Recursively change file extensions to lower case - windows

I have a game that I play and mod a lot, and a lot of the files in the game have file extensions that are in all caps, which bothers me quite a bit. I'm trying to change them all to be lowercase, but there are numerous folders in the game files, so I'm having to be very repetitive. Right now, I'm working with this:
cd\program files (x86)\Activision\X-Men Legends 2\Actors
start ren *.IGB *.igb
cd\program files (x86)\Activision\X-Men Legends 2\Conversations\
start ren *.XMLB *.xmlb
cd\program files (x86)\Activision\X-Men Legends 2\Conversations\act0\tutorial\tutorial1
start ren *.XMLB *.xmlb
and so on for each and every folder in the game files. I have a very long .bat file where I just have line after line of this but with a different destination folder. Is there a way to streamline this process so I don't have to manually type out each folder name? Also, is there a line that I could add at the beginning to automatically run as an administrator, so I don't have to make sure to run the .bat file as an administrator each time?
I'm not looking for anything complicated, and I'm very inexperienced with coding other than the small amount of stuff I've been able to search up.

Instead of doing it for each folder, use a for /R loop which loops through all subfolders. I would suggest the following code:
#echo off
:prompt
set /p "extensions=What are the up-case extensions you want to convert to lower-case?: "
if not defined extensions (cls & goto:prompt) else (goto:loop)
:loop
for %%A IN (%extensions%) do (
for /R "custom_folder" %%B IN (*.%%A) do (
ren "%%~fB" "%%~nB.%%A"
)
)
Take a look on this on how to run this batch file as admin. Create another batch file and add the code specified in the accepted answer.
Note: As Stephan pointed out in the comments, you can use %ProgramFiles(x86)% environment variable which is the same thing.

#echo off
setlocal
rem Check if admin.
2>nul >nul net session || goto :runasadmin
rem Start in script directory.
pushd "%~dp0" || (
>&2 echo Failed to change directory to "%~dp0".
pause
exit /b 1
)
rem Ask for directory to change to, else use the script directory if undefined.
set "dirpath=%~dp0"
set /p "dirpath=Dir path: "
rem Expand any environmental variables used in input.
call set "dirpath=%dirpath%"
rem Start in the input directory.
pushd "%dirpath%" || (
>&2 echo Failed to change directory to "%dirpath%".
pause
exit /b 1
)
rem Ask for file extensions.
echo File extensions to convert to lowercase, input lowercase.
echo i.e. doc txt
set "fileext="
set /p "fileext=File extension(s): "
if not defined fileext (
>&2 echo Failed to input file extension.
pause
exit /b 1
)
rem Display current settings.
echo dirpath: %dirpath%
echo fileext: %fileext%
pause
rem Do recursive renaming.
for %%A in (%fileext%) do for /r %%B in (*.%%A) do ren "%%~B" "%%~nB.%%A"
rem Restore to previous working directory.
popd
echo Task done.
pause
exit /b 0
:runasadmin
rem Make temporary random directory.
set "tmpdir=%temp%\%random%"
mkdir "%tmpdir%" || (
>&2 echo Failed to create temporary directory.
exit /b 1
)
rem Make VBS file to run cmd.exe as admin.
(
echo Set UAC = CreateObject^("Shell.Application"^)
echo UAC.ShellExecute "cmd.exe", "/c ""%~f0""", "", "runas", 1
) > "%tmpdir%\getadmin.vbs"
"%tmpdir%\getadmin.vbs"
rem Remove temporary random directory.
rd /s /q "%tmpdir%"
exit /b
This script is expected to start from double-click.
It will restart the script as admin if not already admin.
It will prompt to get information such as directory to change to and get file extensions i.e. doc txt (not *.doc *.txt). If you enter i.e. %cd% as the directory input, it will be expanded.

Related

Loop through files in a folder and check if they have different extensions

I have a folder that contains files; each document should have .pdf and .xml format. I need to write a BAT file to run from a scheduled task to verify that both documents exist for each.
My logic is:
loop through files in the folder
strip each file to its name without extension
check that same name files exist for both .xml and pdf.
if not mark a flag variable as problem
when done, if the flag variable is marked, send an Email notification
I know how to use blat to sending email, but I'm having trouble to execute the loop. I found a way to get path and file name without extension but can't merge them.
I've used batch files a few time, before but I'm far from an expert. What am I missing?
Here's the code I have so far:
set "FolderPath=E:\TestBat\Test\"
echo %FolderPath%
for %%f in (%FolderPath%*) do (
set /p val=<%%f
For %%A in ("%%f") do (
Set Folder=%%~dpA
Set Name=%%~nxA
)
echo Folder is: %Folder%
echo Name is: %Name%
if NOT EXIST %FolderPath%%name%.xml
set flag=MISSING
if NOT EXIST %FolderPath%%name%.pdf
set flag=MISSING
)
echo %Flag%
pause
There is no need for fancy code for a task such as this:
#Echo Off
Set "FolderPath=E:\TestBat\Test"
If /I Not "%CD%"=="%FolderPath%" PushD "%FolderPath%" 2>Nul||Exit/B
Set "flag="
For %%A In (*.pdf *.xml) Do (
If /I "%%~xA"==".pdf" (If Not Exist "%%~nA.xml" Set "flag=MISSING")
If /I "%%~xA"==".xml" (If Not Exist "%%~nA.pdf" Set "flag=MISSING")
)
If Defined flag Echo=%flag%
Timeout -1
Something like this :
set "FolderPath=E:\TestBat\Test\"
pushd "%FolderPath%"
for %%a in (*.xml) do (
if exist "%%~na.pdf"(
echo ok
) else (
rem do what you want here
echo Missing
)
)
popd
Is this what you want?
#echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set "FolderPath=E:\TestBat\Test\"
echo !FolderPath!
for /f "usebackq delims=" %%f in (`dir !FolderPath! /B`) do (
set /p val=<%%f
For %%A in ("%%f") do (
Set Folder=%%~dpA
Set name=%%~nxA
)
echo Folder is: !Folder!
echo Name is: !name!
if NOT EXIST !FolderPath!!name!.xml set flag=MISSING
if NOT EXIST !FolderPath!!name!.pdf set flag=MISSING
)
echo Flag: !flag!
pause
endlocal
You should reformat your code and keep in mind that the grama for batch file is critical. BTW, if you are trying to update the existing batch variable and read it later, you should enable localdelayedexpansion and use ! instead of %.
Keep it simple:
#echo off
pushd "E:\TestBat\Test" || exit /B 1
for %%F in ("*.pdf") do if not exist "%%~nF.xml" echo %%~nxF
for %%F in ("*.xml") do if not exist "%%~nF.pdf" echo %%~nxF
popd
This returns all files that appear orphaned, that is, where the file with the same name but the other extension (.pdf, .xml) is missing. To implement a variable FLAG to indicate there are missing files, simply append & set "FLAG=missing" to each for line and ensure FLAG is empty initially. Then you can check it later by simply using if defined FLAG.
Note: This does not cover the e-mail notification issue. Since I do not know the BLAT tool you mentioned, I have no clue how you want to transfer the listed files to it (command line arguments, temporary file, or STDIN stream?).
In case there is a huge number of files in the target directory, another approach might be better in terms of performance, provided that the number of file system accesses is reduced drastically (note that the above script accesses the file system within the for loop body by if exist, hence for every iterated file individually). So here is an attempt relying on a temporary file and the findstr command:
#echo off
pushd "E:\TestBat\Test" || exit /B 1
rem // Return all orphaned `.pdf` files:
call :SUB "*.pdf" "*.xml"
rem // Return all orphaned `.xml` files:
call :SUB "*.xml" "*.pdf"
popd
exit /B
:SUB val_pattern_orphaned val_pattern_missing
set "LIST=%TEMP%\%~n0_%RANDOM%.tmp"
> "%LIST%" (
rem // Retrieve list of files with one extension:
for %%F in ("%~2") do (
rem /* Replace the extension by the other one,
rem then write the list to a temporary file;
rem this constitutes a list of expected files: */
echo(%%~nF%~x1
)
)
rem /* Search actual list of files with the other extension
rem for occurrences of the list of expected files and
rem return each item that does not match: */
dir /B /A:-D "%~1" | findstr /L /I /X /V /G:"%LIST%"
rem // Clean up the temporary file:
del "%LIST%"
exit /B
To understand how it works, let us concentrate on the first sub-routine call call :SUB "*.pdf" "*.xml" using an example; let us assume the target directory contains the following files:
AlOnE.xml
ExtrA.pdf
sAmplE.pdf
sAmplE.xml
So in the for loop a list of .xml files is gathered:
AlOnE.xml
sAmplE.xml
This is written to a temporary file but with the extensions .xml replaced by .pdf:
AlOnE.pdf
sAmplE.pdf
The next step is to generate a list of actually existing .pdf files:
ExtrA.pdf
sAmplE.pdf
This is piped into a findstr command line, that searches this list for search strings that are gathered from the temporary file, returning non-matching lines only. In other words, findstr returns only those lines of the input list that do not occur in the temporary file:
ExtrA.pdf
To finally get also orphaned .xml files, the second sub-routine call is needed.
Since this script uses a temporary file containing a file list which is processed once by findstr to find any orphaned files per extension, the overall number of file system access operations is lower. The weakest part however is the for loop (containing string concatenation operations).

How to check the result of an overwrite file request in Windows CMD?

I have searched online for this, but can't seem to find an answer. I have code that creates a text file after asking one what name he/she would like to give the text file. The file is then opened after being created. However, if I choose N (No) to an overwrite request, I don't want the file to open. I would instead want to be asked again to specify another file name after saying N (No) to the overwrite request.
I however have no idea as to how to check the answer given to the overwrite request.
Also, I would need the entire code to be in one line.
This is what I have without the extras that I am mentioned above:
cmd /c #ECHO OFF & SET /P filename=What File name: & cmd /v /c copy /-y NUL !filename!.txt & cmd start /v /c start notepad !filename!.txt & Exit
Later Added:
I am working on the following and keep getting the error message "( was unexpected at this time." after the filename is echoed. If I edit the file by commenting parts out so that it works, and then continue to edit it to what I currently have, it still works. However, if I exit the cmd box, and then start it again, then it doesn't work and I get an error message. This is the code thus far:
#echo off
SET /P filename=What File name?
echo %filename%
::loop
if exist !filename!.txt (
echo File Exists
SET /P overwrite=Overwrite File?
echo overwrite is %overwrite%
If %overwrite%==Y (
echo "Yes, Y"
)
)
echo finish
If I put single quotes around %overwrite% in If '%overwrite%'==Y I no longer get the unexpected error message. The problem I still face though is when exiting the session / the cmd box, I can't get the line above to echo the value of overwrite. It just says "overwrite is" (without quotes and with no value after it). If I continue in the same session running the batch file over again, I get a value for overwrite.
Solution to unable to echo value of %overwrite% (user input) from if statement can be found here.
edited to adapt to comments
cmd /v:on /q /c "for /l %a in (0 0 1) do (set /p "file=file? " & if exist "!file!" ( set "q=" & set /p "q=overwrite? " & if /i "!q!"=="y" ( type nul > "!file!" & start "" notepad "!file!" & exit ) ) else ( type nul > "!file!" & start "" notepad "!file!" & exit ))"
As requested, in one line. To include it inside a batch file, replace %a with %%a
edited one line, with input validations and error checks added on file operations, and shortened (variables length reduced, unneeded spaces removed, file creation code deduplicated, ...) to fit into windows "Run" dialog
edited added initial cd /d "%userprofile%" to ensure the working folder is writeable. Why? Because from windows 7, including the /v:on (or off) in the call to cmd from the windows Run dialog (the OP reason for a one liner), the active directory for the command is c:\windows\system32 (or wherever the system is). Without the /v switch, the active directory is the user profile folder.
cmd /v:on /q /c "cd/d "%userprofile%"&for /l %a in () do ((set/p"f=file? "||set "f=")&(if defined f if exist "!f!" ((set/p"q=overwrite? "||set "q=0")&if /i not "!q!"=="y" (set "f=")))&if defined f (type nul>"!f!" &&(start "" notepad "!f!" &exit)))"
edited After a lot of tests i make it fail in XP. The previous code will fail if the machine is configured with command extensions disabled. Also, the problem with Ctrl-C can be anoying. This should handle the first problem and minimize the second.
cmd /v:on /e:on /q /c "cd/d "%userprofile%"&for /l %a in ()do ((set/p"f=file? "||(set f=&cd.))&(if defined f if exist "!f!" ((set/p"q=overwrite? "||(set q=&cd.))&if /i not "!q!"=="y" (set f=)))&if defined f (cd.>"!f!"&&(start "" notepad "!f!" &exit)))"
It is better to avoid overwriting by copy in this case (because it's ERRORLEVEL ignores overwriting status). You can do everything on your side:
You can check existance of file (IF EXISTS !filename!.txt),
If file exists, you can ask user what to do (SET /P userInput=Overwrite? (Yes/No/All)),
After it you can analyzed %userInput% to decide what to do (delete existent file and create empty one with the same name + open editor or ask file name again).
If %overwrite%==Y : if %overwrite% is empty, this is executed as If ==Y - obviously a syntax error.
With the singlequoutes you mentioned: If '%overwrite%'==Y is executed as If ''==Y - this is proper syntax, so your code doesn' fail (but is not running as intended)
The reason why %overwrite% is empty: you are using it inside a block (between if ( and the corresponding ), so for parsing reason it' easy (search for delayed expansion).
You can easily avoid that:
#echo off
SET /P filename=What File name?
echo %filename%
:loop
if not exist %filename%.txt goto finish
echo File Exists
SET /P overwrite=Overwrite File?
echo overwrite is %overwrite%
If "%overwrite%"=="Y" ( echo "Yes, Y" ) else ( goto loop )
this line is never reached
:finish
echo finish
When using a single line you can't loop back to the start - but this will only create the file AND start notepad with the file, if the file does not exist.
If the file exists it will just exit and NOT start notepad so you know that you have to try again.
cmd /c #ECHO OFF & SET /P filename=What File name: & cmd /v /c "if not exist !filename!.txt copy NUL !filename!.txt & start "" notepad !filename!.txt" & Exit

How to get attributes of a file using batch file

I am trying to make a batch file to delete malicious files from pendrive. I know that these malicious files uses hidden,read only and system attributes mainly to hide itself from users. Currently i am deleting these files using cmd by removing malicious files attributes then deleting it. Now I am thinking to make a small batch file which can be used to remove these files just by entering the drive letter.
I have found this code in a website to find attributes of a file. But after entering the name of the file the batch file just exits without showing any results.
#echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
color 0a
title Find Attributes in Files
:start
set /p atname=Name of the file:
if not exist %atname% (
cls
echo No file of that name exists!
echo.
echo Press any key to go back
pause>nul
goto start
)
for /f %%i in (%atname%) do set attribs=%%~ai
set attrib1=!attribs:~0,1!
set attrib2=!attribs:~1,1!
set attrib3=!attribs:~2,1!
set attrib4=!attribs:~3,1!
set attrib5=!attribs:~4,1!
set attrib6=!attribs:~5,1!
set attrib7=!attribs:~6,1!
set attrib8=!attribs:~7,1!
set attrib9=!attribs:~8,1!
cls
if %attrib1% equ d echo Directory
if %attrib2% equ r echo Read Only
if %attrib3% equ a echo Archived
if %attrib4% equ h echo Hidden
if %attrib5% equ s echo System File
if %attrib6% equ c echo Compressed File
if %attrib7% equ o echo Offline File
if %attrib8% equ t echo Temporary File
if %attrib9% equ l echo Reparse point
echo.
echo.
echo Press any key to go back
pause>nul
goto start
can you tell me why this batch file is exiting without showing any results. Or can you give any better batch script for getting attributes of a file.
EDIT
I was able to work the above code only for a single file. As my purpose of my batch file is to remove malicious files by entering the drive letter. How can i use it to find what kind of attributes files are using in a particular drive.
For example:
In cmd we can use this command to find the file attributes of a given drive
attrib *.*
Advance thanks for your help
I tried the bat file (without inspecting the details) and it seems to work fine for me. What I noticed is that it closes instantly if you don't enclose file path with quotation marks - e.g. "file". Example:
Name of the file: path\file.txt // this will close immediately
Name of the file: "path\file.txt" // now it will stay open and display the result
This hopefully solves your problem.
As far as your question in EDIT is concerned, a simple option is to iterate a list of files and execute the batch on each one.
batch1.bat: (%1 refers to the first command-line parameter)
#echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
echo %1
set atname=%1
for %%i in ("%atname%") do set attribs=%%~ai
set attrib1=!attribs:~0,1!
set attrib2=!attribs:~1,1!
set attrib3=!attribs:~2,1!
set attrib4=!attribs:~3,1!
set attrib5=!attribs:~4,1!
set attrib6=!attribs:~5,1!
set attrib7=!attribs:~6,1!
set attrib8=!attribs:~7,1!
set attrib9=!attribs:~8,1!
cls
if %attrib1% equ d echo Directory
if %attrib2% equ r echo Read Only
if %attrib3% equ a echo Archived
if %attrib4% equ h echo Hidden
if %attrib5% equ s echo System File
if %attrib6% equ c echo Compressed File
if %attrib7% equ o echo Offline File
if %attrib8% equ t echo Temporary File
if %attrib9% equ l echo Reparse point
echo.
echo.
Next, generate a list of all files within a given path (say 'folder' including all subfolders):
dir /s /b folder > ListOfFiles.txt
main.bat (read ListOfFiles.txt line-by-line and pass each line to batch1.bat as a command line parameter):
#echo off
for /f "tokens=*" %%l in (ListOfFiles.txt) do (batch1.bat %%l)
Then, from cmd:
main.bat >> output.txt
The last step generates an output file with complete results. Granted, this can be done in a more polished (and probably shorter) way, but that's one obvious direction you could take.
You're using a for /f loop here, which isn't necessary (and may yield undesired results if the filename contains spaces). Change this:
for /f %%i in (%atname%) do set attribs=%%~ai
into this:
for %%i in ("%atname%") do set attribs=%%~ai
This is dangerous code - but it'll delete read only, hidden and system files.
It should fail to run on c: drive but I haven't tested it. Note that some Windows installs are on drives other than c:
#echo off
echo "%cd%"|find /i "c:\" >nul || (
del *.??? /ar /s /f
del *.??? /ah /s
del *.??? /as /s
)

Print request upon new file in folder

I've got the following problem:
I need to make something that checks to see whether a file has been added to a specific folder, ifso this file needs to be printed. I heard Windows maybe has something similar built in?
*Program constantly checks whether a file has been added*
File has been added
File gets printed immediately
I have found solutions, but you need to pay for them.
UPDATE
"Code supplied by Vik"
:start
set SECONDS=60
SET FILENAME=*.jpg
IF EXIST %FILENAME% MSPAINT /p %FILENAME%
choice /C a /T %SECONDS% /D a
DEL /Q %FILENAME%
goto :start
"Edits: COPY *.JPG file to a different folder (E.G. ImageHistory)"
"Edits: DELETE local *.JPG file leaving the monitor folder empty"
Any tips or help are welcome!
This batch file will check if the file printme.jpg exists every 60 seconds. If it exists, it will use the built-in MSPAINT program to print it. Feel free to configure SECONDS and FILENAME to suit your environment.
:start
set SECONDS=60
SET FILENAME=printme.jpg
IF EXIST %FILENAME% MSPAINT /p %FILENAME%
choice /C a /T %SECONDS% /D a
goto :start
Additional mods you may want to make:
If you are using an older version of Windows like XP, you may not have the CHOICE command. In that case, use ping to simulate sleeping: PING 1.1.1.1 -n 1 -w 60000 >NUL
You can add a line to delete the file after it's printed: DEL /Q %FILENAME%
EDIT (Below): Added multi-file, move and delete capability
set SECONDS=20
set FILEFOLDER=C:\dropfolder
set TEMPFOLDER=%FILEFOLDER%\TEMPFOLDER
set FILEWILDCARD=*.jpg
if not exist "%FILEFOLDER%" ECHO %FILEFOLDER% NOT FOUND ... CTRL-C TO EXIT && PAUSE
if not exist "%TEMPFOLDER%" ECHO %TEMPFOLDER% NOT FOUND ... CTRL-C TO EXIT && PAUSE
:start
cd "%FILEFOLDER%"
dir /b "%FILEWILDCARD%" > filelist.txt
for %%A in (filelist.txt) do if not %%~zA==0 goto printfiles
choice /C a /T %SECONDS% /D a
goto :start
:printfiles
echo FILE(s) FOUND!
del /q "%TEMPFOLDER%\%FILEWILDCARD%"
move "%FILEWILDCARD%" "%TEMPFOLDER%"
cd "%TEMPFOLDER%"
for %%A in ("%FILEWILDCARD%") do MSPAINT /p "%%A"
goto :start
Run a VB.Net in Background and use a FileSystemWatcher to get events for each change in that folder. Upon receiving an event, check the file / action and print the file using whatever App that can print them. A Batch file will likely not work here.

How to test if a file is a directory in a batch script?

Is there any way to find out if a file is a directory?
I have the file name in a variable. In Perl I can do this:
if(-d $var) { print "it's a directory\n" }
This works:
if exist %1\* echo Directory
Works with directory names that contains spaces:
C:\>if exist "c:\Program Files\*" echo Directory
Directory
Note that the quotes are necessary if the directory contains spaces:
C:\>if exist c:\Program Files\* echo Directory
Can also be expressed as:
C:\>SET D="C:\Program Files"
C:\>if exist %D%\* echo Directory
Directory
This is safe to try at home, kids!
Recently failed with different approaches from the above. Quite sure they worked in the past, maybe related to dfs here. Now using the files attributes and cut first char
#echo off
SETLOCAL ENABLEEXTENSIONS
set ATTR=%~a1
set DIRATTR=%ATTR:~0,1%
if /I "%DIRATTR%"=="d" echo %1 is a folder
:EOF
You can do it like so:
IF EXIST %VAR%\NUL ECHO It's a directory
However, this only works for directories without spaces in their names. When you add quotes round the variable to handle the spaces it will stop working. To handle directories with spaces, convert the filename to short 8.3 format as follows:
FOR %%i IN (%VAR%) DO IF EXIST %%~si\NUL ECHO It's a directory
The %%~si converts %%i to an 8.3 filename. To see all the other tricks you can perform with FOR variables enter HELP FOR at a command prompt.
(Note - the example given above is in the format to work in a batch file. To get it work on the command line, replace the %% with % in both places.)
Further to my previous offering, I find this also works:
if exist %1\ echo Directory
No quotes around %1 are needed because the caller will supply them.
This saves one entire keystroke over my answer of a year ago ;-)
Here's a script that uses FOR to build a fully qualified path, and then pushd to test whether the path is a directory. Notice how it works for paths with spaces, as well as network paths.
#echo off
if [%1]==[] goto usage
for /f "delims=" %%i in ("%~1") do set MYPATH="%%~fi"
pushd %MYPATH% 2>nul
if errorlevel 1 goto notdir
goto isdir
:notdir
echo not a directory
goto exit
:isdir
popd
echo is a directory
goto exit
:usage
echo Usage: %0 DIRECTORY_TO_TEST
:exit
Sample output with the above saved as "isdir.bat":
C:\>isdir c:\Windows\system32
is a directory
C:\>isdir c:\Windows\system32\wow32.dll
not a directory
C:\>isdir c:\notadir
not a directory
C:\>isdir "C:\Documents and Settings"
is a directory
C:\>isdir \
is a directory
C:\>isdir \\ninja\SharedDocs\cpu-z
is a directory
C:\>isdir \\ninja\SharedDocs\cpu-z\cpuz.ini
not a directory
This works perfectly
if exist "%~1\" echo Directory
we need to use %~1 to remove quotes from %1, and add a backslash at end. Then put thw whole into qutes again.
CD returns an EXIT_FAILURE when the specified directory does not exist. And you got conditional processing symbols, so you could do like the below for this.
SET cd_backup=%cd%
(CD "%~1" && CD %cd_backup%) || GOTO Error
:Error
CD %cd_backup%
A variation of #batchman61's approach (checking the Directory attribute).
This time I use an external 'find' command.
(Oh, and note the && trick. This is to avoid the long boring IF ERRORLEVEL syntax.)
#ECHO OFF
SETLOCAL EnableExtensions
ECHO.%~a1 | find "d" >NUL 2>NUL && (
ECHO %1 is a directory
)
Outputs yes on:
Directories.
Directory symbolic links or junctions.
Broken directory symbolic links or junctions. (Doesn't try to resolve links.)
Directories which you have no read permission on (e.g. "C:\System Volume Information")
The NUL technique seems to only work on 8.3 compliant file names.
(In other words, `D:\Documents and Settings` is "bad" and `D:\DOCUME~1` is "good")
I think there is some difficulty using the "NUL" tecnique when there are SPACES in the directory name, such as "Documents and Settings."
I am using Windows XP service pack 2 and launching the cmd prompt from %SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe
Here are some examples of what DID NOT work and what DOES WORK for me:
(These are all demonstrations done "live" at an interactive prompt. I figure that you should get things to work there before trying to debug them in a script.)
This DID NOT work:
D:\Documents and Settings>if exist "D:\Documents and Settings\NUL" echo yes
This DID NOT work:
D:\Documents and Settings>if exist D:\Documents and Settings\NUL echo yes
This DOES work (for me):
D:\Documents and Settings>cd ..
D:\>REM get the short 8.3 name for the file
D:\>dir /x
Volume in drive D has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 34BE-F9C9
Directory of D:\
09/25/2008 05:09 PM <DIR> 2008
09/25/2008 05:14 PM <DIR> 200809~1.25 2008.09.25
09/23/2008 03:44 PM <DIR> BOOST_~3 boost_repo_working_copy
09/02/2008 02:13 PM 486,128 CHROME~1.EXE ChromeSetup.exe
02/14/2008 12:32 PM <DIR> cygwin
[[Look right here !!!! ]]
09/25/2008 08:34 AM <DIR> DOCUME~1 Documents and Settings
09/11/2008 01:57 PM 0 EMPTY_~1.TXT empty_testcopy_file.txt
01/21/2008 06:58 PM <DIR> NATION~1 National Instruments Downloads
10/12/2007 11:25 AM <DIR> NVIDIA
05/13/2008 09:42 AM <DIR> Office10
09/19/2008 11:08 AM <DIR> PROGRA~1 Program Files
12/02/1999 02:54 PM 24,576 setx.exe
09/15/2008 11:19 AM <DIR> TEMP
02/14/2008 12:26 PM <DIR> tmp
01/21/2008 07:05 PM <DIR> VXIPNP
09/23/2008 12:15 PM <DIR> WINDOWS
02/21/2008 03:49 PM <DIR> wx28
02/29/2008 01:47 PM <DIR> WXWIDG~2 wxWidgets
3 File(s) 510,704 bytes
20 Dir(s) 238,250,901,504 bytes free
D:\>REM now use the \NUL test with the 8.3 name
D:\>if exist d:\docume~1\NUL echo yes
yes
This works, but it's sort of silly, because the dot already implies i am in a directory:
D:\Documents and Settings>if exist .\NUL echo yes
I use this:
if not [%1] == [] (
pushd %~dpn1 2> nul
if errorlevel == 1 pushd %~dp1
)
This works and also handles paths with spaces in them:
dir "%DIR%" > NUL 2>&1
if not errorlevel 1 (
echo Directory exists.
) else (
echo Directory does not exist.
)
Probably not the most efficient but easier to read than the other solutions in my opinion.
A very simple way is to check if the child exists.
If a child does not have any child, the exist command will return false.
IF EXIST %1\. (
echo %1 is a folder
) else (
echo %1 is a file
)
You may have some false negative if you don't have sufficient access right (I have not tested it).
If you can cd into it, it's a directory:
set cwd=%cd%
cd /D "%1" 2> nul
#IF %errorlevel%==0 GOTO end
cd /D "%~dp1"
#echo This is a file.
#goto end2
:end
#echo This is a directory
:end2
#REM restore prior directory
#cd %cwd%
Based on this article titled "How can a batch file test existence of a directory" it's "not entirely reliable".
BUT I just tested this:
#echo off
IF EXIST %1\NUL goto print
ECHO not dir
pause
exit
:print
ECHO It's a directory
pause
and it seems to work
Here's my solution:
REM make sure ERRORLEVEL is 0
TYPE NUL
REM try to PUSHD into the path (store current dir and switch to another one)
PUSHD "insert path here..." >NUL 2>&1
REM if ERRORLEVEL is still 0, it's most definitely a directory
IF %ERRORLEVEL% EQU 0 command...
REM if needed/wanted, go back to previous directory
POPD
I would like to post my own function script about this subject hope to be useful for someone one day.
#pushd %~dp1
#if not exist "%~nx1" (
popd
exit /b 0
) else (
if exist "%~nx1\*" (
popd
exit /b 1
) else (
popd
exit /b 3
)
)
This batch script checks if file/folder is exist and if it is a file or a folder.
Usage:
script.bat "PATH"
Exit code(s):
0: file/folder doesn't exist.
1: exists, and it is a folder.
3: exists, and it is a file.
Under Windows 7 and XP, I can't get it to tell files vs. dirs on mapped drives. The following script:
#echo off
if exist c:\temp\data.csv echo data.csv is a file
if exist c:\temp\data.csv\ echo data.csv is a directory
if exist c:\temp\data.csv\nul echo data.csv is a directory
if exist k:\temp\nonexistent.txt echo nonexistent.txt is a file
if exist k:\temp\something.txt echo something.txt is a file
if exist k:\temp\something.txt\ echo something.txt is a directory
if exist k:\temp\something.txt\nul echo something.txt is a directory
produces:
data.csv is a file
something.txt is a file
something.txt is a directory
something.txt is a directory
So beware if your script might be fed a mapped or UNC path. The pushd solution below seems to be the most foolproof.
This is the code that I use in my BATCH files
```
#echo off
set param=%~1
set tempfile=__temp__.txt
dir /b/ad > %tempfile%
set isfolder=false
for /f "delims=" %%i in (temp.txt) do if /i "%%i"=="%param%" set isfolder=true
del %tempfile%
echo %isfolder%
if %isfolder%==true echo %param% is a directory
```
Here is my solution after many tests with if exist, pushd, dir /AD, etc...
#echo off
cd /d C:\
for /f "delims=" %%I in ('dir /a /ogn /b') do (
call :isdir "%%I"
if errorlevel 1 (echo F: %%~fI) else echo D: %%~fI
)
cmd/k
:isdir
echo.%~a1 | findstr /b "d" >nul
exit /b %errorlevel%
:: Errorlevel
:: 0 = folder
:: 1 = file or item not found
It works with files that have no extension
It works with folders named folder.ext
It works with UNC path
It works with double-quoted full path or with just the dirname or filename only.
It works even if you don't have read permissions
It works with Directory Links (Junctions).
It works with files whose path contains a Directory Link.
One issue with using %%~si\NUL method is that there is the chance that it guesses wrong. Its possible to have a filename shorten to the wrong file. I don't think %%~si resolves the 8.3 filename, but guesses it, but using string manipulation to shorten the filepath. I believe if you have similar file paths it may not work.
An alternative method:
dir /AD %F% 2>&1 | findstr /C:"Not Found">NUL:&&(goto IsFile)||(goto IsDir)
:IsFile
echo %F% is a file
goto done
:IsDir
echo %F% is a directory
goto done
:done
You can replace (goto IsFile)||(goto IsDir) with other batch commands:
(echo Is a File)||(echo is a Directory)
If your objective is to only process directories then this will be useful.
This is taken from the https://ss64.com/nt/for_d.html
Example... List every subfolder, below the folder C:\Work\ that has a name starting with "User":
CD \Work
FOR /D /r %%G in ("User*") DO Echo We found
FOR /D or FOR /D /R
#echo off
cd /d "C:\your directory here"
for /d /r %%A in ("*") do echo We found a folder: %%~nxA
pause
Remove /r to only go one folder deep. The /r switch is recursive and undocumented in the command below.
The for /d help taken from command for /?
FOR /D %variable IN (set) DO command [command-parameters]
If set contains wildcards, then specifies to match against directory
names instead of file names.
I was looking for this recently as well, and had stumbled upon a solution which has worked for me, but I do not know of any limitations it has (as I have yet to discover them). I believe this answer is similar in nature to TechGuy's answer above, but I want to add another level of viability. Either way, I have had great success expanding the argument into a full fledged file path, and I believe you have to use setlocal enableextensions for this to work properly.
Using below I can tell if a file is a directory, or opposite. A lot of this depends on what the user is actually needing. If you prefer to work with a construct searching for errorlevel vs && and || in your work you can of course do so. Sometimes an if construct for errorlevel can give you a little more flexibility since you do not have to use a GOTO command which can sometimes break your environment conditions.
#Echo Off
setlocal enableextensions
Dir /b /a:D "%~f1" && Echo Arg1 is a Folder || Echo Arg1 is NOT a Folder
Dir /b /a:-D "%~f1" && Echo Arg1 is a File || Echo Arg1 is NOT a File
pause
Using this you could simply drag and drop your file(s) onto the tool you are building to parse them out. Conversely, if you are using other means to comb your file structure and you already have the file and are not dragging/dropping them onto the batch file, you could implement this:
#Echo Off
setlocal enableextensions
Dir /b /s "C:\SomeFolderIAmCombing\*" >"%~dp0SomeFiletogoThroughlater.txt"
For /f "Usebackq Delims=" %%a in ("%~dp0SomeFiletogoThroughlater.txt") do (
Call:DetectDir "%%a"
)
REM Do some stuff after parsing through Files/Directories if needed.
REM GOTO:EOF below is used to skip all the subroutines below.
REM Using ' CALL:DetectDir "%%a" ' with the for loop keeps the for
REM loop environment running in the background while still parsing the given file
REM in a clean environment where GOTO and other commmands do not need Variable Expansion.
GOTO:EOF
:DetectDir [File or Folder being checked]
REM Checks if Arg1 is a Directory. If yes, go to Dir coding. If not, go to File coding.
Dir /b /a:D "%~f1" && Echo Arg1 is a Folder & GOTO:IsDir || Echo Arg1 is NOT a Folder & GOTO:IsFile
REM Checks if Arg1 is NOT a Directory. If Yes, go to File coding. If not, go to Dir coding
Dir /b /a:-D "%~f1" && Echo Arg1 is a File & GOTO:IsFile || Echo Arg1 is NOT a File & GOTO:IsDir
:IsDir
REM Do your stuff to the Folder
GOTO:EOF
:IsFile
REM do your stuff to the File
GOTO:EOF
Can't we just test with this :
IF [%~x1] == [] ECHO Directory
It seems to work for me.

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