Comments on: How To Write A Simple Batch (.bat) File

By: Clive

Clive — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:17:13 +0000

Hi to all you guys who are keen on Batch Files.
Can batch files be created to run automatically i.e. triggered by an event? Would a batch file be an appropriate way of deleting an old file when an imaging software starts to create a new file. I have space on a partition to store say 3 files & would like to be able to automatically delete the oldest (by date) file before the next/newest (4th?) file is created.
Thanks,
Clive

By: Josh

Josh — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:40:53 +0000

My job involves setting up new computers for workers at a large corporation. The guy in the job before me would network two computers and copy files manually from folder to folder. Could take hours and failed frequently, forcing you to restart because you had no idea where Windows left off. I wrote a batch script that maps a network drive to the old computer and copies everything that a user has created that is not in our standard image of windows. Now I sit back and watch it run.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 05:01:05 +0000

Windows 7 has gestures, you can drag windows to ceertain parts of the screen side and it will snap them into position. Google for more information on it.

By: Ed

Ed — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 01:28:13 +0000

Here is a usefull site for scripting not just Batch Scripting but it does have a very comprehensive section on batch scripting and it is an invaluable resource for those who routinely write scripts.

http://www.robvanderwoude.com/

By: Ed

Ed — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:28:13 +0000

Here is a usefull site for scripting not just Batch Scripting but it does have a very comprehensive section on batch scripting and it is an invaluable resource for those who routinely write scripts.

http://www.robvanderwoude.com/

By: Paul Bozzay

Paul Bozzay — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:47:27 +0000

Exactly! Thanks for taking the time to mention this; I think a lot of us feel the same way about batch files.

~Paul

By: Paul Bozzay

Paul Bozzay — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:46:41 +0000

Sure can.

Try code like this… (replace paths/names accordingly)

==========================
ECHO OFF
start /d “C:\Windows\System32\” calc.exe
ECHO CALC STARTED
start /d “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox” firefox.exe
ECHO FIREFOX STARTED
start /d “C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\” chrome.exe
ECHO CHROME STARTED
ECHO OPERATION COMPLETE
PAUSE
=====================

Tested it 30 seconds ago and everything ran flawlessly. Let me know if it works for you!

By: Paul Bozzay

Paul Bozzay — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:45:14 +0000

I don’t know of one–I googled it and came up empty. I’ll look around a bit more though. If you get something let me know–I’d like to know this too.

By: Paul Bozzay

Paul Bozzay — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:42:51 +0000

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback :-)

By: Paul Bozzay

Paul Bozzay — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:41:58 +0000

A lot of people (as you can see) still use batch files…For this reason they are not only relevant, but useful too. With just a few lines of very easy code, you can perform an automated operation on any Windows machine…To each his own, but I personally resort to using BAT files frequently.

~Paul

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:09:07 +0000

Nice beginners guide to batch scripting. VBscript and powershell are great tools and have their place but batch files are indispensable. I work in IT and am often surprised at how few of my colleagues actually utilize batch files for daily tasks. In the 10+ years I’ve been doing this I’ve written literally hundreds of batch files with at least 10 that I use daily. The best one I’ve ever written runs against my print servers and pulls out all the print job information (Username, doc type, doc name, pages printed etc) and puts that into a csv file. Very useful for tracking printer usage.

By: rchard2scout

rchard2scout — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:25:49 +0000

Can a batch file open several programs that have to keep running (e.g. I want a batch file that opens Chrome, Itunes, etc. but when I tried it, it stopped after chrome, and only continues when I closed chrome.)
Any solutions?

By: Andrei

Andrei — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:53:20 +0000

Is there a batch command that would allow snapping a window to the right/left half of the screen in Windows 7?

I am trying to make a .bat file that opens 2 Windows Explorer windows, each on its half screen.

By: Ivan Kolevski

Ivan Kolevski — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:43:18 +0000

I think that batch files will be around for a while. I use batch files on a daily basis and it is very time efficient method of getting things done with minimal input.
Here is my daily batch:
============================================================
ECHO OFF
ECHO This is CCleaner silent run with DNS flush. I use this after I log in to my bank and close Firefox.
“C:\Program Files\CCleaner\CCleaner.exe” /AUTO
ipconfig /flushdns
ECHO Privacy is important !!! All good now.
PAUSE
============================================================

Hope this helps.
Regards,
Ivan K.

By: Mayank

Mayank — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 06:15:06 +0000

I Just Loved To Read This Post.
Really I Love Such Type Of Programming.
I Really Love Programming But Sadly Donno As Now I M Only Of 14 Years And In School.
So Don Have Time To Do These.