I'm trying to write the first argument of a command line in a file, but it works in command line and not with drag and drop.
The very simple batch file (test_echo.cmd) is as following:
#echo OFF
echo %1 > echo_arg_in_file.txt`
On the command line,
C:\rep>test_echo.cmd "C:\rep\fichier de test.txt"`
creates a file echo_arg_in_file.txt with "C:\rep\fichier de test.txt" written inside.
But with a drag and drop of the file "C:\rep\fichier de test.txt" on the batch file, nothing happens... (the test to delete > echo_arg_in_file.txt was done before and displays well "C:\rep\fichier de test.txt")
Any explanation?
I'm not sure about your precise environment, but if I have to bet, current active directory is the problem
Replace your test_echo.cmd with
#echo off
for %%a in (.) do echo %%~fa
pause
Then execute the file both by double clicking it and by drag/drop a file. In both cases you will see the current active directory for the started cmd process.
Why is this relevant? As you have not included a path in the original file redirect, this file will be created in the current active directory that, maybe, could not be what you expect.
You can find more information here
For a quick solution,
#echo OFF
> "%~dp0\echo_arg_in_file.txt" echo %1
that will create the file in the same folder that hold the batch file
What Windows' version. Vista can't drag and drop into a command prompt for security reasons. Restricted possibilities are on later versions (cause we all whinged).
Prior to Vista it was the same as typing the file name if dragged into the window.
If talking about a shortcut each file is one parameter (use shift command to handle this).
Related
I have a folder structure that looks like this:
project
bin
my_program.exe
misc_stuff.exe
DROP_OVER_ME.bat
input_file.txt
Basically, I want to be able to drag and drop the input file on top of the DROP_OVER_ME.bat batch file and have it pass on the path of the input file to the exe.
This is what my batch file looks like:
#echo off
start bin/my_program.exe %1
exit
When I drag and drop input_file.txt over the batch file, everything works fine -- my_program.exe successfully receives the path of the input file and runs.
However, when input_file.txt is located outside the project folder, dragging and dropping it makes the batch file throw up a popup message saying
Windows cannot find 'bin/my_program.exe'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.
How can I fix my batch file so I can drag and drop files from any arbitrary location inside my filesystem?
Sounds like the batch script is basing the current working directory as the directory you're dragging from, and not the directory containing the script. (You can test this by adding an echo %cd% && pause to your script if you wish.) Try modifying your script as follows to remove any ambiguity about file paths:
#echo off
cd /d "%~dp0"
start "" "bin\my_program.exe" "%~f1"
exit /b
Newbie to windows scripting. I need help running the .bat file on the command line so I can test it.
I used Text Document as my editor to create the file (opens up also as Notepad).
I performed file "save as" (ALL FILES). If I open up cmd, I can see the file has a .txt extension (myfile.bat.txt). So if I just type in cmd myfile.bat.txt the editor opens. I am not sure how to execute this correctly.
As for the logic in my batch script, I am basically logging into a remote directory (already created the net mount) and now I want to:
run an executeable file
rename some files.
With some research, I written this so far. I have saved it as a .bat file
# echo off
echo This is a batch file to run an executable and rename some files
pause
--run executable file here, just don't know how to do it
x:
cd x:
rename fileA fileB
Any help, good tips/practice would be great. Thanks.
Type in this command in cmd window:
rename myfile.bat.txt myfile.bat
Now you can run the script by simply invoking:
myfile.bat
or
myfile
(provided there's no myfile.exe or myfile.com in the same directory).
If you need to edit the script further, you can either right click it in Explorer and choose Edit or call the editor from the command window:
notepad myfile.bat
To call a program from the script, simply add its name, if it's in the current directory:
someprogram.exe
or the name with the path, if it's somewhere else:
directory\program.exe
or
d:\directory\program.exe
If the name or the path contain spaces, be sure to enclose the entire name & path string in double quotes:
"d:\directory\program name.exe"
you can just type the full name of the program
eg
"c:\program dir\program.exe"
or you can add the program directory to your path environment variable
set PATH=%PATH%;"c:\program dir"
and just type the program name
program
you can also edit your PATH variable in windows http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310519
NOTE: When you save the file in notepad, you want to save it as filename.BAT and select All Files from the second dropdown. If you don't it still gets saved as a .TXT.
A couple of command to consider:
CSCRIPT cscript /? in CMD
START http://ss64.com/nt/start.html
If you're doing say a VBSCRIPT use CSCRIPT to start it. If you're trying to execute another BATCH script or an EXE, use START
I have many scripts which I interact with from the command line. Everytime I need to use them, I have to open a command line window and copy+paste and CD to the path to the directory they are in. This is tedious (they are in a rather deep file system, so typing out the full path is a pain, copy+paste is better but not much). I tried to create a .BAT file that I could double-click on that would open a new command-line window in the folder the .bat file exists in but it does not work. It opens a new window, but the working directory is not the directory that .bat file is in. Here's what I've got after much googling (My cmd skills ain't so great):
cd %CD%
cmd.exe
I know from when I used Linux that Konqueror had a "Command-line window here" feature, and that's the effect I'm trying to get on Windows.
you probably want to do this:
cd /d %~dp0
cmd.exe
this will set your current directory to the directory you have the batch file in
Create a file named open_dos_here.cmd with the following lines:
%~d1
cd "%~p1"
call cmd
Put this file at any folder.
Then, go to your Send To folder (Win+E; Alt+D;shell:sendto;Enter).
Create a shortcut to point to this open_dos_here.cmd
Then, in any folder, select any file or sub-folder. Right-click and select "Send To" and then select open_dos_here.cmd to open the DOS in that folder.
You can just enter cmd into the address bar in Explorer and it starts up in that path. Likewise for PowerShell.
There's a simpler way -
start /d "folder path"
As a more general solution you might want to check out the Microsoft Power Toy for XP that adds the "Open Command Window Here" option when you right-click: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
In Vista and Windows 7, you'll get that option if you hold down shift and right-click (this is built in).
I'm thinking that if you are creating a batch script that relies on the Current Directory being set to the folder that contains the batch file, that you are setting yourself up for trouble when you try to execute the batch file using a fully qualified path as you would from a scheduler.
Better to add this line to your batch file too:
REM Change Current Directory to the location of this batch file
CD /D %~dp0
unless you are fully qualifying all of your paths.
Another solution is to use a shortcut file to cmd.exe instead of a batch file.
Edit the shortcut's start in property to %~dp0.
You achieve the same thing, except it has the Cmd icon (and you can change this).
Some people don't like clicking on batch files without knowing what's in them, and some corporate network drives have a ban on .bat files...
The simplest command to do this:
start
You can always run this in command line to open new command line window in the same location. Or you can place it in your .bat file.
Most simple way in explorer is to Shift + right mouse click on the folder or on an empty space in the folder and click on Open command prompt here.
CMD will then start in that folder
I must say, I'm not sure if it works for Windows Vista and below, but it surely works for Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10.
Referring to answer of #Chris,
We can also go to parent directory of batch file and run commands using following
cd /d %~dp0..
<OTHER_BATCH_COMMANDS>
cmd.exe
To understand working of command cd /d %~dp0.. please refer below link
What does it mean by command cd /d %~dp0 in Windows
You could add a context menu entry through the registry:
Navigate in your Registry to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Classes/Folder/Shell
and create a key called "Command Prompt" without the quotes.
Set the default string to whatever text you want to appear in the right-click menu.
Create a new key within your newly created command prompt named "command," and set the default string to
cmd.exe /k pushd %1
You may need to add %SystemRoot%\system32\ before the cmd.exe if the executable can't be found.
The changes should take place immediately. Right click a folder and your new menu item should appear.
Also see http://www.petri.co.il/add_command_prompt_here_shortcut_to_windows_explorer.htm
When you are in the desired folder , just type CMD in your address bar
A bit late to the game but if I'm understanding your needs correctly this will help people with the same issue.
Two solutions with the same first step:
First navigate to the location you keep your scripts in and copy the filepath to that directory.
First Solution:
Click "Start"
Right-click "Computer" (or "My Computer)
Click "Properties"
On the left, click "Advanced System Settings"
Click "Environment Variables"
In the "System Variables" Box, scroll down and select "PATH"
Click "Edit"
In the "Variable Value" field, scroll all the way to the right
If there isn't a semi-colon (;) there yet, add it.
Paste in the filepath you copied earlier.
End with a semi-colon.
Click "OK"
Click "OK" again
Click "OK" one last time
You can now use any of your scripts as if you were already that folder.
Second Solution: (can easily be paired with the first for extra usefulness)
On your desktop create a batch file with the following content.
#echo off
cmd /k cd "C:\your\file\path"
This will open a command window like what you tried to do.
For tons of info on windows commands check here: http://ss64.com/nt/
Create a new file startCmdLine.bat in your directory and put this line in it
call cmd
That is it. Now double click on the .bat file. It works for me.
You can replace call with start, it will also work.
this code works for me
name it cmd.bat
#echo off
title This is Only A Test
echo.
:Loop
set /p the="%cd%"
%the%
echo.
goto loop
you can try:
shift + right click
then, click on Open command prompt here
Inside given folder click on the top Adddress Bar and type cmd and click enter
It will open command prompt with current folder address.
You can simply create a bat file in any convenient place and drop any file from the desired directory onto it.
Haha. Code for this:
cmd
I got some folders created by malware whose name ended with a dot like C:\a.\ or C:\b.\, etc.
I found a solution that can remove such folder with command rd /q /s "C:\a.\" but if I call win API RemoveDirectory, it returns ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND.
And I just wonder how to write a function to delete such directory, thanks
I test on my own Windows XP SP3 system like this
create a folder C:\>mkdir a..\\\ and I cannot double click to access this folder. and I can remove with command rd /q /s "C:\a.\"
what Windows system API(s) that rd /q /s command call?
Here's a solution to this problem:
rd /s "\\?\C:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop\Annoying Folder."
Solution:
When you call RemoveDirectory, make sure that you prefix the path with the string "\\?\".
Explanation:
It has everything to do with the dot. According to MSDN, there are certain cases where you may not be able to delete a file or folder on an NTFS volume, specifically when the file name is invalid in the Win32 name space (which is why you are unable to open the file using the normal methods in Windows Explorer).
You may not be able to delete a file if the file name includes an invalid name (for example, the file name has a trailing space or a trailing period or the file name is made up of a space only). To resolve this issue, use a tool that uses the appropriate internal syntax to delete the file. You can use the "\\?\" syntax with some tools to operate on these files, for example:
del "\\?\c:\path_to_file_that contains a trailing space.txt "
The cause of this issue is similar to Cause 4. However, if you use typical Win32 syntax to open a file that has trailing spaces or trailing periods in its name, the trailing spaces or periods are stripped before the actual file is opened. Therefore, if you have two files in the same folder named "AFile.txt" and "AFile.txt " (note the space after the file name), if you try to open the second file by using standard Win32 calls, you open the first file instead. Similarly, if you have a file whose name is just " " (a space character) and you try to open it by using standard Win32 calls, you open the file's parent folder instead. In this situation, if you try to change security settings on these files, you either may not be able to do this or you may unexpectedly change the settings on different files. If this behavior occurs, you may think that you have permission to a file that actually has a restrictive ACL.
(Source: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=320081)
Ive posted this on SU and I decided to post it here too. Its the simplest and fastest and easiest way to achieve this. I am now laughing at how much simple it is.
Install WinRAR
Follow the Step by Step procedure from pictures:
I myself had WinRaR installed so I decided to demonstrate the workaround in it.
This workaround is also possible by using 7zip.
One another thing I should mention is that, as it seems the problem is caused by using windows explorer and any other file browser (like winrar file browser itself, ftp explorers etc.) will treat this files as normal.
You could try using any file browser and simply delete those files and not bother archiving them though!
Cheers!
If you have git installed (you can get ir from here) then it is as simple as:
Navigate File Explorer to location where problematic folder is located.
Context menu (right mouse button) > Git Bash Here.
rm -rf Foldername./
When you see the name is "a.", but the actual name is "a.."
Try this:
rd /q /s "C:\a..\"
And you can try explore the folder by this code:
for /f "tokens=3 delims=<>" %%a in ('dir /ad /x "C:\*" ^| findstr " a\.\.$"') do (
for /f "tokens=1" %%b in ("%%a") do start "" "%%~fb"
)
I used "WinRar" A simple RAR, ZIP processor. You can use any sort of file name editor. Just open the directory where your file is into WinRar and select rename after right clicking the file/folder you want to rename and fill in the new name.
If you need to keep the data you can also use the \\?\ trick for renaming the folder.
ren "\\?\C:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop\Annoying Folder." "\\?\C:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop\Annoying Folder"
This is an ideal solution if you need to know what is inside the folder or if the data is important.
This works in both Command Prompt and PowerShell.
Try to use unlocker program to delete files and folders that you can't delete normally.
if you want to keep the files theres options in bash as well.
you will require the Windows Subsystem for Linux package (i have Ubuntu installed)
to keep the files. open a command prompt and cd over to where the file or folder is located.
now type "bash"
this will open bash in the prompt. now enter mv '[folder or file you want to move]' '[new name (can include path)]' (theres more to mv so if you want to read up on all of its options use 'man mv' this will open its manual page (then use q to return to bash))
the mv command is short for move, but its has a secondary function of renaming things.
also in bash use 'single quotes' and not a normal "double quote", as bash expects 'single quotes'.
heres a example. assume your folder is named "data 1." located in c:\users (so the full path to the error folder is c:\users\data 1.
1. open command prompt using any method
2. enter cd c:\users
3. now type bash this loads bash in the folder you previously were in
4. finally type mv 'data 1.' 'data 1'
5. the folder is now accessible and you can choose to delete it.
Use bash rm command from Ubuntu on Windows 10
I want to create a file named "new text document.txt" in the folder %tv% using a batch file ( *.bat). This is my batch file:
set tv=D:\prog\arpack96\ARPACK\SRC
cd "%tv%"
#CON >> "new text document.txt"
set tv=
Although I can really create the file in %tv%, but when I run the above batch file, I will get an error message saying
' ' is not recognized as an internal
or external command, operable program
or batch file.
Is there anyway to get rid of this error message? Or I am creating the file using the wrong command?
In order to get a truly empty file without having to provide user interaction, you can use the set /p command with a little trickery:
set tv=c:\documents and settings\administrator
cd "%tv%"
<nul >"new text document.txt" (set /p tv=)
The set /p asks the user for input into the tv variable after outputting the prompt after the = character.
Since the prompt is empty, no prompt is shown. Since you're reading from nul, it doesn't wait for user interaction. And you can store the empty string straight into tv thus removing the need to unset it.
Actually, after some more thought, there's an easier way. I've used that set /p trick in the past since it's the only way I know of echoing text without a newline being added (great for progress bars in the console). But if all you want is an empty file, you can probably get away with:
copy /y nul "new text document.txt"
The copy simply copies the contents of the nul device (effectively an empty file) to your new file name. The /y is to ensure it's overwritten without bothering the user.
type nul > file.txt
file.txt should be created empty
or paxdiablo's answer
Create an empty file from a *.bat file - this worked for me.
echo off > test.txt
con is the windows specialized file name and it should not be used.
copy con >> filename.txt
shall ask you to enter the text and you can save the text by typing Ctrl Z.