I'm working on a very simple bat file script that worked fine in Windows 7, but seems to be having issues in Windows 8. It relies heavily on "start /wait" to execute 1 file at a time. It seems that the "start" command works just fine. However, given the folder structure, I have referenced each item as such in a command:
start /wait ./folder1/app1.exe
start /wait ./folder2/app2.exe
start /wait ./folder3/app3.exe
While this worked just fine in W7. In Windows 8.1, this results in an error message stating: "Windows cannot find '.\folder1\app1.exe'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again."
So... Did MS replace the .\ wildcard in Windows 8 with something else? Or change it just slightly?
Yes, I know. This isn't really programming (still studying C/CPP), but any insight would be greatly appreciated.
./ is not a wildcard. * and ? are wildcards - they match any number of any characters /one any-character.
/ is a switch indicator. \ is a directory separator. Dangerous to confuse the two - it confuses cmd.
.\ means 'relative to the current directory`. Perhaps you should display the current directory using
echo %cd%
to make sure that cmd's idea of the current directory and yours agree. Also make sure the targets exist and are not hidden files.
I had the same problem with a cmd file on my usb drive.
In Windows 7 my application started with ...
START /WAIT %usbDrive%\Truecrypt\TrueCrypt.exe /volume %usbDrive%\%Container% /k %usbDrive%\Truecrypt\Truecrypt.key /cache /wipecache /quit
... but in Windows 8.1 it has not waited to put my password in the TrueCrypt screen.
As a workaround for both Windows versions this works for me fine now.
START %usbDrive%\Truecrypt\TrueCrypt.exe /volume %usbDrive%\%Container% /k %usbDrive%\Truecrypt\Truecrypt.key /cache /wipecache /quit
:CHECK
ping -n 2 localhost 1>NUL 2>NUL
TASKLIST /FI "IMAGENAME eq TrueCrypt.exe" > TrueCrypt.txt
FIND /N "TrueCrypt.exe" TrueCrypt.txt 1>NUL 2>NUL
IF %ERRORLEVEL%==0 ( GOTO CHECK ) ELSE ( DEL TrueCrypt.txt )
At first you start the program you want, then you need a mark to go back and check if your program is still running. The next thing is to wait about 2 seconds (for ping -n ... you can also use timeout). Then you can filter the tasklist with the exeutable name and write it in a check text file. With the find command you can grep in the check file... Finally the last line, if the application is not in the tasklist anymore the check text file will be deleted otherwise the cmd is jumping to the check mark.
I hope it will help
Related
A standard implementation of this technique is provided at: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/printing/add-print-directory-feature
Unfortunately it does not work for me. The Printdir.bat file is:
#echo off
dir %1 /-p /o:gn > "%temp%\Listing"
start /w notepad /p "%temp%\Listing"
del "%temp%\Listing"
exit
My implementation fails at the cmd level with the error:
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect".
(The program continues and results in no file created since nothing is passed to notepad).
If run in the Windows directory, it runs fine.
Adding quotes around "%1" did not help and neither did "%~1"
The instructions (repeated at several sites) created a file PrintDirectoryListing.reg with steps 3 and 6 creating a command Printdir.bat \"%1\"
From the comments by aschipfl and Mofi, I was able to troubleshoot the activity and edit the registry, eliminate the \ before "%1" making both commands Printdir.bat "%1\".
Now everything works properly. Thanks again to aschipfl and Mofi
I've recently installed cmder (or simply 'Commander') portable console emulator for windows, and really like the functionalities it comes with. But how can you (if at all) run batches through it like you can with the Windows command line?
The details:
If you write...
cd C:\test\
REM executeSomething.exe
Pause
... to a textfile and save it as a .bat file you can do can do pretty much anything just by double-clicking that file. I've got a work-flow where I launch a web-application through a batch file. Sometimes this applicaton launches automatically in Chrome, and sometimes it does not. In that case, I'll have to copy and paste a URL to Chrome manually. And that's a real pain. With cmder.exe that's much easier, but I'll have to manually navigate to a folder and start the application through Commander it manually without the luxury of a .bat file.
The functionality I'm trying to run automatically with cmder.exe is simply changing a folder and starting an executable file, specifically Jupyter Lab:
cd C:\jupyterlab\
jupyter lab
Pause
I've tried various approaches with:
#echo off
set CMDER_ROOT=C:\Cmder
start %CMDER_ROOT%\vendor\conemu-maximus5\ConEmu.exe /icon "%CMDER_ROOT%\cmder.exe" /title "Homestead VM" /loadcfgfile "%CMDER_ROOT%\config\ConEmu.xml" /cmd cmd /k "%CMDER_ROOT%\vendor\init.bat cd %CD% && %~1"
as described here, but with no success. The example above does launch commander, but also raises a syntax error:
Current directory: C:\batches
Command to be executed: "C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe" /k
"C:\Cmder\vendor\init.bat cd C:\batches && "
I'm obviously on to somehting here since I'm able to start Commander, but I'm not sure how to edit the remaining code to run the necessary steps. I do realize that the /title "Homestead VM" part just edits the title of the Commander window:
but I have no idea about the rest.
If this just isn't possible, I'm going to have to try to reassociate .bat files in Control Panel > Default Programs > Associate a filetype, but I'm hoping to avoid that.
Thank you for any suggestions!
System info:
Windows 7, 64 bit
Commander v1.3.12
Edit 1: My (failed) attempt trying to follow a suggestion from Gerhard Barnard
I've saved a file named please.cmd to C:\Windows\System32 that contains this:
#echo off
if not defined CMDER_ROOT set "CMDER_ROOT=C:\Cmder"
start %CMDER_ROOT%\vendor\conemu-maximus5\ConEmu.exe /icon "%CMDER_ROOT%\cmder.exe" /title "Homestead VM" /loadcfgfile "%CMDER_ROOT%\config\ConEmu.xml" /cmd cmd /k "%CMDER_ROOT%\vendor\init.bat cd %CD% && %~1"
I've also saved a file named SObatch.bat in C:\batches that contains this:
if not defined myComs set myComs=0 && please %~0
#echo off
ping localhost
echo %userprofile%
pause
Upon double-clicking SObatch.bat a Windows prompt is opened, and the pings are run:
I just narrowed the window to leave out real-world user-names. But the ping functions are being run and the usual responses are returned.
So I guess it still seems that I've broken something.
Create a file called please.cmd and save it to C:\Windows\System32 as administrator. It should then exist as c:\Windows\System32\please.cmd
#echo off
if not defined CMDER_ROOT set "CMDER_ROOT=C:\Cmder"
start %CMDER_ROOT%\vendor\conemu-maximus5\ConEmu.exe /icon "%CMDER_ROOT%\cmder.exe" /title "Homestead VM" /loadcfgfile "%CMDER_ROOT%\config\ConEmu.xml" /cmd cmd /k "%CMDER_ROOT%\vendor\init.bat cd %CD% && %*"
Now when you create a batch files you need to make some changes in the top of each batch file you want. You would need to add the below line to the very top of the script.
"%systemroot%\system32\please.cmd" "%~f0" && goto :eof
You can also from cmd please command to launch it from the cmder shell. Example:
please ping localhost
Hi I am very new to batch file programing I have found and modified this script
dir /b C:\mydocuments*.* > C:\Test\Listfile.txt
It is supposed to search in a dir and make a list of all the files in that dir but nothing happens there is just a flash of cmd I am using windows 7 X64 bit. thanks for your help
I recommend you check out THIS website its really good also in future you can do a little more troubleshooting research by checking out THIS website.
These are your problems.
Your wildcard ( *.* ) does not have a \ in front of it.
Your path needs to be C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents where username is your computers name.
Also you have to MKDIR first... or get around it.
here is the fixed code it works on my Windows 10 PC
#ECHO OFF
IF not exist "C:\Test\" MKDIR C:\Test\
DIR /B C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\*.* > C:\Test\Listfile.txt
PAUSE
Remember to use #ECHO OFF at the beginning of a batch file.
path is not correct.
it should be c:\mydocuments\*.*
I'm trying my hand at some light programming, but have hit a wall I'm hoping someone can help me with. I'm using an HTPC and a front end media center called Kodi. Within Kodi I have a program called advanced launcher. As my MC Kodi is scripted to always be on top, I've been using a batch file for each PC game and program I'm trying to run. It shuts down Kodi, launches the program, and when the program is closed, relaunches Kodi. This works fine for most programs, but if it has a launcher attached (the example I have is for Dragon Age: Inquisition and the launcher it has Origin) it will run straight through the entire batch file without waiting as I thought I had instructed it. This only seems to happen in programs that have launchers. As I'm just starting out, while lines to change or add would be great to get this working, I'd also like to know the reason behind the changes.
pskill Kodi.exe
cd /d "I:\Games\Dragon Age Inquisition\"
start /max /wait Dragon Age Inquisition.exe
ping 192.168.1.46 -n 1 -w 15000 > nul
cd /d "C:\Program Files (x86)\Kodi\"
start /max Kodi.exe
Ps Commands were recommended by a friend, not sure if this is also an issue, just seems odd that any program without a launcher works fine, but with a launcher just doesn't seem to function correctly. Thanks for your valuable time.
try with:
start "" /max /wait Dragon Age Inquisition.exe
and
start "" /max Kodi.exe
First argument is always the title.
Taskkill /im Kodi.exe
"I:\Games\Dragon Age Inquisition\Dragon Age Inquisition.exe"
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Kodi\Kodi.exe"
Should work how you expect.
Taskkill is the correct command. Use it with /f to force closing.
I have always used start /w in batch files and from a Windows console to run something and pause till the application is closed. But since a few weeks ago, this does not work anymore!
I tried to simply open one by one the .pdf files in a folder and it doesn't work. So I studied for at least 3 hours what could be wrong to no avail. And nobody on the Internet seems to mention a problem like that. Today I picked a batch I used in the past to open files in sequence and it doesn't work anymore either. It would use two simple batches, the core one doing just this:
cd %1
for %%f in (*.py) do start /wait %%f
cd ..
I am pretty sure I used it successfully on the same machine I use now (Win7 Professional, 64-bit). I tried all sorts of things like call, command /b with the command, but none of them works.
From the console when I do ver I get Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601] (from the 32 or the 64-bit console).
What do you think has gone wrong here?
In one of your comments, you show that the following specific command fails from the command line:
for %a in (*.pdf) do start /wait "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 11.0\Reader\AcroRd32.exe" %a
It doesn't work properly because the first argument is treated as a title if it is quoted. If you need to quote your executable, then you must precede the program with a quoted title. You can provide an empty title if you want:
for %a in (*.pdf) do start /wait "" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 11.0\Reader\AcroRd32.exe" %a