Lab 4 - Batch files

Exercise 1 – Create your first batch file.....................................................................................1

Exercise 2 – Create a directory structure...................................................................................2
Exercise 3 – Wildcards example................................................................................................3
Exercise 4 – Wildcards example................................................................................................3
Exercise 5 – Wildcards example................................................................................................3
Exercise 6 - Wildcards Example................................................................................................4
Exercise 7 – Copy from one drive to another............................................................................4
Exercise 8 – Creating a Directory structure...............................................................................6
Exercise 9 – Copying and moving files.....................................................................................6
Exercise 10 – Removing directories..........................................................................................6
Exercise 11 – Using the ECHO COMMAND............................................................................7
Exercise 12 – Using the call command......................................................................................7
Exercise 13 – Replaceable parameters.......................................................................................7
Exercise 14 – Replaceable parameters.......................................................................................8
Exercise 15 – Replaceable parameters.......................................................................................8
Exercise 16 – Replaceable parameters.......................................................................................9
Exercise 17 - Paths...................................................................................................................10

Ref: www.chebucto.ns.ca/~ak621/DOS/BatBasic.html

Batch files are files that contain a list of commands. It executes the commands within the file
when you execute the batch file. The commands execute one by one. A command within a
batch file can be used to start/run another application, for example you could start MS Word.

Why batch files are useful?

A batch file could be used to run frequently run commands, deleting a series of files, moving
files, copying files etc. A simple batch file does not require any special programming skills
and can be done by users who only know DOS commands.

An example of a well known batch file is the autoexec.bat, which is a simple batch file
loaded each time the computer is loaded on MS-DOS and early Windows computers. This
batch file contained all the necessary commands and programs used to run MS-DOS and
Windows each time the computer booted.

Use your VMware accounts to do this lab sheet because you will need to save your work.

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Exercise 1 – Create your first batch file
1. Open an MS-DOS command window.
2. Change to the root directory of the C drive and create a directory called BatchFiles.
You can use this directory to save your batch files.
3. At the MS-DOS prompt, open the editor by keying in EDIT and pressing Enter.
4. Type the following lines into the editor. Each of the lines below is a command.

cls
ver
pause
dir c:\windows

5. Save this file in the Batchfiles folder and call it Ex1.bat

6. Before continuing, can you remember what the effect of each of the 4 commands that
you have typed into the file? If not – look them up in the help.
7. Leave the editor – Click on File and Exit.
8. Make sure you are in the directory where the batch file is stored (hopefully in
batchfiles)
9. Change into the BatchFiles folder and type in the name of the batch file i.e. Ex1 and
press Enter.
10. Key in DIR and MAKE SURE you see a file called EX1.BAT
11. If you don’t see the file do this:

Key in CD \
Key in DIR /S EX1.BAT (You should see exactly where your file is located).

What happens? .........................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

Put the command @ECHO OFF as the first line into Ex1.bat.
Run the batch file again. What is effect of this statement?

...................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

Important

Save your batch files to the BatchFiles folder.

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Exercise 2 – Create a directory structure
Write a batch program called EX2.BAT that creates the following directory structure on drive
C.

C:\

ACCOUNTS COLLEGE

Letters Email Java Apps

Check either in Explorer or at the prompt that the directory structure shown above has been
created.

Exercise 3 – Wildcards example

Write a batch program called EX3.BAT that lists all files which start with the letter M and
have the extension of .EXE on drive C. It should search from the root down through all the
subdirectories.

Exercise 4 – Wildcards example

Write a batch program called EX4.BAT that lists all files that match any of the following
criteria within the root of the C drive and down through its subdirectories:

a) Files with an extension of COM

b) EXE files whose 2nd letter is I e.g., WINHELP.EXE DIAGS.EXE etc.

Make sure the output does not scroll up the screen too quickly.
Put a pause command in between parts a) and b)

Exercise 5 – Wildcards example

Write a batch program called EX5.BAT that lists all files that match any of the following
criteria within the Windows folder and down through its sub directories:

a) Files that have an extension that starts with the letter C.

b) Files that don’t have any extension

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 Batch commands
Just like all MS-DOS commands, all batch file commands are not case sensitive. However, in
the below listing we have listed all commands in all caps to help you identify what is a
command and what is not.
@ Does not echo back the text after the @ symbol. This is most commonly used as @ECHO
OFF to prevent any of the commands in the batch file from being displayed, just the
information needed.
%1 The percent followed by a numeric value, beginning with one, allows users to add
variables within a batch file. Example of what can be used in a batch file.

echo Hello %1

When the above one-line batch file is created, add your name after the batch file. For
example, typing myname (being the name of the bat file) and then your name:

myname bob

would output: Hello bob

Note: This can be extended to %2, %3, and so on.

:LABEL By adding a colon in front of a word, such as LABEL, you create a category, more
commonly known as a label. This allows you to skip to certain sections of a batch file such
as the end of the batch file. Also see GOTO.
CALL This is used to run another batch file within a batch file. When the batch file that is called
is completed, the remainder of the original batch file is completed. Note if the batch file
does not exist it will give an error message.
CLS Clear Screen
ECHO Will echo a message in the batch file.
ECHO “Hello World" will print Hello World on the screen when executed.

Note if you have not typed @ECHO OFF at the beginning of the file this will also print
"ECHO Hello World" and
"Hello World".

If you would just like to create a blank line, type

ECHO. (adding the full stop creates an empty line.)
EXIT Exits out of the DOS window if the batch file is running from Windows.
GOTO Used to go to a certain label, such as LABEL. An example of GOTO would be to GOTO
LABEL END. For an example of this see running different programs. .
IF Used to check for a certain condition if the condition exists. If that condition exists it will
perform that function.
PAUSE Prompt the user to press any key to continue.
REM Allows you to place comments into the batch file without displaying or executing that line
when the batch file is run.
SHIFT Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program. .

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Exercise 6 - Wildcards Example
Write a batch program called EX6.BAT
Your batch file should do the following:
 Clear the screen
 Add a line to change directory to the C:\Windows directory
 Add a line to list all files with an extension of TXT in that directory. (Make sure you put
some text files in here if there are none already).

Exercise 7 – Copy from one drive to another

carry this exercise out on your LOCAL machine

Write a batch program called EX7.BAT. It will carry out the following tasks:

 Copy all files with an extension of JAVA from Drive C to Drive G. (Use either the copy
command or the xcopy command. The xcopy command is the better one to use here.)
 Before the files are copied across use the echo command to tell the user you are doing so.
Run the batch program.

Modifications

Add the pause command to your batch file. This line should be inserted before the copy is
carried out. What effect does this have on the program?

 Add comments to the batch program that indicate the date written, author, program
purpose etc.

 Add comments to all your batch files. The comments should indicate the following:
- Program purpose
- Author
- Date written

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 Exercise 8 – Creating a Directory structure
Write a batch program called EX8.BAT that creates the following directory structure on drive
C. You have already created all folders except the folder called Op Sys. You should not
create the files.
C:\

ACCOUNTS COLLEGE
Sample.txt

Example.txt Letters Email Java

Op Sys Apps

report.doc
Check either in Explorer or at the prompt that the directory structure shown above has been
created.

Exercise 9 – Copying and moving files

Create the three files shown in the diagram above. Take it that you are currently in the DOS prompt at
the root directory of Drive C when you run the batch file.

Write a batch program called EX9.BAT that will

a. Change directory to the Accounts folder.

b. There are two files Example.txt and Sample.txt in the directory Accounts. Write the DOS
command to copy the two files to the directory called Java.

c. Delete the file Example.txt from the Accounts folder. Prompt the user to confirm before
deleting the file.

d. Write the DOS command to move the file Report.doc to the folder Apps and call it a
different name ReportOld.doc.

Exercise 10 – Removing directories

Write a batch program called EX10.BAT that removes the Accounts directory and all its
subdirectories in the above structure.

Check that it successfully removes all the directories shown above.

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Exercise 11 – Using the ECHO COMMAND
Write a batch program called EX11.BAT that produces the following output to the screen.

No snowflake feels guilty in an avalanche.

Not everything that is important can be measured.

Not everything that can be measured is important.

Ensure the screen is cleared and that there is a blank line under each line of output.

ECHO OFF (turns echoing of commands off).

ECHO. (prints a blank line to the screen).
CLS (clears the screen).

Exercise 12 – Using the call command

Write a batch program called EX12a.BAT that contains the following statements:
cd..
cls
dir
Save this program.
What will be the effect of these commands?.........................................................................

Create another program called Ex12.bat which will

a) Change to the apps folder
b) Calls program Ex12a.bat

What will be the effect of this program?.........................................................................

What directory are you in now ? ................... How did you get there?.......................

.....................................................................................................................................

Using replaceable parameters

Exercise 13 – Replaceable parameters

Programs can accept replaceable parameters at the prompt. (The replaceable parameters
are %1 through to %9).

Write a batch file called Ex13.Bat which accepts one parameter; the parameter is a persons name. The
program will then display the word “Hello” followed by the person’s name.

For example you should be able to run the program as follows from the DOS prompt:
EX13 David

What will be the effect of this command?.........................................................................

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Exercise 14 – Replaceable parameters
Create a batch file called Ex14.bat that accepts one parameter; a directory name. The
program will then create that directory on the C: drive and change into it.

Exercise 14a Adding error checking. Will check that the user has supplied the
parameter. Will print an error message, if it has not been supplied.

@echo off
If "%1" == "" GOTO No-Directory
Echo.
Echo Directory Specified
Echo.
GOTO End
:No-Directory
Echo.
Echo No Directory Specified
Echo.
:End

Use this with your code from Exercise 14. If parameter is specified, it will create a directory
with that name.

Exercise 15 – Replaceable parameters

Create a batch file called Ex15.bat that accepts two parameters, which represents 2 directory
names. The program will create a directory represented by the first parameter on the C: drive.
It will then create a subdirectory within this directory, whose name is represented by the
second parameter.

For example you should be able to run the program as follows from the DOS prompt:
EX15 Reports IBM

What will be the effect of this command?.........................................................................

Adding error checking to Exercise 15.

What error checks will you include? .........................................................................

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Exercise 16 – Replaceable parameters
Write a batch program called Ex16.Bat that accepts two parameters – first is the directory
name and the second is a file name:
o Creates a directory with the same name as the first parameter at the root of the
C drive.
o Copies a file with the same name as the second parameter to this folder.

Note: You must create the file first on the C: Drive.

For example you should be able to run the program as follows from the DOS prompt:
EX16 IBM report.txt

Further modify this program to perform error checks.

What error checks will be included? .........................................................................

PATH in MS-DOS

Specifies directories where executable programs are located. Path specifies the search path.
Use the PATH command to tell MS-DOS which directories to look into when an executable
file is not in the current directory. When you enter a line of text at the MS-DOS prompt that is
neither a recognized command nor an executable filename in the current directory, MS-DOS
will search through the directories in your PATH for a filename that matches the text you
entered. Many packages, such as WordPerfect, automatically add or modify the PATH line
during the installation process. The path cannot exceed 127 characters, and may be further
limited by your MS-DOS environment space.

There are two ways to add a directory to the path in Windows XP

1) At the Command line (MS DOS)

At the MS-DOS prompt type: path

An example of what could be shown:
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

G:\>path
PATH=C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;c:\Progra
m Files\Mi
crosoft SQL Server\90\Tools\binn\

G:\>
How to add a directory to the system path:
PATH=%PATH%;C:\BLASTER

%PATH% represents the existing path. This example would add C:\BLASTER to the path.

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2) Through the GUI in Windows XP

The path is managed in Windows XP as Environment variables.

From the desktop, My Computer; properties.

In the System Properties, Advanced tab; click the Environment Variables button.
Highlight the path variable in the Systems Variable section(lower section) and click edit. Add
or modify the path lines with the paths you wish the computer to access. Each different
directory is separated with a semicolon as shown below.

C:\Program Files;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\System32

What is the path that you see? ....................................................................................................

Exercise 17 - Paths

WARNING:
Be careful when changing the paths on the computer system

 Add to the path to allow your batch files to be run from any directory at the command
prompt.
 Change to a different directory to the one which contains your batch files.
 Now try to run the batch file.

Were you able to run the batch file from a different directory to the one the batch file
is stored in?

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