I find that some
everyday tasks can be simplified by writing a quick batch script.
“When a batch file
is run, the shell
program (usually COMMAND.COM or cmd.exe) reads the file
and executes its commands, normally line-by-line. Batch files are useful for
running a sequence of executables
automatically and are often used by system
administrators to automate tedious processes.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batch_file
The most common way to
write a batch script is via notepad. The file must be saved with a ‘bat’ file
extension. For example ‘script.bat’
Most scripts start off
with the following line of code:
@echo
off
This
turns command echoing off. ECHO is a command which displays text. When you run
the following script note that the ECHO command isn’t displayed – instead you
only see the result of the ECHO command (“Hello World!”). This is what I mean
by command echoing off.
@echo
off
ECHO
“Hello World!”
pause
ECHO can
print text into a txt file. Then open the file with notepad.exe. NOTE: I’ve
found that ECHO can do this for xls, doc, vbs, and other file formats
respective to their application.
@echo
off
ECHO
“Hello World!” > texting123.txt
notepad.exe
texting123.txt
(see the
more advanced vbs example below)
@echo
off
ECHO
Set objShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell") > NetConnect.vbs
ECHO.
>> NetConnect.vbs
ECHO
With objShell >> NetConnect.vbs
ECHO .Run "Control ncpa.cpl" >> NetConnect.vbs
ECHO wscript.sleep 2000 >> NetConnect.vbs
ECHO .AppActivate "Network
Connections" >> NetConnect.vbs
ECHO.
>> NetConnect.vbs
ECHO
END With >> NetConnect.vbs
NetConnect.vbs
Adding a
second > symbol will add a line below the previous. Also note that adding a period
after ECHO will make a blank space.
@echo
off
ECHO
“Hello > texting123.txt
ECHO.
>> texting123.txt
ECHO
World!” >> texting123.txt
notepad.exe
texting123.txt
Setting
variables can be very useful when requiring input. Here we use the SET command
to create a variable to call upon. Note that we use the percent symbols when
the variable ‘name’ is called upon.
@echo
off
SET /p
name=Please type your name here:
ECHO
“Hello, %name%” > texting123.txt
notepad.exe
texting123.txt
Windows
has built-in system variables which you can call on without declaring them
through the SET command such as %userprofile% and %windir%.
@echo
off
ECHO
%userprofile% > texting123.txt
ECHO
%windir% >> texting123.txt
notepad.exe
texting123.txt
Conditional
statements can be made. For example: If “C:\temp” exists, then delete the
directory and subdirectories, otherwise declare that the folder doesn’t exist.”
@echo
off
IF
EXIST C:\Temp (
RD /S
C:\Temp
) ELSE
(
ECHO
The C:\Temp directory doesn't exist.
ECHO.
ECHO.
)
PAUSE
The purpose
in writing this tutorial was to get a beginner up to speed enough to understand
some basic batch script principles. More advanced batch language can be found
if you STFW (the way I learned most of this stuff).
Here are
some real world examples to download:
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