6/26/2020 DOS - String Manipulation

DOS - String Manipulation

Basic string manipulation in batch like you are used to from other programming
languages.

Align Right Align text to the right i.e. to improve readability of number
columns. for Windows10,Windows8,Windows7,VISTA,
Left String Extract characters from the beginning of a string. XP,NT,Server 2000,Server 2003,Server 2008
Map and Lookup Use Key-Value pair list to lookup and translate values.
Mid String Extract a Substring by Position.
Remove Remove a substring using string substitution.
Remove both Ends Remove the first and the last character of a string.
Remove Spaces Remove all spaces in a string via substitution.
Home
Replace Replace a substring using string substitution.
Source Script
Right String Extract characters from the end of a string. Batch Files
Split String Split a String, Extract Substrings by Delimiters. Functions
String Function Library
Concatenation Add one string to another string. Script Snippets
Interfacing
Trim Left Trim spaces from the beginning of a string via "FOR"
command.
Trim Quotes Remove surrounding quotes via FOR command. Tips and Tricks
Copy Tips
Trim Right Trim spaces from the end of a string via "FOR" command. Menu in Batch
Trim Right Trim spaces from the end of a string via substitution. String Manipulation
String Operations
TOP Date and Time
Align Right - Align text to the right i.e. to improve 2008-01-01 Arithmetic
readability of number columns FTP Batch Script
Command Index
Description: Add leading spaces to a string to make sure the output lines up. I.e.
for variables no longer than 8 characters add 8 spaces at the front Tutorials
and then show only the last 8 characters of the variable. My First Batch
Script: 1. set x=3000 Solid Framework
Functions
2. set y=2 Persistency
3. set x= %x%
4. set y= %y% Forum
5. echo.X=%x:~-8%
6. echo.Y=%y:~-8% General
Terms of Use
Script Enablers
Output:
Script Output
About Us
X= 3000 Contact Us
Y= 2
Others
TOP Wa
Left String - Extract characters from the beginning 2008-01-01
of a string
Description: Similar to the Left function in VB a batch script can return a specified number of characters from the left side of a
string by specifying a substring for an expansion given a position of 0 and a length using :~ while expanding a
variable content. The example shows how to return the first 4 characters of a string.
Script: 1. set str=politic
2. echo.%str%
3. set str=%str:~0,4%
4. echo.%str%

Script
Output:
Script Output
politic
poli

TOP
Map and Lookup - Use Key-Value pair list to lookup and translate values 2008-01-01

Description: This example shows an approach to map a name of a month into it`s corresponding two digit number. The key-
value pairs are listed in the map variable separated by semicolon. Key and value itself are separated by one dash
character. Same can be used to tranlate a day-of-the-week short string into a day-of-the-week long string by
changing the map content only.
Script: 1. REM ---- Example 1: Translate name of month into two digit number ----
2. SET v=Mai
3.

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4. SET map=Jan-01;Feb-02;Mar-03;Apr-04;Mai-05;Jun-06;Jul-07;Aug-08;Sep-09;Oct-10;Nov-11;Dec-12
5. CALL SET v=%%map:*%v%-=%%
6. SET v=%v:;=&rem.%
7.
8. ECHO.%v%
9.
10.
11. REM ---- Example 2: Translate abbreviation into full string ----
12. SET v=sun
13.
14. set map=mon-Monday;tue-Tuesday;wed-Wednesday;thu-Thursday;fri-Friday;sat-Saturday;sun-Sunday
15. CALL SET v=%%map:*%v%-=%%
16. SET v=%v:;=&rem.%
17.
18. ECHO.%v%

Script
Output:
Script Output
05
Sunday

TOP
Mid String - Extract a Substring by Position 2008-01-01

Description: Similar to the Mid function in VB a batch script can return a specified number of characters from any position
inside a string by specifying a substring for an expansion given a position and length using :~ while expanding a
variable content. The example here shows how to extract the parts of a date.
Script: 1. echo.Date : %date%
2. echo.Weekday: %date:~0,3%
3. echo.Month : %date:~4,2%
4. echo.Day : %date:~7,2%
5. echo.Year : %date:~10,4%

Script
Script Output
Output:
Date : Sat 03/11/2006
Weekday: Sat
Month : 03
Day : 11
Year : 2006

TOP
Remove - Remove a substring using string substitution 2008-01-01

Description: The string substitution feature can also be used to remove a substring from another string. The example shown
here removes all occurrences of "the " from the string variable str.
Script: 1. set str=the cat in the hat
2. echo.%str%
3. set str=%str:the =%
4. echo.%str%

Script
Script Output
Output:
the cat in the hat
cat in hat

TOP
Remove both Ends - Remove the first and the last character of a string 2008-01-01

Description: Using :~1,-1 within a variable expansion will remove the first and last character of the string.
Script: 1. set str=politic
2. echo.%str%
3. set str=%str:~1,-1%
4. echo.%str%

Script Output:
Script Output
politic
oliti

TOP
Remove Spaces - Remove all spaces in a string via substitution 2008-01-01

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6/26/2020 DOS - String Manipulation
Description: This script snippet can be used to remove all spaces from a string.
Script: 1. set str= word &rem
2. echo."%str%"
3. set str=%str: =%
4. echo."%str%"

Script Output:
Script Output
" word "
"word"

TOP
Replace - Replace a substring using string substitution 2008-01-01

Description: To replace a substring with another string use the string substitution feature. The example shown here replaces all
occurrences "teh" misspellings with "the" in the string variable str.
Script: 1. set str=teh cat in teh hat
2. echo.%str%
3. set str=%str:teh=the%
4. echo.%str%

Script
Output:
Script Output
teh cat in teh hat
the cat in the hat

TOP
Right String - Extract characters from the end of a string 2008-01-01

Description: Similar to the Right function in VB a batch script can return a specified number of characters from the right side
of a string by specifying a substring for an expansion given a negative position using :~ while expanding a
variable content. The example shows how to return the last 4 characters of a string.
Script: 1. set str=politic
2. echo.%str%
3. set str=%str:~-4%
4. echo.%str%

Script
Output:
Script Output
politic
itic

TOP
Split String - Split a String, Extract Substrings by Delimiters 2008-01-01

Description: Use the FOR command to split a string into parts. The example shows how to split a date variable into its parts.
Script: 1. echo.-- Split off the first date token, i.e. day of the week
2. for /f %%a in ("%date%") do set d=%%a
3. echo.Date : %date%
4. echo.d : %d%
5. echo.
6.
7. echo.-- Split the date into weekday, month, day, and year, using slash and space as delimiters
8. for /f "tokens=1,2,3,4 delims=/ " %%a in ("%date%") do set wday=%%a&set month=%%b&set day=%%c&set year=%%d
9. echo.Weekday: %wday%
10. echo.Month : %month%
11. echo.Day : %day%
12. echo.Year : %year%

Script
Output:
Script Output
-- Split off the first date token, i.e. day of the week
Date : Thu 12/02/2005
d : Thu

-- Split the date into weekday, month, day, and year, using slash and space as delimiters
Weekday: Thu
Month : 12
Day : 02
Year : 2005

TOP
String Concatenation - Add one string to another string 2008-02-26

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6/26/2020 DOS - String Manipulation
Description: This example shows how to add two strings in DOS.
Script: 1. set "str1=Hello"
2. set "str2=World"
3.
4. set "str3=%str1%%str2%"
5. set "str4=%str1% %str2%"
6. set "str1=%str1% DOS %str2%"
7.
8. echo.%str3%
9. echo.%str4%
10. echo.%str1%

Script Output:
Script Output
HelloWorld
Hello World
Hello DOS World

TOP
Trim Left - Trim spaces from the beginning of a string via "FOR" command 2008-04-28

Description: Use the FOR command to trim spaces at the beginning of a variable. In this example the variable to be trimmed
is str.
Script: 1. set str= 15 Leading spaces to truncate
2. echo."%str%"
3. for /f "tokens=* delims= " %%a in ("%str%") do set str=%%a
4. echo."%str%"

Script
Output:
Script Output
" 15 Leading spaces to truncate"
"15 Leading spaces to truncate"

TOP
Trim Quotes - Remove surrounding quotes via FOR command 2008-01-01

Description: The FOR command can be used to safely remove quotes surrounding a string. If the string does not have quotes
then it will remain unchanged.
Script: 1. set str="cmd politic"
2. echo.%str%
3. for /f "useback tokens=*" %%a in ('%str%') do set str=%%~a
4. echo.%str%

Script
Output:
Script Output
"cmd politic"
cmd politic

TOP
Trim Right - Trim spaces from the end of a string via "FOR" command 2008-01-01

Description: Trimming spaces at the end of a variable seems a little tricky. The following example shows how to use a FOR
loop to trim up to 31 spaces from the end of a string. It assumes that Delayed Expansion is enabled.
Script: 1. set str=15 Trailing Spaces to truncate &rem
2. echo."%str%"
3. for /l %%a in (1,1,31) do if "!str:~-1!"==" " set str=!str:~0,-1!
4. echo."%str%"

Script
Output:
Script Output
"15 Trailing Spaces to truncate "
"15 Trailing Spaces to truncate"

TOP
Trim Right - Trim spaces from the end of a string via substitution 2008-01-01

Description: Trimming spaces at the end of a variable seems a little tricky. The following example shows how to use the string
substitution feature to trim up to 31 spaces from the end of a string. It assumes that the string to be trimmed
never contains two hash "##" characters in a row.
Script: 1. set str=15 Trailing Spaces to truncate &rem
2. echo."%str%"
3. set str=%str%##

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4. set str=%str: ##=##%
5. set str=%str: ##=##%
6. set str=%str: ##=##%
7. set str=%str: ##=##%
8. set str=%str: ##=##%
9. set str=%str:##=%
10. echo."%str%"

Script
Output:
Script Output
"15 Trailing Spaces to truncate "
"15 Trailing Spaces to truncate"

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6/26/2020 DOS - String Manipulation

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