Im still fairly new to powershell and i'm still trying to learn.
Here is my issue im working with:
I have a bunch of bat files which i need to replace with a certain text.
Only Catch is that there is one thing in the text which needs to be replaced with a variable.
Let me illustrate:
Printer1.bat
Printer2.bat
text that need to be written:
#echo off
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
::Identify OS
for /F "delims=" %%a in ('ver') do set ver=%%a
set Version=
for %%a in (95=95 98=98 ME=ME NT=NT 2000=2000 5.1.=XP 5.2.=2003 6.0.=Vista 6.1.=7 6.2.=8)
do (
if "!Version!" equ "this" (
set Version=Windows %%a
) else if "!ver: %%a=!" neq "%ver%" (
set Version=this
)
)
if "!Version!" equ "Windows XP" (
rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /ga /n\\printserver\$printername
call P:\Script\wait.cmd 1
sc stop spooler
call P:\Script\wait.cmd 4
sc start spooler
call P:\Script\wait.cmd 1
) else echo Scriptet skal ikke kjøres på Windows7
Ping –n 5 –w 1 127.0.0.1>null
"#
If you notice the variable $printername which is actually the same name as the files name.
So what i want is to overwrite the file with the text but replace the variable with the filename (without .bat)
Not sure if you understand what im trying to do.
i know how to get only the filename without .bat by doing split-path and replace with ""
Ive tried so many Methods like foreach statements. .do while.. nothing i do is correct
If what you are looking for is to get the filename, without the path or file extension, you can use the [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension method for this. So something like the following would do the trick:
$batfiles = ls *.bat
foreach ($file in $batfiles)
{
$printername = [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($file.Name)
$newFileContents = #"
[... script content removed for brevity ...]
rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /ga /n\\printserver\$printername
[... script content removed for brevity ...]
"#
$newFileContents | Set-Content $file.FullName -Encoding UTF8
}
Related
So this is a bit vague to describe so I'll use a picture:
I have around 150 DWG files that have the same content as the SVG's (they're both vector drawing formats converted 1 to 1). I'd like to apply the same filename from the DWG's to the SVG's that start with the same number.
So I end up with:
001_TERMINAL.dwg
001_TERMINAL.svg
002_DIFFUSER.dwg
002_DIFFUSER.svg
etcetera...
I'm using a PC with Windows 10.
How can I implement a solution to my problem?
Thanks!
Assuming it's always 3 digits in the *.svg file names:
set DIR=C:\mydir
#rem Allow repeated setting of !variables! in the FOR loop below
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
for %%I in (%DIR%\*.dwg) do (
#rem "~n" to pick out just the filename part of the %%I variable
set BASENAME=%%~nI
#rem Substring - batch file style
set PREFIX=!BASENAME:~0,3!
echo !PREFIX! ... !BASENAME!
rename !PREFIX!.svg !BASENAME!.svg
)
Note this will need to be in a batch file for the %%I to work.
The main complication there is using variables in a multi-line FOR loop.
For these you have to use the delayed expansion option, to enable the variable to be expanded each time round, rather than when the line is parsed. This means you have to use !variable! instead of the more normal %variable% in a batch file.
Because you are on Windows, PowerShell is a great candidate to solve this.
For the script below, the length of the numeric part in front of the underscore character doesn't matter, as long as there is an underscore in the .dwg filename, as visible in your question.
Just replace 'c:\folder' here below with the path your files are stored in.
$folderPath = "c:\folder"
$files = Get-ChildItem ([System.IO.Path]::Combine($folderPath, "?*_*.dwg"))
for ($i=0; $i -lt $files.Count; $i++)
{
$file = $files[$i]
$dwgFileName = $file.BaseName
$index = $dwgFileName.IndexOf("_")
$numberPart = $dwgFileName.Substring(0, $index)
$svgFilePath = [System.IO.Path]::Combine($folderPath, "$numberPart.svg")
if ([System.IO.File]::Exists($svgFilePath))
{
Rename-Item -Path $svgFilePath -NewName "$dwgFileName.svg"
}
}
Using bash:
#!/bin/bash
for f in *.dwg; do
IFS='_' read -r -a arr <<< "$f"
mv ${arr[0]}.svg ${f%.*}.svg
done
I am trying to save a batch variable into a text file. I currently have this code:
#echo off
Set var=6
#echo %var%>txt.txt
For /f "tokens*" %%i in (txt.txt) do #echo %%i
Pause
It's supposed to save the 6 into the variable var and then write the variable in a text file. I want to do this to save user input into a text file so that when the batch program is terminated it will hold the variables.
There is a little problem with redirection. You are redirecting a "stream"; they are numbered 0-9. 0 is for "Standard Input" (STDIN), 1 is for "Standard Output" (STDOUT), 2 is for "Error Output" (STDERR).
If you use the redirection symbol > without a stream number, it defaults to "1".
So echo text>txt.txt is just an abreviation for echo text 1>txt.txt
Now it's getting tricky: echo 6>txt.txt won't echo "6" to the file, but tries to redirect "Stream 6" (which is empty) to the file. The Standard Output echo is off goes to the screen, because "Stream1" is not redirected.
Solution:
If you try to redirect a number or a string which ends with a number, just use a different syntax:
>txt.txt echo 6
Use the set command to get the contents of a file:
set /p var=<filename
Use the echo command to put into a file:
#echo Contents Of File > "FileName"
To append another line to the end of the file, use:
#echo Contents Of File >> "FileName"
Also, put the commands on separate lines or use '&&' between them on the same line.
This is the new Script and it Still Doesn't Work
I Get The syntax of the command is incorrect.
on FOR /F "USEBACKQ tokens=*" %%A IN (TYPE "C:\Windows\System32\tasks\at!num! ^| FIND "Command") DO (
SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
set num=1
:START
IF NOT EXIST "C:\Windows\System32\tasks\at%num%" (GOTO:EOF)
FOR /F "USEBACKQ tokens=*" %%A IN (`TYPE "C:\Windows\System32\tasks\at!num! ^| FIND "Command"`) DO (
set var=%%A
ECHO %var%
SET /a num=%num%+1
PAUSE
)
GOTO:START
To understand your code, I'm going to break it down into logic first then try to solve it. Let me know if I miss a detail...
Set num var to 0
Begin :Loop
set num var to its current value ::NOT NEEDED - You've specified this prior to the GOTO
increment num var by +1
if myfolder\at* file exists then read at%num% and find a string then output that line to %tmp%\1.txt ::Need quotations on file location.
set F var to the line stored in %tmp%\1.txt
set F="%%F: =%%" ::Please explain what you are trying to do with this command.
set F to start on 10th character and remove the last 11 characters from the line.
echo the variable
If it doesn't exist, exit, but if it does return to :Loop
You should tell us what you are attempting. If it is as simple as saving a variable from a text file output, set F=<file.txt will work. If it didn't, then something happened prior to that command. Still... what is set F="%%F: =%%"?
Unless you are using a FOR loop variable, there is no need to use %% on each end of the variable.
If this were a FOR loop, it would look like this:
SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
set num=1
:START
IF NOT EXIST "myFolder\at%num%.txt" (GOTO:EOF)
FOR /F "USEBACKQ tokens=*" %%A IN (`TYPE "myFolder\at%num%.txt" ^| FIND /i "string"`) DO (
PAUSE
SET var=%%A
ECHO !var!
PAUSE
SET var=!var: =!
ECHO !var!
PAUSE
SET var=!var:~10,-11!
ECHO !var!
PAUSE
SET /a num=!num!+1
ECHO !num!
PAUSE
)
GOTO:START
One good practice to check if commands are working, such as SET, insert an ECHO on the variable and a PAUSE right after each time you believe the variable should be changed. This will track what has changed on the variable so you can see if your command was correct and the changes were made.
I'd suggest using Batch's inbuilt function for loops, see here.
Conditionally perform a command for a range of numbers
Syntax
FOR /L %%parameter IN (start,step,end) DO command
Or maybe iterating over files in a folder would be better for what you are trying to do?
Loop through files (Recurse subfolders)
Syntax
FOR /R [[drive:]path] %%parameter IN (set) DO command
Or iterating over file contents?
Loop command: against a set of files - conditionally perform
a command against each item.
Syntax
FOR /F ["options"] %%parameter IN (filenameset) DO command
FOR /F ["options"] %%parameter IN ("Text string to process") DO command
This site has plenty of examples here which should point you in the right direction.
There are a few issues with your code, I've amended as follows to get the variable populated with the contents of the temp file.
set num=0
:Loop
set /a num=%num%+1
if exist "myFolder\at*" (
TYPE "myFolder\at%num%" | FINDSTR "\<Command\>" > "%temp%\1.txt"
set /P F=<"%TEMP%\1.txt"
Echo %F%
Pause
)
I don't know if this is the problem, but have you tried enabling:
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
Then, inside the loop (or the IF(...)), you use !foo! to signify environment variables instead of %foo%.
See setlocal /? and set /? for more information.
I have written a batch file that is launched as a post processing utility by a program. The batch file reads ~24 parameters supplied by the calling program, stores them into variables, and then writes them to various text files.
Since the max input variable in CMD is %9, it's necessary to use the 'shift' command to repeatedly read and store these individually to named variables. Because the program outputs several similar batch files, the result is opening several CMD windows sequentially, assigning variables and writing data files. This ties up the calling program for too long.
It occurs to me that I could free up the calling program much faster if maybe there's a way to write a very simple batch file that can write all the command parameters to a text file, where I can process them later. Basically, just grab the parameter list, write it and done.
Q: Is there some way to treat an entire series of parameter data as one big text string and write it to one big variable... and then echo the whole big thing to one text file? Then later read the string into %n variables when there's no program waiting to resume?
Parameter list is something like 25 - 30 words, less than 200 characters.
Sample parameter list:
"First Name" "Lastname" "123 Steet Name Way" "Cityname" ST 12345 1004968 06/01/2010 "Firstname+Lastname" 101738 "On Account" 20.67 xy-1z 1 8.95 3.00 1.39 0 0 239 8.95
Items in quotes are processed as string variables. List is space delimited.
Any suggestions?
echo %* 1>args.txt
%* references all arguments: %1 %2 %3...
It also works with subroutines.
call :test 1 2 3
goto :eof
:test
echo 1: %1
echo 2: %2
echo 3: %3
echo *: %*
exit /b
output:
1: 1
2: 2
3: 3
*: 1 2 3
See the following website for more information:
http://ss64.com/nt/syntax-args.html
Interesting Post. It sparked my interest.
I too am needing something that could accept parameters and although this probably isn't useful to you now I thought it might be useful at some later date.
My solution is less simple - because there just isn't an elegant way to do it.
Basically, in this example the "-" can be used to identify a parameter, and the next space is assumed to be set to a value.
Legal Stuff:
So this is all my code and I don't really care how or where you choose to use it. No need to cite me it's just an example anyway.
Like this:
Microsoft Batch:Begin Copy below and save as filename.bat
#ECHO OFF
REM USAGE: this-batch-name.bat -BUILD "1.2.3 build 405" -JOB "Running This Job" -run RUN_FUNCTION
SET __CURRENT_WORKING_DIRECTORY__=%~dp1
ECHO.__CURRENT_WORKING_DIRECTORY__=%__CURRENT_WORKING_DIRECTORY__%
REM # Clear Previous Variables
SET PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER=
SET PACKAGING_JOB_NAME=
SET GO_DEEPER=
SET RUN_COMMAND=
REM ## In order to read variables set while in a "FOR" loop
REM ## you have to set the 'ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION' with 'SETLOCAL'.
SETLOCAL ENABLEEXTENSIONS
SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
REM ## Capture Command line parameters here with a %*
FOR %%A IN (%*) DO (
REM ## If we found something with a '-' in previous pass run GO_DEEPER will be defined and thus set to the command line argument.
IF DEFINED GO_DEEPER (
REM ## When ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION is Set with setlocal command you have to use exclamation: i.e. '^!'
IF /I "-BUILD"=="!GO_DEEPER!" SET PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER=%%A
IF /I "-JOB"=="!GO_DEEPER!" SET PACKAGING_JOB_NAME=%%A
IF /I "-RUN"=="!GO_DEEPER!" SET RUN_COMMAND=%%A
SET SET GO_DEEPER=
)
IF /I "%%A" GEQ "-" (
REM ## Wow we found your command line argument that started with a '-' so set the GO_DEEPER Var
SET GO_DEEPER=%%A
) ELSE (
SET SET GO_DEEPER=
)
)
REM ## Time to grab the variables set while in delayed expansion mode
ENDLOCAL && SET PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER=%PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER% && SET PACKAGING_JOB_NAME=%PACKAGING_JOB_NAME% && SET RUN_COMMAND=%RUN_COMMAND%
REM ## Sucks, but you have to clear the '"' and "'" if it exists.
IF DEFINED RUN_COMMAND (
SET RUN_COMMAND=%RUN_COMMAND:"=%
SET RUN_COMMAND=%RUN_COMMAND:'=%
)
IF DEFINED PACKAGING_JOB_NAME (
SET PACKAGING_JOB_NAME=%PACKAGING_JOB_NAME:"=%
SET PACKAGING_JOB_NAME=%PACKAGING_JOB_NAME:'=%
)
IF DEFINED PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER (
SET PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER=%PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER:"=%
SET PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER=%PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER:'=%
)
REM ## Now we can try to run the command function if the -run was used...
IF DEFINED RUN_COMMAND (
CALL:--%RUN_COMMAND% "'%PACKAGING_JOB_NAME%'","'%PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER%'"
) ELSE (
ECHO Try running:
ECHO %0 -BUILD "1.2.3 build 405" -JOB "Running This Job" -run RUN_FUNCTION
)
GOTO DONE
:--RUN_FUNCTION
ECHO running... %~0
SET VARPASSED1=%~1
SET VARPASSED2=%~2
IF DEFINED VARPASSED1 ECHO VARPASSED1 was %VARPASSED1%
IF DEFINED VARPASSED2 ECHO VARPASSED2 was %VARPASSED2%
ECHO Add your code to process here...
GOTO:EOF
:DONE
ECHO We got the following results...
IF DEFINED PACKAGING_JOB_NAME ECHO PACKAGING_JOB_NAME=%PACKAGING_JOB_NAME%
IF DEFINED PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER ECHO PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER=%PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER%
IF DEFINED RUN_COMMAND ECHO RUN_COMMAND=%RUN_COMMAND%
</pre> </code>
Microsoft Batch END Copy
RESULTS:
__CURRENT_WORKING_DIRECTORY__=C:\dev\a\win\sysprep\
running... :--RUN_FUNCTION
VARPASSED1 was "'Running...'"
VARPASSED2 was "'This...'"
We got the following results...
PACKAGING_JOB_NAME="Running This Job"
PACKAGING_BUILD_NUMBER="1.2.3 build 405"
RUN_COMMAND=RUN_FUNCTION
Can anybody help with effective and safe way of removing quotes from batch variables?
I have written a batch file which successfully imports a list of parameters %1, %2, %3 etc. and places them into named variables. Some of these parameters contain multiple words, and therefor are enclosed in double quotes.
> "Susie Jo" (%1)
> "Smith Barnes" (%2)
> "123 E. Main St." (%3)
These %variables are next placed in named variables:
> set FirstName=%1
> set LastName=%2
> set ShipAddr=%3
verification of variables is done by echo.
> echo.%FirstName%
> echo.%LastName%
> echo.%ShipAddr%
results display as
"Susie Jo"
"Smith Barnes"
"123 E. Main St."
I need to eliminate the included quotes on selected variables. For instance, FirstName and LastName are used elsewhere and must not include quotes.
In a test batch file I was successful at eliminating quotes using the ~tilde character in variables.
> set FirstName=%~1
> set LastName=%~2
I thought I had the solution, but I soon experienced unusual behavior with execution of batch files. Suddenly CMD is no recognizing long path statments. Normal execution of batch file from full path
> C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\Txt\batchtest\dataout.bat
returns
> 'C:\Documents' is not recognized as an internal or external command....
So it would appear that the addition of the ~tilde character to the in-coming %1 %2...%n variables has caused some change. Possibly some environment variables have been altered?
I also tried clearing quotes from within variable with various attempts using the FOR command. That seems awkward and I have been unable to learn how to accomplish this by creating a list of variable to perform the task:
something like this:
for %%g in (%FirstName% %LastName%) do (
set %%g=%%~g
set %%h=%%~h
set FirstName=%%~g
set LastName=%%h
echo.%FirstName% %LastName%
)
I think I have two issues.
My 'short and sweet' idea of inserting ~tilde in the incoming %1 %2 variables (%~1, etc) seems to have affected some settings and altered how CMD navigates long pathnames.
I'm still in search of a clean and easy way to eliminate quotes from selected named variables.
Any help for those more experienced would be most appreciated. I'm at the end of my skills here... need some guidance please!
edit 12/26/2009 13:36 PST
entire batch file:
:: dataout.bat
:: revision 12/25/2009 add ~tilde to incoming %variables to eliminate embedded "quotation marks.
:: writes address list using command line parameters
:: writes data output list for QBooks IIF import
:: writes Merchant Order data for RUI
:: sample command line string for testing
:: listmail[firstname][lastname]["address string"]["city string"][state][zip][Order#][PurchDate][Regname]["FirstName LastName"][TransactionID][PaymentMethod][Total][ProductID][Qty][Price_Each][PackPrep] [Shipping] [CommissionPmt] [Invoice#]
:: example: dataout Bellewinkle Moose "123 Green Forest Way" "Vancouver" WA 98664 1004968 05/25/2009 "Bellewinkle Moose" "Olive Oyl" 101738 "On Account" 20.67 FK-1P 1 8.95 3.00 1.39 239
#echo off
cls
c:
cd\
cd documents and settings\administrator\my documents\txt\batchtest
echo processing %1 %2
:VARISET
:: Convert %n command line parameters to string variables
set ($FirstName)=%~1
set ($LastName)=%~2
set ($BillingAddress1)=%~3
set ($BillingCity)=%~4
set ($BillingState)=%~5
set ($BillingPostal)=%~6
set ($OrderNumber)=%~7
set ($Purch_Date)=%~8
set ($RegistrationName)=%~9
shift
set ($TransactionID)=%~9
shift
set ($PaymentMethod)=%~9
shift
set ($Total)=%~9
shift
set ($ProductIdentifier)=%~9
shift
set ($Quantity)=%~9
shift
set ($Price_Each)=%~9
shift
set ($Pack_Prep)=%~9
shift
set ($Shipping)=%~9
shift
set ($ServiceFee)=%~9
shift
set ($Discount)=%~9
shift
set ($Invoice)=%~9
shift
set ($UnitPrice)=%~9
set _ShipCombName=%($FirstName)% %($LastName)%
echo ship combo name is %_ShipCombName%
pause
:: write string varibables to logfile
echo FN %($FirstName)% LN %($LastName)% BA %($BillingAddress1)% %($BillingCity)% %($BillingState)% %($BillingPostal)% %($OrderNumber)% %($Purch_Date)% %($RegistrationName)% %($TransactionID)% %($PaymentMethod)% %($Total)% %($ProductIdentifier)% %($Quantity)% %($Price_Each)% %($Pack_Prep)% %($Shipping)% %($ServiceFee)% %($Discount)% %($Invoice)% %($UnitPrice)% %_ShipCombName% >> d_out_log.txt
:: Assign Account by Service Provider
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==Amazon Receivables SET _QBAcct=Amazon.com
:: 12-25-2009 added second Amazon pm't method for versatility
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==Amazon SET _QBAcct=Amazon.com
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==MAST SET _QBAcct=Auth/Net
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==MasterCard SET _QBAcct=Auth/Net
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==Visa SET _QBAcct=Auth/Net
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==PayPal SET _QBAcct=PayPalPmts
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==On Account SET _QBAcct=%($RegistrationName)%
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==Mail SET _QBAcct=%($RegistrationName)%
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==AMER SET _QBAcct=Auth/Net
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==DISC SET _QBAcct=Auth/Net
:: Assign Rep designator based on QBAccount
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==Amazon Receivables SET _Rep=Amazon
:: 12-25-2009 added second Amazon pm't method for versatility
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==Amazon SET _Rep=Amazon
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==MAST SET _Rep=BlueZap
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==MasterCard SET _Rep=BlueZap
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==Visa SET _Rep=BlueZap
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==PayPal SET _Rep=BlueZap
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==On Account SET _Rep=R B
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==Mail SET _Rep=R B
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==AMER SET _Rep=BlueZap
IF /i %($PaymentMethod)%==DISC SET _Rep=BlueZap
:: check for duplicate address data
findstr /i /s "%_ShipCombName%" addrlist.txt
echo errorlevel: %errorlevel%
if errorlevel 1 goto :ADDRWRITE
if errorlevel 0 goto :ADDRFOUND
:ADDRWRITE
echo %_ShipCombName% >> addrlist.txt
echo %($BillingAddress1)% >> addrlist.txt
echo %($BillingCity)% %($BillingState)% %($BillingPostal)% >> addrlist.txt
echo. >> addrlist.txt
echo Address File Written
:ADDRFOUND
echo selected rep is %_Rep%
echo selected account is: %_QBAcct%
pause
:: RUI OUT
:: write Merchant Order ID & RUI Order ID to RUI
:: check for duplicate RUI data in writeRUI.txt
cd..
cd RegKOut
find /i "%($OrderNumber)%" writeRUI.txt
echo errorlevel: %errorlevel%
if errorlevel 1 goto :RUIWRITE
if errorlevel 0 goto :IIFWRITE
:RUIWRITE
echo %($Invoice)% %($OrderNumber)% >> writeRUI.txt
:: end write RUI
:: IIF OUT
:IIFWRITE
:: Check for duplicate invoice data in writeIIF.txt
find /i "%($OrderNumber)%" writeIIF.txt
echo errorlevel: %errorlevel%
if errorlevel 1 goto :HEADWRITE
if errorlevel 0 goto :LINEWRITE
:HEADWRITE
:: write Header, Ship/Handling, discount, Rep & commission data to QB IIF import file
echo %($OrderNumber)% %($Purch_Date)% Invoice %($TransactionID)% %_QBAcct% Accounts Receivable %($Total)% %_Rep% >> writeIIF.txt
echo H/P %($Pack_Prep)% 1 ? >> writeIIF.txt
echo SHP %($Shipping)% 1 ? >> writeIIF.txt
echo DISC %($Discount)% 1 ? >> writeIIF.txt
echo Comm %($ServiceFee)% 1 ? >> writeIIF.txt
:LINEWRITE
IF /i %($ProductIdentifier)% equ PH-1 goto WRITE_DEFA ELSE goto WRITE_DISC
echo %($ProductIdentifier)%
:WRITE_DISC
::writes discounted prices parsed from custom variable:
echo %($ProductIdentifier)% %($Price_Each)% %($Quantity)% ? >> writeIIF.txt
goto :EOF
:WRITE_DEFA
:writes default prices parsed from Product data
echo %($ProductIdentifier)% %($UnitPrice)% %($Quantity)% ? >> writeIIF.txt
goto :EOF
:: 3-second delay
:: TYPE NUL | CHOICE.COM /N /CY /TY,3 >NUL
:EOF
You have an extra double quote at the end, which is adding it back to the end of the string (after removing both quotes from the string).
Input:
set widget="a very useful item"
set widget
set widget=%widget:"=%
set widget
Output:
widget="a very useful item"
widget=a very useful item
Note: To replace Double Quotes " with Single Quotes ' do the following:
set widget=%widget:"='%
Note: To replace the word "World" (not case sensitive) with BobB do the following:
set widget="Hello World!"
set widget=%widget:world=BobB%
set widget
Output:
widget="Hello BobB!"
As far as your initial question goes (save the following code to a batch file .cmd or .bat and run):
#ECHO OFF
ECHO %0
SET BathFileAndPath=%~0
ECHO %BathFileAndPath%
ECHO "%BathFileAndPath%"
ECHO %~0
ECHO %0
PAUSE
Output:
"C:\Users\Test\Documents\Batch Files\Remove Quotes.cmd"
C:\Users\Test\Documents\Batch Files\Remove Quotes.cmd
"C:\Users\Test\Documents\Batch Files\Remove Quotes.cmd"
C:\Users\Test\Documents\Batch Files\Remove Quotes.cmd
"C:\Users\Test\Documents\Batch Files\Remove Quotes.cmd"
Press any key to continue . . .
%0 is the Script Name and Path.
%1 is the first command line argument, and so on.
Your conclusion (1) sounds wrong. There must be some other factor at play.
The problem of quotes in batch file parameters is normally solved by removing the quotes with %~ and then putting them back manually where appropriate.
E.g.:
set cmd=%~1
set params=%~2 %~3
"%cmd%" %params%
Note the quotes around %cmd%. Without them, path with spaces won't work.
If you could post your entire batch code, maybe more specific answer could be made.
I usually just remove all quotes from my variables with:
set var=%var:"=%
And then apply them again wherever I need them e.g.:
echo "%var%"
Spent a lot of time trying to do this in a simple way.
After looking at FOR loop carefully, I realized I can do this with just one line of code:
FOR /F "delims=" %%I IN (%Quoted%) DO SET Unquoted=%%I
Example:
#ECHO OFF
SET Quoted="Test string"
FOR /F "delims=" %%I IN (%Quoted%) DO SET Unquoted=%%I
ECHO %Quoted%
ECHO %Unquoted%
Output:
"Test string"
Test string
The simple tilde syntax works only for removing quotation marks around the command line parameters being passed into the batch files
SET xyz=%~1
Above batch file code will set xyz to whatever value is being passed as first paramter stripping away the leading and trailing quotations (if present).
But, This simple tilde syntax will not work for other variables that were not passed in as parameters
For all other variable, you need to use expanded substitution syntax that requires you to
specify leading and lagging characters to be removed. Effectively we are instructing to remove strip away the first and the last character without looking at what it actually is.
#SET SomeFileName="Some Quoted file name"
#echo %SomeFileName% %SomeFileName:~1,-1%
If we wanted to check what the first and last character was actually quotation before removing it, we will need some extra code as follows
#SET VAR="Some Very Long Quoted String"
If aa%VAR:~0,1%%VAR:~-1%aa == aa""aa SET UNQUOTEDVAR=%VAR:~1,-1%
I learned from this link, if you are using XP or greater that this will simply work by itself:
SET params = %~1
I could not get any of the other solutions here to work on Windows 7.
To iterate over them, I did this:
FOR %%A IN (%params%) DO (
ECHO %%A
)
Note: You will only get double quotes if you pass in arguments separated by a space typically.
This sounds like a simple bug where you are using %~ somewhere where you shouldn't be. The use if %~ doesn't fundamentally change the way batch files work, it just removes quotes from the string in that single situation.
All the answers are complete. But Wanted to add one thing,
set FirstName=%~1
set LastName=%~2
This line should have worked, you needed a small change.
set "FirstName=%~1"
set "LastName=%~2"
Include the complete assignment within quotes. It will remove quotes without an issue. This is a prefered way of assignment which fixes unwanted issues with quotes in arguments.
set widget="a very useful item"
set widget
widget="a very useful item"
set widget=%widget:"=%"
set widget
set widget=a very useful item"
The trailing quote " in line 4 is adding a quote " to the string. It should be removed.
The syntax for line 4 ends with %
I thought I had the solution, but I soon experienced unusual behavior with execution of batch files. Suddenly CMD is no recognizing long path statments. Normal execution of batch file from full path
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\Txt\batchtest\dataout.bat
returns
'C:\Documents' is not recognized as an internal or external command....
There's your whole problem. CMD doesn't understand spaces inside of filenames from the command line, so it thinks you're trying to pass
and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\Txt\batchtest\dataout.bat
as parameters to the
"C:\Documents"
program.
You need to quote it to run a batch file with spaces in the path:
> "C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\Txt\batchtest\dataout.bat"
would have worked.
#echo off
Setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
Set 1=%1
Set 1=!1:"=!
Echo !1!
Echo "!1!"
Set 1=
Demonstrates with or without quotes reguardless of whether original parameter has quotes or not.
And if you want to test the existence of a parameter which may or may not be in quotes, put this line before the echos above:
If '%1'=='' goto yoursub
But if checking for existence of a file that may or may not have quotes then it's:
If EXIST "!1!" goto othersub
Note the use of single quotes and double quotes are different.
Azure devops sometimes uses double quoting character (") to specify string. Powershell can use single quote character (') to specify string. Naturally I wanted to have a flexibility to be able to specify parameters however I wish, so same parameter can be used from both - command line - via batch file, and as a powershell script, as any parameter, including empty value.
Quote natural thinking is to write something like this:
build.bat:
#echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set args=%*
set args=%args:"='%
echo powershell -executionpolicy bypass "%~dpn0.ps1" %args%
endlocal
But like you can guess - this does not work out of box - if no arguments are provided to batch file so %* == empty string. args expands as no string, and next replacement notices that args is not set - and instead of replacing string - it would append extra "=' garbage to args parameter.
Solution to this was just to add extra space in first assignment.
build.bat:
#echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set args=%*
set args=%args:"='%
echo powershell -executionpolicy bypass "%~dpn0.ps1" %args%
endlocal
After this character translation should be correct:
C:\test>build
powershell -executionpolicy bypass "C:\test.ps1"
C:\test>build aa
powershell -executionpolicy bypass "C:\test\build.ps1" aa
C:\test>build "aa"
powershell -executionpolicy bypass "C:\test\build.ps1" 'aa'
C:\test>build 'aa'
powershell -executionpolicy bypass "C:\test\build.ps1" 'aa'