Batch File to Loop a VBScript During Certain Times of the Day - windows

Question

I am very new to batch, so please be easy. That being said, I am attempting to write a batch file that every few minutes will execute a VBScript that updates information on our network. Currently I have:
#ECHO OFF
REM Run VBScript
GOTO SKIP01
:LOOP
wscript "C:\Users\Desktop\RenameMove.vbs"
GOTO SKIP01
:
:
:SKIP01
REM 3 Min Delay
PING 1.1.1.1 -n 10 -w 18000 >NUL
IF HOUR:%time:~0,5% <09:44
GOTO SKIP01
IF HOUR:%time:~0,5% >16:00
GOTO SKIP01
IF HOUR:%time:~0,5% >=09:45
GOTO LOOP
Currently the window will open for a minute or two, then it just closes. If I run the above after removing the first GOTO SKIP01, the VBScript executes perfectly. Then there is a delay and the window closes. I imagine that it is everything under :SKIP01 that is causing the problem. The function I am trying to achieve is for the .BAT file to continuously loop a delay between the hours of 16:01 - 09:44. Then run the VBScript every 3 minutes from 09:45 - 16:00. Searching the forums I have yet to find anything to help. As I said, I am very new to Batch.
RE: My last comment below:
#ECHO OFF
setlocal enableextensions disabledelayedexpansion
set delay=180
set "startTime=09:45"
set "endTime=16:00"
:LOOP
set "now=%time: =0%"
:: ECHO It's %now%, waiting %delay% seconds
echo %date% %time% >> log.txt
if "%now%" geq "%startTime%:00,00" (
GOTO LOOP2
)
:LOOP2
set "now=%time: =0%"
:: ECHO It's %now%, waiting %delay% seconds
echo %date% %time% >> log.txt
if "%now%" lss "%endTime%:00,00" (
:: ECHO Start MSAccess
GOTO CALLVBS
)
:WAIT
REM 10 second delay
PING 127.0.0.1 -n %delay% >REM
GOTO LOOP
:CALLVBS
echo Time to Move!
wscript "C:\Users\ljs\Desktop\Stock_Automation_DO_NOT_EDIT\RenameMove.vbs"
GOTO WAIT

Answer 1

I renamed some things so it made more sense to me, but here is a working version. there are variables at the top for the delay (in seconds) and the start and end time for the window. I also modified your ping delay to something more simple, in my opinion.
Remove the echos for production and add the vbscript file to the CALLVBS function.
#ECHO OFF
setlocal enableextensions disabledelayedexpansion
set delay=180
set "startTime=09:45"
set "endTime=16:00"
:LOOP
set "now=%time: =0%"
ECHO It's %now%, waiting %delay% seconds
if "%now%" geq "%startTime%:00,00" (
ECHO It's after %startTime%
if "%now%" lss "%endTime%:00,00" (
ECHO And it's before %endTime%
GOTO CALLVBS
)
)
:WAIT
REM 10 second delay
PING 127.0.0.1 -n %delay% >REM
GOTO LOOP
:CALLVBS
echo It's time!
REM Call VBS here
GOTO WAIT
Here's what's happening, as explained by someone who barely knows what he's talking about:
ABOUT GOTO
First you need to know that batch files process line-by-line from top to bottom, unless it encounters certain statements like if, for or goto, the last of which being the one we are concerned with here. If the interpreter encounters a GOTO command, it will go to the corresponding label and resume processing code line by line until it finds another GOTO or gets to the end of the file.
SIMPLE EXAMPLE
#echo off
GOTO :FRUITS
:COLORS
echo Red
echo Green
GOTO :END
:FRUITS
echo Apple
echo Banana
GOTO :COLORS
:END
echo Done!
This outputs the following:
Apple
Banana
Red
Green
Done!
BREAKDOWN
Set up variables
#ECHO OFF
setlocal enableextensions disabledelayedexpansion
set delay=180
set "startTime=09:45"
set "endTime=16:00"
This sets some settings and creates some variables for use later. The variables should be self explanatory but
I can elaborate if you want.
check the time
01. :LOOP
02. set "now=%time: =0%"
03. ECHO It's %now%, waiting %delay% seconds
04. if "%now%" geq "%startTime%:00,00" (
05. ECHO It's after %startTime%
06. if "%now%" lss "%endTime%:00,00" (
07. ECHO And it's before %endTime%
08. GOTO CALLVBS
09. )
10. )
This is our "loop". :LOOP denotes what is basically a labeled
section of code that we can go back to any time we want. I called it LOOP
because it is the section we are doing over and over. It may have been more
accurate to call it :CHECKTIME or something similar, as that's what it does.
The label means absolutely nothing to the interpreter so calling it "LOOP"
doesn't mean it's going to repeat. This may be the biggest source of confusion.
Here is a
step-by-step of what each line on this block does (not processing
conditions, just line by line):
Get the current time.
Output the current time
Compare the current time to the endTime variable.
Output the result.
Compare the current time to the startTimevariable.
Output the result.
Goto the CALLVBS section of code
Note that I could have put GOTO WAIT at the end of this block and that might make more sense, but since :WAIT is the next block of
code that's what will process next anyway, so the GOTO would be
superfluous! This may be a second point of confusion.
Wait a bit
:WAIT
REM 10 second delay
PING 127.0.0.1 -n %delay% >REM
GOTO LOOP
This is the section of code that simply waits the specified number of
seconds. It does this using the ping command which is common for
batch programming since there is no built-in delay or sleep command
like other languages have. The first line is simply a comment, REM
means "Remove" (I think) and is how you comment out lines of code in
batch. As a matter of fact, I should have removed this since it's
not 10 seconds anyway :). The second line pings the localhost 180
times (or whatever the delay variable is set to). The >REM part
means it outputs the results of the ping to, well, I've never seen
"REM" here. Usually you would output it to nul but either way, it's
making sure you don't see the 180 ping results. Now, the 3rd line
tells the processor to go back to the :LOOP label. No matter what.
After the ping, it does the :LOOP section code again.
Execute your vbscript
:CALLVBS
echo It's time!
REM Call VBS here
GOTO WAIT
This is the :CALLVBS section of code. First it outputs "It's
time!". The second line is again, a comment. As you know, you
replace this with your vbscript. After this, the interpreter is told
to go to the :WAIT section of code. Again, it will always do this,
no matter what, after executing the line above it.