to define multiplay Arrays.
#ECHO OFF
Setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
:: REM P_C is used to define the range of the Array. The -1 operations on P_C is to shift the paths parameter out of the Arrays working Index.
::REM the first parameter passed is used as the Arrays Name. all other parameters are assigned to index values 0 +
Call :process paths "C:\p\test1" "C:\p\test2" "C:\p\test3"
pause
:process
Set P_C=0
Set /a P_C-=1
For %%a in (%*) DO (
CALL :populate %1 "%%~a"
)
Set /a P_C-=1
For /L %%b in (0,1,!P_C!) DO (
ECHO Processing %1[%%b] = "!%1[%%b]!"
)
GOTO :EOF
:populate
Set "%1[!P_C!]=%~2"
Set /a P_C+=1
GOTO :EOF
I am trying to extract values for test_count, test_fail_count, test_pass_count from an XML file. This XML file has just one very long line:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><ROOT test_count="22" test_fail_count="1" test_pass_count="21".......</ROOT>
Magoo helped me with the script, see his answer on my previous question
How to match strings from an XML file using batch and assign to variable?
This script worked initially. But when I incorporated this into my larger overall script, it failed. And I have not been able getting this script working again as expected since making this modification.
Any thoughts on how to debug this?
#ECHO Off
SETLOCAL
SET "sourcedir=U:\sourcedir"
SET "filename1=%sourcedir%\Report.xml"
SET "testcount="
SET "testfailcount="
echo forloop
FOR /f "usebackqdelims= " %%a IN ("%filename1%") DO (
SET "xmlline=%%a"
CALL :process
)
ECHO test count=%testcount% test fail count=%testfailcount%
GOTO :EOF
:process
echo in process
:: dispose of awkward characters
SET "xmlline=%xmlline:?= %"
SET "xmlline=%xmlline:>= %"
SET "xmlline=%xmlline:<= %"
CALL :select %xmlline%
GOTO :EOF
:select
echo in select
IF /i "%~1"=="" GOTO :EOF
IF DEFINED testcount IF DEFINED testfailcount GOTO :EOF
IF /i "%~1"=="test_count" SET /a testcount=%~2
IF /i "%~1"=="test_fail_count" SET /a testfailcount=%~2
SHIFT
GOTO select
GOTO :EOF
try the xpath.bat - it can extract values from xml files by an xpath expression and does not require installation of external tools:
call xpath.bat "report.xml" "//ROOT/#test_count"
call xpath.bat "report.xml" "//ROOT/#test_fail_count"
As in the metadata is pointed that file should be utf-8 you can check the encodings of the files on both machines.
The reason for not anymore working code is in the command line
FOR /f "usebackqdelims= " %%a IN ("%filename1%") DO (
There is a space character after the equal sign which results in splitting the line read from XML file up into multiple tokens using the space character as delimiter. So instead of getting entire XML file contents assigned to loop variable a, just the string up to first space character is assigned to the loop variable. For that reason the environment variable xmlline gets assigned just <?xml instead of the entire line read from XML file.
Change the line to
FOR /f "usebackq delims=" %%a IN ("%filename1%") DO (
There is no space after equal sign, but one between usebackq and delims=.
Or use the command line below as Magoo posted in his answer with no space after equal sign, but also no space between the two options usebackq and delims=.
FOR /f "usebackqdelims=" %%a IN ("%filename1%") DO (
Magoo explained in his comment also why the space character between the two options usebackq and delims= is not really necessary, but which I suggest to add for easier reading the options.
usebackq results in interpreting the file name enclosed in double quotes as file name and not as string to split up into tokens.
delims= with no characters specified after equal sign disables default splitting up of line read from file on spaces and horizontal tabs.
Open a command prompt window, run for /? and read the output help pages for help on for /F and its options.
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
I don’t know if this is possible but I would like to make a batch, which replaces all, the backslashes contained in a txt file (C:\locations) with forward slashes.
THX..
EDIT:
Im trying to loop:
set str1=!Var1!
echo.%str1%
set str1=%str1:\=/%
to work together with:
set file=C:\text1.txt
FOR /F %%i IN (%file%) DO (
set username=%%i
echo (load "%%i") >> C:\text.txt
)
what I have so far is:
ECHO Retreving list of files...
dir /s /b c:\ICT\AUTOCAD_2010\*.LSP > C:\BART1.txt
Echo Looping variables...
set file=C:\text1.txt
FOR /F %%1 IN (%file%) DO (
set fred=%%1
echo %%1 > C:\tempme.txt
)
set fred=C:\tempme.txt
set fred=%fred:\=/%
echo (load "%fred%") >> C:\text2.txt
however this returns:
(load "C:/tempme.txt")
which is incorect.
Windows' PowerSheel is too limited for that. I suggest you using a scripting language like Perl. Here's a quick script that does that:
my #file = <STDIN>;
my $text = join('', #file);
$text =~ s/\\/\//g;
print($text);
You can launch it like
perl foo.pl < example.txt > result.txt
Using sed as suggested by Tichodroma is another very good option.
I'm a little confused as to what you really want. Your sample code has a FOR ... IN that only has one file in the IN (), i.e. the content of %fred%. Then you write that one filename into a temporary file. Afterwards you have SET that replaces the backslash with a forward slash in the name of the temporary file. But this never touches any file.
However, in your opening segment you want to replace backslashes with forward slashes in a file. So I'm focusing on that part. That would be done this way:
#ECHO OFF
SETLOCAL EnableDelayedExpansion
REM Here's a backslash: \
FOR /F "delims=" %%a IN ('TYPE %0') DO (
SET line=%%a
ECHO !line:\=/!
)
Please note that for simplicity this little batch file parses itself (%0) and, therefore, only replaces that one backslash. However, feel free to put whichever file next to TYPE.
EnableDelayedExpansion makes the syntax with the ! work (see SET /? for more info about delayed expansion). TYPE obviously writes a file to the console. The FOR /F "delims=" now grabs the output of that line per line (since delims= defines no delimiter for the tokenizer of FOR). The line-variable is necessary, because I don't think that there is a proper way to make the ECHO-line work with %%a.
The only downside is that this will remove all empty lines from the original file. I don't know if that's a problem for you.