Dr.Batcher and the World of Batch Files

Useful Script for Network Backup

2011-09-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting backup script from one of our customers. It requires an external tool to be run, but allows to perform backup from many computers over the network:@echo off@set dircmd=/b set folder=Documents and Settingsfor /F "tokens=1 usebackq delims==\ " %%i IN (`net view`) DO (echo Start copying %%i...start /wait /min /high robocopy.exe "\\%%i\C$" X:\backup\uim\%%i\C *.doc *.xls /S /R

Creating a New User Account via Batch Files

2011-09-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

Q: I need to write a batch file that creates a new user account. The account's name and password should be passed as parameters like batch_file name pass. What should I do?A: Start Dr.Batcher and type the following script:@echo offif "%~2"=="" goto errorif "%~1"=="" goto errornet user %~1 %~2 /addgoto :EOF:errorecho Usage: %~0 user password That's all!

Removing Unnecessary Trailing Spaces

2011-09-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

Imagine: we have a variable with some string data, and we have to remove unnecessary spaces from the end of this variable. The code below shows how to solve this problem:@echo offsetlocalset "a=111 222 ":loopset /a n+=1for /f "tokens=%n%" %%i in ("%a%") do ( if not "%%i"=="" set b=%b%%%i && goto:loop)set a=%b:~0,-1%set b=echo "%a%" Of course, you have to change this code a bit before

Sorting Web Pages Archive

2011-08-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

The task is to sort the archive of different Web documents. There is a plenty (about 5 thousands) of files named the following way: number(3-6 digits)_name_.zip(jar,sis) And the same amount of images in 'Screens' folder: number(3-6 digits).jpg(gif,png) Alse there are Web pages in 'Html' folder: number(3-6 digits).htm(html) Is it possible to write a batch script that creates folders named after

Installing Many Programs at Once

2011-08-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

It takes a lot of time to install different software on the users' workstations. It is much easier to run a single batch script created with the award-winning batch files editor and install all these programs immediately. The script will look like this one: @echo off start /wait "" "C:\Install\setup1.exe" start /wait "" "C:\Install\setup2.exe" start /wait "" "C:\Install\setup3.exe" start /wait ""

Retrieving the List of Files Modified Lately

2011-08-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

It's quite a common task to retrieve the list of files modified during the latest few days. It is easy to solve this task with the help of batch files: @echo off for %%i in (bmp jpg png gif) do ( forfiles -pC:\Test -s -m*.%%i -d+14 -c"cmd /c echo @PATH @FILE" ) As far as you can see, this batch file searches for images in 'C:\Temp' folder, and shows those of them that were modified during the

Clearing Sub-Folders in the Given Folder

2011-08-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Imagine: you have a shared folder where users can create there own sub-folders. Sometimes it is necessary to clean the whole shared folder, but the cleaning batch script has to leave all the sub-folders and just delete everything inside them. How to perform it? The small script below shows you quite an easy way to solve this problem. Hope you'll find it useful. @echo off pushd "U:\Share

Removing Unnecessary Dots and Slashes from Date

2011-08-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

When you want to use the current date as a part of a file's name, you want to see something like '01012011'. Usual 'date' variable gives you human-readable date with additional dots looking like this: '01.01.2011'. Or something like this: '01/01/2011'. It depends on the settings of your copy of Windows. Fortunately, it is not hard to remove unnecessary characters from the string with the date.

Search for a File on Local Drives

2011-08-08T17:01:00.000-07:00

We all need sometimes to find a certain file on a local disk drive. It is not hard to implement search by name with the help of batch files. But what to do if you need to search for a file on all the drives available on a computer? The example script below shows how to perform it. @echo off setlocal for %%i in (c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z) do ( for /f "tokens=*" %%a in ('dir

Copy Files and Automatically Rename Existing Ones

2011-07-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

Usually while copying large amount of files it is necessary to rename the existing files to avoid overwriting them with the copied ones. Usual commands like copy or xcopy don't let you perform renaming in automatic mode. Still you are able to create a batch script that will help you to solve this problem:@echo offfor %%i in (SourceDir\*) do ( if exist "DestDir\%%~nxi" ( mv "%%i" "DestDir\~

Script for 'Remote Execution' of Programs

2011-07-09T17:03:00.000-07:00

It is useful sometimes to download a program from a remote server and run on the computer where the batch script is running. It is not so hard to implement it:title Loading program... Please wait...@echo offnet use w: \\192.168.x.x\a1 > nulecho "1. Disk connected"cd d:\d:md 123cd d:\123md Programcopy w:\Prg.exe d:\123\Program\Prog.exe > nulecho "2. File updated"start d:\123\Program\Prog.exe >

Batch File to Create Virtual Disk Drive

2011-06-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

Here is the small batch file that lets you create virtual disk drive. This drive doesn't really exist on your computer, it's something like a shortcut to the certain folder on your computer's HDD. The script will look like this:net use X: \\komp\updat pass /user:user /persistent:yes >Nul 2<&1 set dir=T:\homeset od=X:\ del /Q /F %dir%\*.* PING 1.1.1.1 -n 1 -w 2000 2>NUL | FIND "TTL=" >NUL copy /Y

Retrieving Path to the Start-Up Folder

2011-06-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you need to place something in Windows start-up folder. Well, it is not hard to do it, but first of all you need to know where this folder is situated. Fortunately, it's not hard, either. Here is the script that lets you retrieve path to the start-up folder:for /f "tokens=2*" %%i in ('reg query "hkcu\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\explorer\shell folders" /v ;Startup ^|find /i

Passing the Current Date to XCOPY

2011-06-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

XCOPY is a really useful console command that allows you to make copies of files in a fast and easy way. One of the parameters of this command is '/d':/d[:mm-dd-yyyy] : Copies source files changed on or after the specified date only. If you do not include a mm-dd-yyyy value, xcopy copies all Source files that are newer than existing Destination files. This command-line option allows you to update

Batch File to Check Internet Connection

2011-06-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

It's useful to create a small batch file that will check your internet connection and restart the computer if there is no connection at the moment. Of course, nobody restricts you to reset the connection parameters or perform any other actions instead of rebooting the computer. You can take the example below and modify it with help of our award-winning batch files editor.So here is the script to

Moving a File One Level Upper

2011-06-04T14:55:00.001-07:00

We were asked via e-mail about moving files one level upper. Suppose this short example will be useful for everyone:MOVE 1.ext ..\1.extOf course, the file to be moved and the batch script have to be placed in the same folder.

How to Start a Batch Script in Background Mode

2011-05-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

It is sometimes useful to run batch scripts in a background mode without showing users the console window with the script's input and output. There are dozens of service scripts that perform some tasks while the user is working with its usual software. But there is a problem to start all these scripts in a background mode.Let us remind that our award-winning batch files editor Dr.Batcher lets

Deleting a Registry Branch at the Given Time

2011-05-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

How to delete certain branch in system registry with the help of batch files? The task seems to be quite difficult, but fortunately it is not so hard to implement it. All you actually need to perform this operation is the single line of batch code:at 00:36 reg delete HKLM\Software\MyPrg /f Don't forget to change the time and registry branch before using this solution. You can use our

Generating a Sequence of Random Numbers in Batch Files

2011-05-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

It's sometimes necessary to generate a sequence of random numbers in a script. In this blog you can find some posts on dealing with random numbers, still this question has never been discussed. Here is an example that shows how to generate and print on the console 99 random numbers. You can use our award-winning batch file editor to redirect the output to a text file and then build a plot in

Useful Update for the Previous Blog Post

2011-05-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

After publishing the previous blog post, we have received a message with the script that lets one avoid printing all the details of pinging many IP addresses and saying which of them are available instead. It is really a handy and useful script and we decided to share it with the readers of our blog.@echo offfor /l %%i in (1,1,255) do ( ping -n 1 192.168.1.%%i | findstr "TTL=" 1>nul && (

Another Way to Ping Many IPs at Once

2011-05-17T02:05:00.000-07:00

We have already discussed how to ping the given list of IP addresses. Now let's look what we can do if this list isn't placed in a text file. As usual, the solution is very simple:for /L %%i in (1, 1, 255) do ping 192.168.1.%%iOf course, you have to use your own subnet mask instead of 192.168.1 in the example above. Hope this small script will help you to write your own powerful batch files.

Checking File Size in Batch Files

2011-05-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

It's sometimes necessary to check the size of a given file. For example, if you are to delete too big files on your hard drive or split single file into many parts. As usual, batch files are powerful enough to perform such task. The example below shows how to check batch file size (file is called 1.txt) and exit the script if the size is equal to 100 Kb.for %%a in (1.txt) do if %%~za EQU 102400

A Small Quiz Script :)

2011-05-13T15:08:00.000-07:00

There are lots of useful scripts already published on this blog. You can create even more of them with the help of Dr.Batcher. Now it's time for jokes. Let us introduce a small quiz script that can be useful to check whether you are lucky today. Hope you'll enjoy it:)@echo off set i=0 echo Thinking of a number... :rand set nmb=%random% if %nmb% GTR 10 goto randif %nmb% EQU 0 goto randecho Now you

Search for Running Process and Start It if It Is not Found

2011-05-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

It is quite a common task to start some processes in an automatic way. Of course we usually have no need to run many instances of the application simultaneously, thus we have to check running processes first. Fortunately, batch files are pretty useful in this case and let us solve the problem in a fast and simple way. The solution will look like:tasklist | findstr /i yourapp.exe 1>nul || start ""

Random Numbers Generator

2011-05-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

As far as you probably know it is not so hard to generate random numbers with the help of batch files. But if you want to make sure that your number is unique among the given sequence of numbers, the task becomes a little bit more complicated. Here is a quite simple solution that can be modified with the help of our powerful batch files editor:@echo offsetlocal:tryset "rand=%random%%random%"if "%

Another Example with Renaming Files

2011-04-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

Renaming files is likely the most common task being automated with the help of batch files. Here we will discuss how to add the date of file's creation to its name. As far as you can see, the script to automate this task is quite simple, but you can enhance it with the help of our powerful batch files editor.SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION@echo off for /f %%i in ('dir /b') do ( set aaa=

How to Remove Numbers from Filenames

2011-04-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

Let's discuss another simple task that can be automated with help of batch files. The task is to remove numbers from filenames like these:name[1].extname[2].extname[3].extname[4].extname[5].ext...So what do you have to do? You can use a simple script like this:@echo off for /f "tokens=1,2,3 delims=[]" %%a in ('dir /b *[1].*') do ren %%a[%%b]%%c %%a%%c Hope you'll find it useful.

Copying Strings from One File to Another

2011-04-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

The task to be discussed in this post looks very simple: copy some strings from a text file to another one. The file and the amount of strings are given. Here you can see the solution:@echo offsetlocal enabledelayedexpansionset "N=17"set "count=0"for /f "tokens=*" %%a in (first_file.txt) do (if !count! GEQ !N! goto :EOFecho %%a>>second_file.txtset /a "count+=1") But you can also try another

Dr.Batcher 2.1.5 is Released

2011-04-19T03:19:00.003-07:00

We are glad to introduce the new version of our award-winning software to create batch files. In this version added French translation, support for checking used bookmarks on toolbar, small bugfixes.Click here to download it right now. Hope you'll enjoy our work.

How to Answer Y/N to Console Program from Batch File

2011-04-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is necessary to answer 'Y' or 'N' to a console program during the execution of a batch file. If your file is running under a user's sight, it causes no problems, but if you need to run it in a completely autonomous mode, you have to find a solution.The solution is really simple: you should just write 'echo Y | ' in your batch file, where the name of a program that wants to know your

How to Turn Off Screen Output in Console

2011-04-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

Not long ago we received a letter with the following question:How to make a command not to type anything while its execution? I tried CLS but it makes nothing... Though our award-winning batch files editor Dr.Batcher allows you to create scripts very easy, it still doesn't let you just check a box to turn screen output off (we'll implement this feature one day, we promise). So you should use the

Adding Quotes to Lines in Text

2011-03-29T07:12:00.001-07:00

Let's discuss quite a simple task today. Imagine: you need to change each line in a text file by adding quotes to it. I mean you want to get from list like listitem1, listitem2, listitem3... list like "listitem1", "listitem2", "listitem3". This is quite a simple task, and the script solution looks like this:@echo offfor /f "usebackq tokens=*" %%c in ("about.txt") do ( echo "%%c",>> about1.txt)

How to Register Many DLLs/OCXs at Once

2011-03-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

It is sometimes necessary to register a COM or ActiveX library. As far as you know, it is easy to perform it with help of Regsvr32 utility by Microsoft. But it is hard to type the name of library to be registered each time when you need to register a lot of them. It's really easier to copy all needful files to a single folder and then register them all with help of really simple script:for %%i

Dr.Batcher 2.1.4 Is Released

2011-03-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

We are glad to introduce an update for our award-winning batch files editor. In this version you will find the following new features:tab-bar with bookmarks in professional mode;support for declining use of unnecessary list parameters in simple mode;support for viewing latest post from 'World of Batch Files' blog on start;10 new examples;improved compatibility with Windows 7 64-bit;lots of

Hiding Password Input in Batch Files

2011-03-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

It is sometimes necessary to ask user a password from a batch script. Unfortunately, batch files don't allow you to hide input with "*"s, like ordinary password forms in Windows or Web. Of course, the easiest way is to leave everything as it is, but much better is to hide the password without showing anything. The following batch script shows you how to perform such hiding of characters:@echo

Ping List of IPs

2011-03-14T18:28:00.000-07:00

It's pretty easy to ping a single IP with help of standard 'ping' command. But sometimes it's necessary to ping several addresses at once. Unfortunately, ping's syntax doesn't allow you passing the prepared text file as an input parameter to check all IPs listed in it. What to do? Just download Dr.Batcher and start writing really useful script in it.The script is quite simple. If looks like this:

How to Avoid Using Gotos

2011-03-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

Batch files make you to use 'goto', an obsolete and quite unpleasant construction that makes your code unreadable. This is a common opinion, but I want to discuss the way to avoid 'goto' commands in your batch scripts.The traditional way to build batch files since the early days of MS-DOS looks like this:if condition goto :THENrem Something like ‘else’rem ...goto IF_END:THENrem Something like ‘

Batch File to Open URL

2011-03-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

Today I am glad to introduce this short post that should give the answer to a short user's question. The question was "How to open URL via batch file?".Fortunately, to open URL with the default system browser, you should do almost nothing. The sequence of action looks like this:1) Start Dr.Batcher and create a new batch script;2) Switch to Simple mode;3) Add a new command named "Start a Separate

Remove All Files Except Today's One with Help of Batch Files

2011-03-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

Task to be discussed today is "How to remove all files from the specified folder except the file with today's name?". This is not a very common task, but it is useful for making different backup batch scripts. And this task is simple, as far as you can see. The code below shows how to delete all files in the current folder except the file which name contains today's date.@echo offattrib +r *%date

Remove Trash Files with Help of Batch Scripts

2011-02-24T02:36:00.000-08:00

We have already discussed some aspects of removing system trash with help of batch files. Still that batch script was not able to remove all system trash by a single mouse click. Script below improves this inconvenience and allows you to remove all system trash under Windows XP. You can easily change it according to your needs with the help of our batch files editor.if exist c: call :RSVI cif

Using Variables Inside Loops

2011-02-22T16:19:00.000-08:00

There are two really useful constructions in batch files: conditions (IFs) and loops (FORs). Both of theme are extremely widely used, and both of them have some difficulties for beginners. Here we are going to discuss one of these difficulties concerning loops.The difficulty is called 'local variables'. As far as you know, to retrieve the value of certain variable, you have to use the following

Batch Calculator

2011-02-17T12:58:00.000-08:00

Here is a small example of 'Set' command usage. The script below is a calculator, and as far as you can see we do almost nothing to calculate anything - just take the user's input data and send it to 'set' command that makes all calculations. Of course, this example is not a serious calculator, but it shows a very useful way to make some operations in batch scripts. You can easily include this

Retrieving Drive Letters through Batch Files

2011-02-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

The task to be discussed today is retrieving already occupied drive letters in Windows. Of course, through batch scripting. This batch file is quite small and simple, and after its execution you can see all the letters on the screen. Of course, you can easily change this batch file.@echo offsetlocal enabledelayedexpansionecho list volume>"%temp%\ds.txt"for /f "skip=8 tokens=3" %%a in ('diskpart /

Merging Sources with Help of Batch Scripting

2011-02-11T09:00:00.001-08:00

Batch files are exteremely useful for programmers. Developers can use batch scripting to automate boring jobs like making builds and packaging software. And not only for this - for example, to merge the existing dozens of script files to the single one. Here is the example of script that will help you to merge many JavaScript files placed in the same folder into the single script file. You can

How To Print a Line without Closing CR\LF in Batch Files

2011-02-09T05:55:00.000-08:00

'Echo' is likely the most often used command in the whole batch scripting. The only disadvantage of this command is ending CR\LF that is always being put after the text. Unfortunately, there is no command that can print text without closing CR\LF in the standard set of commands provided by MS. Thus we have to write quite a large amount of code to implement this feature.Here is the code:@ECHO OFF>

Enumeration in Batch Files

2011-02-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

It's sometimes necessary to enumerate numbers with help of batch files. It may be needful for counting and renaming files, for adding the numbers to lines of different lists in text files, and for dozens of other different purposes. Here is a small script that will help you to enumerate anything you want. Of course, it is not hard to modify this script with help of Dr.Batcher and apply it to your

Retrieving Random String from Batch File

2011-02-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

The task to be discussed in this post is retrieving a random string from the given text file and then printing it on the screen. When is it useful? For example, you can create the list of user's addresses and send someone a message via 'net send' command as a simple joke. Or even automate the creation of SEO texts with the help of batch files. Enjoy the code:@echo off setlocal set "lines=0"

How to Sort Out Files of Differnet Types with Help of Batch Files, Chapter II: Sorting Text Files by Their Contents

2011-02-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

We have already discussed the question of sorting files of different types with help of batch scripts. But what's about sorting text files by their contents? This task is also quite simple and can be done in a few lines of code. Of course, it becomes even simpler if you use Dr.Batcher to create batch scripts.So here is the example that can be used in sorting LOGs of different applications or

How to Export Registry Keys Through Batch File

2011-01-27T09:26:00.000-08:00

Long time ago I wrote a post on having a deal with Windows registry in batch files. It's time to return to this topic and share a small, but still very useful batch file that will help you to export registry keys to a REG file. This code is really simple, still you can include it into complex script that you create with help of our powerful batch files editor.Here is the code of this batch file:@

Batch File to Retrieve Batch Files from Network Drive and Pack Them

2011-01-25T13:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a useful script that administrators can use to retrieve automatically files from the network drive and pack them immediately after that. All the actions are being logged to the LOG file called by default 1.log. You can easily modify this script with help of Dr.Batcher, a powerful utility designed to create and modify batch files.@echo Starting>> 1.log@Echo off@DATE /t >> 1.log@TIME /T >>

Batch File To Restart Explorer And Reopen Windows

2011-01-22T18:21:00.000-08:00

Though this is not a very common task, I suppose this example of batch scripting is still very useful for advanced users of batch files. You can change anything you want in a couple of minutes, especially with help of our powerful and handy batch files editor.Here is the code to restart Windows Explorer and reopen all windows of the running applications:@echo off setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

Detecting the Insertion of USB Flash in Batch Files

2011-01-19T06:41:00.000-08:00

How to detect that user inserts USB Flash drive and make computer shut down after this? Here you can see step-by-step explanation.1. Download and install Dr.Batcher, the program designed to create and edit batch files.2. Start Dr.Batcher and create new empty batch script (File->New->Empty Batch Script).3. Add command named "Display a message" (Command->Add), click OK in the "Add Command" dialog.4

What Does Bring Dr.Batcher 2.1.3?

2011-01-17T17:49:00.000-08:00

We are glad to introduce Dr.Batcher 2.1.3. This version fixes a lot of issues reported by the users of 32-bit version of Windows 7, in the following version we are going to fix issues with running Dr.Batcher under 64-bit Winfows 7. What else will you find in this version? Here is the complete list of new features:new options for changing the way of starting Dr.Batcher;support for storing spaces

Step-by-Step Tutorial for Writing Advanced Batch Files

2011-01-15T06:16:00.000-08:00

Though Dr.Batcher allows everyone to create batch files without having any knowledge in this area, we are asked sometimes about step-by-step lessons on batch files creation. Of course we are thinking of writing such tutorial, but that's long time matter. So here are some links on tutorials created by other people.You can find a really good lessons on batch files at http://www.allenware.com/icsw/

How to Sort Out Files of Differnet Types with Help of Batch Files

2011-01-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

Have you got directories with thousands and thousands of unsorted files? Sure everyone has. I also have folder called 'Downloads' where I place almost everything downloaded from the Web. Usually I clear it once or twice per month and then start to fill it with 'digital garbage' again. But in this case I often lose gems among the garbage, that's this week I decided to sort files in 'Downloads'

Batch File To Clean Temp Folder

2011-01-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

There is a lot of utilities for Windows designed especially for cleaning temporary files in Windows Temp folder and some other places where they usually can be found. Some of these programs are freeware, some of them are paid. With help of small batch script instead of one of the such utilities you can save your money and some space on HDD. Also this batch script gives you great flexibility: you

Funny But Common Mistake

2011-01-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

Once Dr.Batcher's support team received a letter describing a problem with running batch file after re-installing Windows. The batch file was called 'shutdown.bat', and its purpose was to turn off computer in single mouse click. It contained the following line of code:shutdown -s -t 0Do you know what was wrong? Of course, the renaming file to 'shutdown1.bat' completely solved the problem. This

Five Really Useful Sites On Batch Files

2011-01-03T16:08:00.000-08:00

For those who often deal with batch files we are glad to advice some useful sites with different tips, tricks and solutions for batch files. Hope you'll find some of them useful if you use to read this blog.Rob van der Woude's Scripting Pages (http://www.robvanderwoude.com/battech.php). The most useful site not only for those who use batch files, but also for those who use newer scripting

Batch File for IP Change

2010-12-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

There is a plenty of users that want to change the IP address of a computer with help of batch files. There is a simple way to perform it, all you need is standard netsh command and some imagination to 'invent' a new IP address.The following line of code will help you to set the IP address and the subnet mask:netsh int ip set address name = "LAN" source = static addr = 127.0.0.1 mask =

Batch File to Delete Itself

2010-12-24T18:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes users of Dr.Batcher ask us how to create a batch script that is able to delete itself. It is not hard, and the example of self-destructive script is placed in Dr.Batcher's installation package.The trick is to call command-line processor (previously known as Command.com) with instruction to delete this batch file. While the processor is working, the source batch file will be already

Interesting Way To Delete Empty Folders through Batch Files

2010-12-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

Deleting different garbage with help of batch files is quite a common task. Quite interesting way of solving this problem I have found on http://www.ehow.com/how_6648535_search-delete-empty-folders.html. The author of this article plays with parameters of DIR command to retrieve the names of all empty folders on a certain logical drive and then saves them to text file. After that this file

We're Going to Launch New Site for Dr.Batcher

2010-11-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

Mental Works Computing Software is proud of announcing Dr.Batcher's new site under construction. This site will not be just the re-designed old one. We are going to create special new section with tips and articles on batch files. Of course, the design will also be updated. The site will look much better and it'll be easier to navigate on it. Also we plan to create video-tutorials on creating

What Tasks Can One Automate with Help of Batch Files?

2010-11-25T04:48:00.000-08:00

We are sometimes asked: "What kind of tasks can I automate through batch files?" Our usual answer is "any kind". Of course, it depends on your needs. Here are some common tasks for IT specialists that can be automated with help of batch files.Administrator: creating and restoring backups, changing network settings, cleaning junk files, starting and stopping services...Programmer: making builds,

How to Start or Stop a Windows Service with Help of Batch Files

2010-11-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

Some users ask us how can they start Windows service with help of a batch script. That's why we decided to write a short post on this topic in our team's blog.First of all it should be mentioned that starting or stopping some Windows services can make your system work strangely. Thus you should work with services really carefully, especially with standard services installed while the installation

Dr.Batcher 2.1 Is Released

2010-10-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

Today we're glad to introduce new version of Dr.Batcher. Though there is a lot of different small improvements in it, the main difference between this and previous versions is support for compiling batch files to EXEs. We've tried to make the process of EXE creation as handy as possible, so today you can find a new wizard in Dr.Batcher (choose "Tools" -> "Compile EXE File"). The wizard look like

Creating And Upacking ZIP Archives Using Batch Scripts

2010-10-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's necessary to create archives and extract files from them with help of batch files. For instance, it's useful when you writing scripts for automated backups. There is a number of different console archivers available on market, but still the most famous one is PKZIP (together with unpacker PKUNZIP). This archiver is especially useful for those who still use DOS for some reason.The

Checking for Existence of a File in Batch Scripts

2010-09-18T15:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is necessary to check whether a file exists in a certain folder. Batch scripting provides a programmer with a really nice construction called 'If Exist'. It's pretty useful when you want to check for existence of a given file, for example, 'autoexec.bat'. To check for it, you should write the following code:If Exist autoexec.bat Echo Autoexec.bat exists!But if you try to check for

Dr.Batcher 2.0.3 Is Out

2010-09-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

We're glad to introduce Dr.Batcher 2.0.3 - a new version of the award-winning batch files editor. In this version you will find:Search features in 'Add command' window (see screenshot)Support execution of a script without saving itSupport for sending bug reports from menu9 new examplesSmall bugfixes.You can find new version of Dr.Batcher here. Hope you'll enjoy it.

Dr.Batcher's Roadmap

2010-08-22T03:10:00.000-07:00

Some people ask us 'When are you going to release in Dr.Batcher?'. Of course, Dr.Batcher's development goes not very fast, but still we decided to continue it, and you'll see new features in our software soon.Version 2.1: support for compiling batch files to EXEs;Version 2.2: tab-based multi-document (MDI) interface;Version 3.0: debugger for batch scripts;Version 3.1: mixed (both Simple and

Are Batch Files Still Alive?

2010-08-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

There are lots of users and even system administrators who suppose batch files scripting to be dead. Why do they think so? The most common arguments are:there are lots of modern scripting techniques (PowerShell, WSH, etc.) that are simple in use;you can't make with help of batch files anything you want, or it's really difficult;you have to use GOTO - possibly, it's the worst reason not to use

Dr.Batcher 2.0.2 is released

2010-08-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

After half a year of break Dr.Batcher 2.0.2 is released. In this version you will find:group "echo" and "@" modifiers;pop-up menu in Simple mode;new options;support for adding unknown commands in Simple mode;'Do not print this command in console during the execution' option in command editor;new 'Create Batch File' dialog;fixed parsing TAB characters; small bugfixes in UI.Here you can see how new

Installing Fonts Using Batch Files

2010-01-04T10:37:00.000-08:00

Installing fonts is not really common task performing every day by thousands of people. Still one day you can understand that you are to install fonts with help of batch scripting. Fortunately it's really won't take a lot of time to create a batch file to install several fonts. You should just copy them into Fonts directory and add some keys to the Registry. Here is the batch script you are to

Buy Dr.Batcher with 40% discount on December 27

2009-12-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

Mental Works Computing Software and Bits du Jour offer you special 40% discount for Dr.Batcher on December 27, 2009. Only that day you will be able to buy Dr.Batcher only for $17.97 and receive all benefits of the registered version of Dr.Batcher including:* Unlimited time of use without nag-screens and other reminders* All functions of the registered version* Top-priority support* Free minor

Creating Directories in Batch Files

2009-12-13T07:40:00.000-08:00

Creating new directories using batch files is a common task for system administrators and even home users. But it's not so simple to create a directory with the proper name sometimes. For example, let's consider that we want to create a directory named using the current date and current time. How will you create it through a batch script? Probably you will type something like this: md %date%%

Dr.Batcher 2.0.1 Is Released

2009-12-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

We're glad to introduce Dr.Batcher 2.0.1, a new version of our award-winning batch files creation utility. Though this is just a minor update, it brings some really useful features and improvements for every user of Dr.Batcher. Here are some of them:Support for nested compound commandsSupport for extended 'IF' syntaxArabic translationBatch scripts parser improvedLots of small bugfixes.You can

Comments in Batch Scripts

2009-12-03T07:22:00.000-08:00

Do you know how to comment a line in a batch script? Sure most of you know that it is possible with 'REM' at the start of certain line. But there are still some alternative ways. These ways are really popular among batch files creators but they can produce some unexpected errors while the execution of a batch file.The most popular commenting style for batch scripts looks like this::: This is a

'Else' in Batch Files Conditions

2009-11-23T13:50:00.000-08:00

The following version of Dr.Batcher, which is going to be released in a few days, will bring support for extended syntax of 'If' command. So we decided to give you some additional information on using 'Else' in batch file conditions.The command after 'Else' keyword will be executed if the condition appears to be false. You should know that the whole 'If' statement must be written in the same line

Cutting Characters in Batch Scripts

2009-11-14T10:01:00.000-08:00

It's necessary sometimes to cut some characters from the value of a variable in a batch script. For example, you need to rename a file having a too long name, or need to pass a certain string as a parameter for another batch file and need to cut last 5 characters. How can you cut these characters from a string? There is really simple solution provided by the command interpreter. For example, if

Batch Scripts and Windows Registry

2009-11-10T14:12:00.000-08:00

One of the most common tasks you can meet during the batch scripts usage is modification of the Windows registry. It is likely that Microsoft still respects users of batch files because it provides them with several powerful tools allowing to add, delete or change registry keys and their values.The most useful command is called reg. As it is stated in official manual, this command 'adds, changes,

Dr.Batcher 2.0 Is Finally Out!

2009-11-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

I'm glad to introduce Dr.Batcher 2.0. This version of this batch files editor is designed to make them handier for all kinds of users. I won't speak much about it, just show you the list of features of the new version. New features are highlighted with bold text. Simple mode: create BAT files with visual editors and wizardsProfessional mode: create BAT files with full-featured and

Errorlevel: Checking for Errors while Executing a Batch Script

2009-10-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's necessary to check for errors while executing a batch script. Command interpreter has built-in support for storing the return code of the command or program most recently executed. Note: error level is not a variable from the point of a batch script writer. You can't check it with the following code:If %Errorlevel%==1 goto ErrorYou should write instead this line:If Errorlevel 1

Pauses and Delays in Batch Scripts

2009-10-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

In some cases you need to wait for a certain time after calling an application from your batch file. For example, it's useful when this application must finish its work. How can one include delay in his batch script? There are several different solutions.The first way is the simplest one. You can just include "pause" command in your script. This way has a really big drawback: this command

Checking for Existence of Variables and Parameters

2009-10-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's necessary to check in a batch file whether a certain variable is assigned. For example, it's useful when you need to check for some condition in "procedure" under certain label from main batch script. The usual way to check for existence looks like this:if defined %VARIABLE% echo Variable exists!But if you try to perform the same trick with parameters given to your batch script

Working on Dr.Batcher 2.0 Beta

2009-10-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

The first post on this blog is going to be about working on the next release of Dr.Batcher. Ok, it's a good topic.The most interesting and valuable feature of Dr.Batcher 2.0 must be Simple mode of the script editor. What does this mean? Imagine that you speak to computer in English while writing a batch script. So you write "Delete file" instead of "Del", "Register library" instead of "regsvr32.