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-
- BAT-HINT # 3
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- **************************************************************************
-
- from the BATHINTS library... part of the BATPOWER CONFERENCE from:
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- THE PAINFRAME OPUS/FIDO 261/1004
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- Baltimore, Maryland 1-301-488-7461
-
- **************************************************************************
-
- The FOR command:
- Placing executable files in SET
-
- The FOR command has the following syntax:
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- FOR %%V IN (SET) DO command
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- While SET usually involves filenames with or without the global charcters
- (? and *), SET may include any executable file (i.e. .exe .com .bat) or any
- of the DOS internal commands. Note the example shown below:
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- SAMPLE.BAT
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- echo off
- FOR %%V IN (*.doc) DO copy %%V c:\document
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- The batch file above will copy each *.doc file in the current drive and
- directory to c:\document. This batch file can be improved however, by
- a little creative rearrangement:
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- BETTER.BAT
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- echo off
- FOR %%V IN (copy) DO %%V *.doc c:\document
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- What is the difference between sample.bat and better.bat? Sample.bat copies
- each *.doc file to c:\document one at a time, whereas better.bat copies the
- *.doc files to c:\document as if entered at the command line as:
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- copy *.doc c:\document
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- Try it and see. Several public domain programs are available that copy and
- then erase files from source and destination directories (i.e. move.com),
- effectively moving the files from one subdirectory to another. The same
- function can be performed by the following command line placed in a batch
- file:
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- FOR %%V IN (copy del) DO %%V *.* c:\otherdir
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- This batch file command line will copy all files in the current drive and
- directory to c:\otherdir then delete the files from the current drive and
- directory... essentially a "move" command.
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- ******************************************************** David Creasey