I tried to modify the open default command for .bat and .cmd files on Windows in order to open the Windows terminal instead of the legacy cmd.exe.
My modification to the user registry was:
(I had to use TotalReg from Pavel Yosifovitch to change the default value to REG_EXPAND_SZ).
The same default value was used for the batfile class.
The above definitions work almost properly.
There is a little issue though: when I now run a .bat or a .cmd file, the command line for wt.exe uses “legacy DOS 8.3 paths”, as well as the current working directory.
If my definition for the open command simply uses wt.exe instead of "%localappdata%\Microsoft\WindowsApps\wt.exe", then the problem disappears.
Is there a way to use the absolute path and still get the non-8.3 behavior?
When using %1, the shell tries to guess if the target supports long filenames. If you use %L, the shell always uses the long filename if the target is 32 or 64-bit. 16-bit applications presumably still get the short name?
%L is not officially documented anywhere but a Microsoft employee listed them in a comment here...
I made an application for editing .cue files. If I use a .bat file containing
CueEditor.exe Ah.cue
line, it opens application and loads file properly; so it seems command line arguments are able to be passed properly; but double clicking on a .cue file opens application without loading file.
.reg files which include registry keys which are created by the setup program for registering the application default for .cue files are these:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.cue]
#="CueFile"
and
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CueFile]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CueFile\Defaulticon]
#="\"C:\\Program Files\\Cue Editor\\CueEditor.ico\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CueFile\shell]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CueFile\shell\open]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CueFile\shell\open\command]
#="\"C:\\Program Files\\Cue Editor\\CueEditor.exe\" \"%1\""
What is wrong?
By the way, I use Windows XP.
At last I found answer after which I had ensured that the registry settings are appropriate. Windows passes the path as string but puts quotation marks of each side like this:
"C:\Documents and Settings\ABC\Desktop\AH.cue"
and if it is being thought that can be used as path like bare C:\Documents and Settings\ABC\Desktop\AH.cue string, it does not work. Quotation marks at the ends should have been cleaned first.
I am a beginner in VBScript. I googled it & got to know that we can run VBScript from command line by executing below command:
For Example my vbscript name is Converter.vbs & it's present in folder D:\VBS.
I can run it through following methods:
CScript "D:\VBS\Converter.vbs"
OR
WScript "D:\VBS\Converter.vbs"
Now I would like to execute above VBScript without Cscript or Wscript command by simply typing the name of VBscript name i.e. Converter.
I DON'T WANT TO SPECIFY THE FULL PATH OF VBSCRIPT EVERYTIME.
Can anyone please guide me on how to do that ?
I'll break this down in to several distinct parts, as each part can be done individually. (I see the similar answer, but I'm going to give a more detailed explanation here..)
First part, in order to avoid typing "CScript" (or "WScript"), you need to tell Windows how to launch a * .vbs script file. In My Windows 8 (I cannot be sure all these commands work exactly as shown here in older Windows, but the process is the same, even if you have to change the commands slightly), launch a console window (aka "command prompt", or aka [incorrectly] "dos prompt") and type "assoc .vbs". That should result in a response such as:
C:\Windows\System32>assoc .vbs
.vbs=VBSFile
Using that, you then type "ftype VBSFile", which should result in a response of:
C:\Windows\System32>ftype VBSFile
vbsfile="%SystemRoot%\System32\WScript.exe" "%1" %*
-OR-
C:\Windows\System32>ftype VBSFile
vbsfile="%SystemRoot%\System32\CScript.exe" "%1" %*
If these two are already defined as above, your Windows' is already set up to know how to launch a * .vbs file. (BTW, WScript and CScript are the same program, using different names. WScript launches the script as if it were a GUI program, and CScript launches it as if it were a command line program. See other sites and/or documentation for these details and caveats.)
If either of the commands did not respond as above (or similar responses, if the file type reported by assoc and/or the command executed as reported by ftype have different names or locations), you can enter them yourself:
C:\Windows\System32>assoc .vbs=VBSFile
-and/or-
C:\Windows\System32>ftype vbsfile="%SystemRoot%\System32\WScript.exe" "%1" %*
You can also type "help assoc" or "help ftype" for additional information on these commands, which are often handy when you want to automatically run certain programs by simply typing a filename with a specific extension. (Be careful though, as some file extensions are specially set up by Windows or programs you may have installed so they operate correctly. Always check the currently assigned values reported by assoc/ftype and save them in a text file somewhere in case you have to restore them.)
Second part, avoiding typing the file extension when typing the command from the console window.. Understanding how Windows (and the CMD.EXE program) finds commands you type is useful for this (and the next) part. When you type a command, let's use "querty" as an example command, the system will first try to find the command in it's internal list of commands (via settings in the Windows' registry for the system itself, or programmed in in the case of CMD.EXE). Since there is no such command, it will then try to find the command in the current %PATH% environment variable. In older versions of DOS/Windows, CMD.EXE (and/or COMMAND.COM) would automatically add the file extensions ".bat", ".exe", ".com" and possibly ".cmd" to the command name you typed, unless you explicitly typed an extension (such as "querty.bat" to avoid running "querty.exe" by mistake). In more modern Windows, it will try the extensions listed in the %PATHEXT% environment variable. So all you have to do is add .vbs to %PATHEXT%. For example, here's my %PATHEXT%:
C:\Windows\System32>set pathext
PATHEXT=.PLX;.PLW;.PL;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.COM;.EXE;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH;.MSC;.PY
Notice that the extensions MUST include the ".", are separated by ";", and that .VBS is listed AFTER .CMD, but BEFORE .COM. This means that if the command processor (CMD.EXE) finds more than one match, it'll use the first one listed. That is, if I have query.cmd, querty.vbs and querty.com, it'll use querty.cmd.
Now, if you want to do this all the time without having to keep setting %PATHEXT%, you'll have to modify the system environment. Typing it in a console window only changes it for that console window session. I'll leave this process as an exercise for the reader. :-P
Third part, getting the script to run without always typing the full path. This part, in relation to the second part, has been around since the days of DOS. Simply make sure the file is in one of the directories (folders, for you Windows' folk!) listed in the %PATH% environment variable. My suggestion is to make your own directory to store various files and programs you create or use often from the console window/command prompt (that is, don't worry about doing this for programs you run from the start menu or any other method.. only the console window. Don't mess with programs that are installed by Windows or an automated installer unless you know what you're doing).
Personally, I always create a "C:\sys\bat" directory for batch files, a "C:\sys\bin" directory for * .exe and * .com files (for example, if you download something like "md5sum", a MD5 checksum utility), a "C:\sys\wsh" directory for VBScripts (and JScripts, named "wsh" because both are executed using the "Windows Scripting Host", or "wsh" program), and so on. I then add these to my system %PATH% variable (Control Panel -> Advanced System Settings -> Advanced tab -> Environment Variables button), so Windows can always find them when I type them.
Combining all three parts will result in configuring your Windows system so that anywhere you can type in a command-line command, you can launch your VBScript by just typing it's base file name. You can do the same for just about any file type/extension; As you probably saw in my %PATHEXT% output, my system is set up to run Perl scripts (.PLX;.PLW;.PL) and Python (.PY) scripts as well. (I also put "C:\sys\bat;C:\sys\scripts;C:\sys\wsh;C:\sys\bin" at the front of my %PATH%, and put various batch files, script files, et cetera, in these directories, so Windows can always find them. This is also handy if you want to "override" some commands: Putting the * .bat files first in the path makes the system find them before the * .exe files, for example, and then the * .bat file can launch the actual program by giving the full path to the actual *. exe file. Check out the various sites on "batch file programming" for details and other examples of the power of the command line.. It isn't dead yet!)
One final note: DO check out some of the other sites for various warnings and caveats. This question posed a script named "converter.vbs", which is dangerously close to the command "convert.exe", which is a Windows program to convert your hard drive from a FAT file system to a NTFS file system.. Something that can clobber your hard drive if you make a typing mistake!
On the other hand, using the above techniques you can insulate yourself from such mistakes, too. Using CONVERT.EXE as an example.. Rename it to something like "REAL_CONVERT.EXE", then create a file like "C:\sys\bat\convert.bat" which contains:
#ECHO OFF
ECHO !DANGER! !DANGER! !DANGER! !DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!
ECHO This command will convert your hard drive to NTFS! DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DO THIS?!
ECHO PRESS CONTROL-C TO ABORT, otherwise..
REM "PAUSE" will pause the batch file with the message "Press any key to continue...",
REM and also allow the user to press CONTROL-C which will prompt the user to abort or
REM continue running the batch file.
PAUSE
ECHO Okay, if you're really determined to do this, type this command:
ECHO. %SystemRoot%\SYSTEM32\REAL_CONVERT.EXE
ECHO to run the real CONVERT.EXE program. Have a nice day!
You can also use CHOICE.EXE in modern Windows to make the user type "y" or "n" if they really want to continue, and so on.. Again, the power of batch (and scripting) files!
Here's some links to some good resources on how to use all this power:
http://ss64.com/
http://www.computerhope.com/batch.htm
http://commandwindows.com/batch.htm
http://www.robvanderwoude.com/batchfiles.php
Most of these sites are geared towards batch files, but most of the information in them applies to running any kind of batch (* .bat) file, command (* .cmd) file, and scripting (* .vbs, * .js, * .pl, * .py, and so on) files.
When entering the script's full file spec or its filename on the command line, the shell will use information accessibly by
assoc | grep -i vbs
.vbs=VBSFile
ftype | grep -i vbs
VBSFile=%SystemRoot%\System32\CScript.exe "%1" %*
to decide which program to run for the script. In my case it's cscript.exe, in yours it will be wscript.exe - that explains why your WScript.Echos result in MsgBoxes.
As
cscript /?
Usage: CScript scriptname.extension [option...] [arguments...]
Options:
//B Batch mode: Suppresses script errors and prompts from displaying
//D Enable Active Debugging
//E:engine Use engine for executing script
//H:CScript Changes the default script host to CScript.exe
//H:WScript Changes the default script host to WScript.exe (default)
//I Interactive mode (default, opposite of //B)
//Job:xxxx Execute a WSF job
//Logo Display logo (default)
//Nologo Prevent logo display: No banner will be shown at execution time
//S Save current command line options for this user
//T:nn Time out in seconds: Maximum time a script is permitted to run
//X Execute script in debugger
//U Use Unicode for redirected I/O from the console
shows, you can use //E and //S to permanently switch your default host to cscript.exe.
If you are so lazy that you don't even want to type the extension, make sure that the PATHEXT environment variable
set | grep -i vbs
PATHEXT=.COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH;.py;.pyw;.tcl;.PSC1
contains .VBS and there is no Converter.cmd (that converts your harddisk into a washing machine) in your path.
Update wrt comment:
If you 'don't want to specify the full path of my vbscript everytime' you may:
put your CONVERTER.VBS in a folder that is included in the PATH environment variable; the shell will then search all pathes - if necessary taking the PATHEXT and the ftype/assoc info into account - for a matching 'executable'.
put a CONVERTER.BAT/.CMD into a path directory that contains a line like cscript p:\ath\to\CONVERTER.VBS
In both cases I would type out the extension to avoid (nasty) surprises.
I am wondering why you cannot put this in a batch file. Example:
cd D:\VBS\
WSCript Converter.vbs
Put the above code in a text file and save the text file with .bat extension. Now you have to simply run this .bat file.
Why don't you just stash the vbscript in a batch/vbscript file hybrid. Name the batch hybrid Converter.bat and you can execute it directly as Converter from the cmd line. Sure you can default ALL scripts to run from Cscript or Wscript, but if you want to execute your vbs as a windows script rather than a console script, this could cause some confusion later on. So just set your code to a batch file and run it directly.
Check the answer -> Here
And here is an example:
Converter.bat
::' VBS/Batch Hybrid
::' --- Batch portion ---------
rem^ &#echo off
rem^ &call :'sub
rem^ &exit /b
:'sub
rem^ &echo begin batch
rem^ &cscript //nologo //e:vbscript "%~f0"
rem^ &echo end batch
rem^ &exit /b
'----- VBS portion -----
Dim tester
tester = "Convert data here"
Msgbox tester
You may follow the following steps:
Open your CMD(Command Prompt)
Type 'D:' and hit Enter. Example: C:\Users\[Your User Name]>D:
Type 'CD VBS' and hit Enter. Example: D:>CD VBS
Type 'Converter.vbs' or 'start Converter.vbs' and hit Enter. Example: D:\VBS>Converter.vbs Or D:\VBS>start Converter.vbs
Operating system: Windows XP SP3
Trying to define commands to open some file-types from context menu or directly from explorer and having the following problem:
standard "C:\Program Files\SQLite ODBC Driver\sqlite3.exe" "%1" isn't working if file is in directory that contains cyrillic (non-ASCII) characters;
command "C:\Program Files\SQLite ODBC Driver\sqlite3.exe" "%~s0" isn't working because specified argument template unfortunately is only for batch files;
variant with creating batch file with previous command is ugly and unneficient.
Is there a right or convenient way to open files with non-ASCII characters in path?
Without ugly magic I mean.
UPDATE:
I think that "C:\Dir one\0016~1\file.sqlite" format would work.
%L key isn't working too.
Found the solution. Still ugly but it mades the deal.
...used a command like:
short.cmd "myapp.exe" "%1"
where short.cmd contains the line
start %~s1 %~s2
This then converts the app name and the filename to short versions, and
executes as desired - but there is a command window that pops up briefly in
there (running the START command)
Link: Context menu shell commands %1, %L parameters
Say I've got a windows batch file with a file extension .batscript, and say I've got a web server set up to serve it with a content-type of application/x-batscript. How can I set up Firefox 4 to "always open" this file so that it runs as a standard batch file would? (I have access to the PCs but want avoid creating/installing external programs/extensions/plugins)
I can't use a straight .bat because Firefox doesn't allow those to be opened directly; they have to be saved and run separately (for obvious security reasons).
The standard way to run a batch file is cmd /c %1 where %1 is the path to the bat file, but this doesn't work when %1 is a path to a file with a custom file extension (such as .batscript) because cmd looks up what application %1 should be opened with, so adding a direct file association via the registry doesn't work (it recursively opens cmd prompts).
Instead, I found a work around where I temporarily copy my .batscript file to a .bat file and run it, using registry entries like this, which allows me to double click on a .batscript file to run it. But Firefox doesn't respect these platform file associations!
Ok, so Firefox wants me to define my file type associations separately for each content-type: fair enough, file extensions & content-types aren't always the same. But I can only get Firefox to run discrete applications, and a batch script needs to be run with cmd.exe /c %1 not just cmd %1.
Does anybody know of a way to force Firefox to either use the system file association or allow launching arbitrary programs with command line parameters?
(For those wondering, the use case is similar to "an internal web app which allows users to run a local program with a varying amount of command line parameters by clicking on a link" - alternative solutions to these small "breaking out of the sandbox" problems are also welcome!)
I think you need to edit the MimeTypes.rdf file. For more information see also this page.