i would like to create a batch script and run it via double click,
but the commands that i use, need a parameter
example: the bat file open the prompt and ask for a parameter, then it create a diredtory with that parameter as name
(in reality is a parameter to give to plink, but the example is similar)
How can i do that?
i know how to get a parameter via command line:
#echo off
mkdir %1
but how to do that via double click?
This may help. Describes how to prompt from batch file for the various versions of windows through the ages.
http://www.robvanderwoude.com/userinput.php
Here is the basic form of what you are after:
#ECHO OFF
SET /P FOLDER=Enter a folder name:
MKDIR "%1"
You can click the parameter(s) in morse code. It will then be interpreted by Windows correctly. Make sure to get your timing right though.
Related
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
I'm trying to create a .cfg file for bcc32 compiler and I'm following the instructions. I have installed correctly and placed an environment path as instructed but when I type "edit bcc32.cfg" into the command prompt it says that edit isn't a valid command? What am I supposed to do?
You could also create a .bat file, edit.bat, to replace the 16-bit edit program (removed because x64 windows flavors won't run it) which would launch your favorite editor.
#echo off
notepad %1
#echo on
This is what I wound up doing as a simple patch so I could carry on the way I always had for the most part. Just type:
edit myfile.ext
in the command prompt to use it.
Note: notepad is not my favorite editor - this is just an example that will work with stock windows.
Note 2: #echo off and #echo on are shown for clarity. You may also shorten this by omitting the echo statements and simply placing the # before the command to be silenced.
#notepad %1
I just use notepad (since they took out the edit command) from the command window like so:
C:\Borland\BCC55\bin> notepad bcc32.cfg
The file will open in notepad for editing. When you've finished editing the file, save it and you're done.
I have found this works for seeing in-window text of a complete file, on a 64bit machine. Once your path is set in cmd prompt, type the word type... followed by "filename" do you see how I used the quotes around the filename only!
type "filename"
You type it just like this (changing filename for your files name) and you will be able to see the entire file text in the cmd window. Not sure how to edit from here on but maybe someone can figure it out from here and tell me.
Assuming you're using Windows 7 (where edit.exe and edlin.exe have been removed):
Use powershell.exe instead of cmd - thereby edit will be available via command line.
Take a look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_PowerShell
simple answer....
if your using an old version of windows (xp e.t.c...) you would be able to use edit
but since your using new version of windows, Microsoft has updated and removed the commands that they think are not relevant e.g.. (msg, edit) depending if its a bit32 bit64 or bit82...
Take an excruciatingly simple batch file:
echo hi
pause
Save that as test.bat. Now, make a shortcut to test.bat. The shortcut runs the batch file, which prints "hi" and then waits for a keypress as expected. Now, add some argument to the target of the shortcut. Now you have a shortcut to:
%path%\test.bat some args
The shortcut runs the batch file as before.
Now, run the shortcut as administrator. (This is on Windows 7 by the way.) You can use either right-click -> Run as Administrator, or go to the shortcut's properties and check the box in the advanced section. Tell UAC that it's okay and once again the shortcut runs the batch file as expected.
Now, change the arguments in the target of the shortcut to add double quotes:
%path%\test.bat "some args"
Now try the shortcut as administrator. It doesn't work this time! A command window pops up and and disappears too fast to see any error. I tried adding > test.log 2>&1 to the shortcut, but no log is created in this case.
Try running the same shortcut (with the double quotes) but not as Administrator. It runs the batch file fine. So, it seems the behavior is not because of the double quoted parameters, and it's not because it's run as Administrator. It's some weird combination of the two.
I also tried running the same command from an administrator's command window. This ran the batch file as expected without error. Running the shortcut from the command window spawned a new command window which flashed and went away. So apparently the issue is caused by a combination of administrator, the shortcut, and the double quotes.
I'm totally stumped, does anyone have any idea what's going on? I'd also like a workaround.
I just ran Process Monitor on this and here is what I saw:
Run as User:
cmd /c ""C:\Users\Sunbelt\Desktop\test.bat" "some args""
Run as Admin:
"C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /C "C:\Users\Sunbelt\Desktop\test.bat" "some args"
For some reason, the Run as Admin case is not quoting the entire command. It seems it is trying to run the command:
C:\Users\Sunbelt\Desktop\test.bat" "some args
I would guess that since the first space is quoted it actually trying to run the following command:
"C:\Users\Sunbelt\Desktop\test.bat some" args
And in Process Monitor logs there is a file system entry of "NO SUCH FILE" for "C:\Users\Sunbelt\Desktop\test.bat some". I don't know why it is different when run as Admin, but that's what appears to be happening.
To work around this, create another bat file on a path without spaces, and with a filename without spaces, that simply does this:
call "Long path to original bat file\Original bat file.bat"
This secondary bat file can be run as admin.
You can now create a shortcut to this secondary bat file and check run as admin in the shortcut's advanced options. The shortcut can be placed on a path with spaces and it can have a filename containing spaces.
In my case I just want to pass one filename as parameter, but the path has spaces.
I found a solution that worked for this case (if that's okay to truncate the file name).
Create another bat file (input_gate.bat) to remove the spaces in the path using the syntax of CALL.exe.
Assuming that the shortcut is named test.lnk and is on the same route as the input_gate.bat:
call %~sdp0test.lnk %~sf1
This pass as a parameter to test.bat the full file name in short format, with administrator privileges.
%~sdp0 -> Is the current path (for the input_gate.bat) in short format.
%~sf1 -> Is the first parameter passed to input_gate.bat (in my case the full filename with spaces)
This worked for me in Windows 7:
ShortcutTarget: C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C myscript.bat Param1 "Param Two with spaces"
StartIn: "C:\Path containing\my script"
Not tried it yet as Admin. I don't think it would work if myscript.bat contained spaces
I finally figured it out, in a way that allows the use of long filenames (short filenames weren't adequate for my use case). My solution works on Win 7, 8, and 10. I think it was inspired by Luke's mention of the missing double-quote.
Here it is:
1.) For the shortcut you create to the batch file, which you set to run as admin, use the following command line:
cmd /s /c ""path_to_batch_file"
Note that there are 2 double-quote characters at the beginning of the command, and only 1 at the end, even though there should normally be 2 at the end also. But that is the trick in getting it to work!
2.) In your batch file, add back the missing double-quote character:
set user_file=%1"
That's it! Here's an example to let you see it in action:
1.) On your desktop, create "test.bat" with the following content:
#echo off
set user_file=%1"
echo The file is: %user_file%
pause
3.) Create a shortcut to the batch file. Set it to run as admin, and give it the following command line:
cmd /s /c ""%userprofile%\desktop\test.bat"
4.) Drag a file onto the shortcut. Success! (I hope...)
Answer here worked for me: https://superuser.com/questions/931003/passing-variables-with-space-to-the-command-line-as-admin
Which is...
Adding cmd /C before the target.
I also had to make sure my script's name and path didn't have spaces, and not quote the script's path in target.
On windows, I'm trying to acquire the file name using the %~f1 parameter.
I'm doing this from a new voice (command) which I've added to the contextual menu.
In the windows registry, the voice simply calls a batch script which prints the file name,
by this way:
`C:\script.bat %~f1`
but I get this output:
`C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\%~f1`
so, the path is ok, but what about the filename?!
Suggestions? Thanks!
When the context menu item it triggered, it is done so by Explorer (not cmd.exe) and Explorer does not implement %~f1. Hence you get the current result.
What you need is to modify your script so it receives the whole filename (you would probably put only 'C:\script.bat %1' or 'C:\script.bat' in the registry) and update your script to use %~f1:
#echo first argument: %1
#echo filename only: %~f1
#notepad %~f1
Good luck with that!
Try enclosing the entire variable in %'s.
C:\script.bat %~f1%
I need to create a batch file which starts multiple console applications in a Windows .cmd file. This can be done using the start command.
However, the command has a path in it. I also need to pass paramaters which have spaces as well. How to do this?
E.g. batch file
start "c:\path with spaces\app.exe" param1 "param with spaces"
Actually, his example won't work (although at first I thought that it would, too). Based on the help for the Start command, the first parameter is the name of the newly created Command Prompt window, and the second and third should be the path to the application and its parameters, respectively. If you add another "" before path to the app, it should work (at least it did for me). Use something like this:
start "" "c:\path with spaces\app.exe" param1 "param with spaces"
You can change the first argument to be whatever you want the title of the new command prompt to be. If it's a Windows app that is created, then the command prompt won't be displayed, and the title won't matter.
Escaping the path with apostrophes is correct, but the start command takes a parameter containing the title of the new window. This parameter is detected by the surrounding apostrophes, so your application is not executed.
Try something like this:
start "Dummy Title" "c:\path with spaces\app.exe" param1 "param with spaces"
start "" "c:\path with spaces\app.exe" "C:\path parameter\param.exe"
When I used above suggestion, I've got:
'c:\path' is not recognized a an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
I think second qoutation mark prevent command to run. After some search below solution save my day:
start "" CALL "c:\path with spaces\app.exe" "C:\path parameter\param.exe"
Interestingly, it seems that in Windows Embedded Compact 7, you cannot specify a title string. The first parameter has to be the command or program.
You are to use something like this:
start /d C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe
start /d "C:\Program Files\Mozilla
Firefox" firefox.exe start /d
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Office12" EXCEL.EXE
Also I advice you to use special batch files editor - Dr.Batcher
Surrounding the path and the argument with spaces inside quotes as in your example should do. The command may need to handle the quotes when the parameters are passed to it, but it usually is not a big deal.
I researched successfully and it is working fine for me. My requirement is to sent an email using vbscript which needs to be call from a batch file in windows. Here is the exact command I am using with no errors.
START C:\Windows\System32\cscript.exe "C:\Documents and Settings\akapoor\Desktop\Mail.vbs"