Web User - UK (2019-10-16)

Weekend Project

Subscribe toWeb User atsubscribe.webuser.co.uk 16 - 29 October 2019 59

explore the full list of built-incommands
atbit.ly/scripts486, but here are some of
the morecommon ones.

@echo–@echo offhides the
commands as they run, while@echo
on itsown shows you theworkings of
your script, which is useful ifyou ha ve
to troubleshoot problems with it.

rem– this is shortfor ‘remark’ and lets
you add notesregardingyour commands.
They aren’texecuted or displayed when
the script runs and only appear whenyou
view the file in atext editor.

pause– we’ve used the pausecommand
in our MiniWorkshop, below. It
introduces a delay, usuallyto allow time
to read something on screen. ‘Press any
key to co ntinue...’ is displayed onscreen
when a pause isreached.

if– this is usedfor conditional
commands – essentially, ‘If Xexists/
doesn’texist, then do Y’.

mkdir– thiscommand makes a directory
and gives it a name ofyour choosing.For
example,mkdir Folder. You can use
themdcommand instead, ifyou prefer.

rmdir– thiscommandremoves
directories.You can userdinstead,
if you wish.

cls– this clears theCommand Prompt
window of anyexistingtext.

ipconfig– this displays information
aboutyour network, including the type
of adapter, IP addresses, default

1

Typenotepadin theWindows

search box and press Enter.The

WindowsNotepad opens,readyfor

you totype in thecommandsyou want

torun. Most batch filesstart with

@echo off,^1 whichstops the script

from displaying thecommands as

they run, including the‘echo off’

command itself.

2

You must enter each of the

commands in the batch file ona

separate line. Giveyour script a nameby

typingtitle, followed bya space and

then the title of the file.^1 Next, type

echofollowed bythe greeting or

statement thatyou wanttoappear

onscreen whenyou run it.^2 On a new

line, typepause.^3

3

You would usually now enter the

othercommandsyou wanttorun

but,for this basicexample,we’ll leave

it here.Savethe filebygoingtoFile,^1

SaveAs, and calling itfirstbatch

.bat(be suretoadd the ‘.bat’

extension).^2 Whenyou double-click

the saved file, the script will run ina

command window.

file in the folder

for %%a in (“.\*”) do (

rem Next we’ll identify if

the file has an extension (but

isn’t this script)

if “%%~xa” NEQ “” if

“%%~dpxa” NEQ “%~dpx0” (

rem Now we’ll check if

there’s a folder for that

extension, and create one if

not

if not exist “%%~xa” mkdir

“%%~xa”

rem Finally we’ll move the

file to its folder

move “%%a” “%%~dpa%%~xa\”

))

The beauty of a batch file is that it runs

in anyfolder you put it in, soyou can

move it to wherever it ’s needed.

This meanswe can save the filewe

crea ted to the desktop and run it there,

then move it to the Downloadsfolder and

run it again, tidying up both locations

with the same script.

In the MiniWorkshop on page61, we

showyou howto crea te a ba tch file that

MINIWORKSHOP|How to create a batch file

gatewaysand so on.

ping– thiscommand letsyou check that

your computer cancommunicate with

anothercomputer or deviceover

a network. It’s handyfor checking if

a website is up or not.

start– one of the more useful

commands,you can use thisto open

a file using its default application.

Use a script totidy your

desktop or downloads folder

The most useful batch filesyou can

crea te are the ones that perform the sort

of menial tasksyou needto tackle

regularly, such as tidying up a messy

desktop by sorting files into theirrelevant

folders.For this,we’ll use theif, mkdir

andmovecommands.

The script looks morecomplicated

than it actually is because of the inclusion

of the%%acommand, but all this means

is ‘all files in thefolder’.

Here’s how the batch file should look:

@echo off

rem First we’ll target every

Run this batch file and it automatically sorts allyour files intorelevant folders

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