Help Automatating CMD Commands

[Pedroc1999]

I need help making a CMD script that will...

Open a certain directory
clear the screen
run a command

and then it must stay open


how would i do this?

 

[Brink]

Hello Pedro,

You could use this in a .bat or .cmd file to do so. CLS will clear the screen in the command prompt. Pause will leave the command prompt open until you press a key to close it.

cd "[COLOR=red][B]full path of directory[/B][/COLOR]"
 
CLS
 
[B][COLOR=red]your command[/COLOR][/B]
 
pause

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Parman]

You can make a batch file

Cd (directory)
Start cmd.exe

This will open a new command prompt in the directory.

 

[Pedroc1999]

i got it anyway after a bit of fiddeling.

echo off
cd C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools
cls
adb devices
echo off
ping 1.0.0.0 -n 1 -w 5000 >NUL

how would i make a batch file that detects a usb flash drive
prompts me to copy files
copies files
reports back
and then closes

 

[UsernameIssues]

The adb app does not require the cd line and you might like pause better than ping... or not.

echo off
cls
C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools\adb.exe devices
pause

...detect a usb drive via batch file?
Are you wanting this batch file to run all of the time? ...always watching for a usb drive?
Will it always be the same usb drive that this batch file is looking for?

 

[Pedroc1999]

Ok i got it. I made this yesterday and it is quite complicated...
I will post the batch later for viewing purposes.

How would i make a batch file to ask the user for his username,drive lettrs etc. Then it would make a backup of the above file.it would then modify certain lines in the above files and replace them with the inputed username etc

 

[UsernameIssues]

Helping you might be simpler if you would detail what your plans are. I can only assume that you want to copy files from a usb stick to a user's "my doc..." area.

~~~
How would i make a batch file to ask the user for his username,drive letters etc....

echo off
set /p SomeName=
echo %SomeName%
pause

You could also just use the variable %username% which will return the name of the person currently logged on.

echo off
echo %username%
pause

Be aware that people can change their username.
I can be logged on as Fred and my files are under C:\Users\Bob\...
The variable %username% will return Fred...
...but you might want Bob for the path info.

You might find this code more useful:

echo off
echo %homepath%
pause

Also be aware that some usernames have spaces in them:
C:\Users\Tony the Tiger\...
Which means that you should put quotation marks around the path even if you don't need them for most users.

~~~
Then it would make a backup of the above file.it would then modify certain lines in the above files and replace them with the inputed username etc

echo %SomeName% > test.bat
echo SomeInfo >> test.bat

 

[Pedroc1999]

ok so this is the long version

i am trying to make a batch file to backup all the files on my phone to my documents - i have finished this bit, tested and all is working

i want to publicate this batch so everyone can use it.That means making a 'setup.cmd' that will edit the actual backup batch to suit the users needs. the %username% command you suggested will be used to determin the actual username, but i need a way for the user to specify where his internal sdcard and external sdcard are and adjusting the file accordinly. i will upload the file so you can view it

 

[Pedroc1999]

Ok i done it now and will publish tomorow. I am on my phone so i havnt got the file here.this is my first batch i make and it turned out to be 3500+words so i started big.now my phone is safely backed up. I still need a way to access the system folder for complete backup

 

[UsernameIssues]

'sleep' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

I would use %homepath% instead of %username%.

Using dates for the folders is good - but I would create a path more like:

...\year\month\day-time
or
...\year-month-day-time

Those folder structures will sort better.

I do not want to discourage you from learning/using command line batch files, but if you are going to be giving this to others, you might want to learn a scripting language like AutoHotKey or AutoIt.

 

[UsernameIssues]

...this is my first batch i make and it turned out to be 3500+words so i started big....

Congrats - keep learning

 

[Pedroc1999]

Thank you. I got the sleep command from windows resource kit tools which i found is a must.my batch will check for its existance and let you continue the backup if you have it and launch the installer if it isnt found.i have to ask what ste those extra tools for.....i have some understanding of LUA is it possible to run lua commands from cmd

 

[Pedroc1999]

here is the near final version.

download the 2 files
rename batch to .cmd (this is only because sevenfroums wont let me upload .cmd files
put the 2 files in one folder
run the cmd file (previously batch)



how woudl i do the day-month-year-time thing?

 

[Pedroc1999]

im sorry but i cant upload the files because they are too big

 

[cytherian]

You might want to consider setting up variables at the beginning with constants. That way you have just one place to change the values.

 

[Pedroc1999]

I have done that. Il have to upload it mediafire so you guys can see it

 

[UsernameIssues]

....i have to ask what ste those extra tools for.....i have some understanding of LUA is it possible to run lua commands from cmd

If you use a scripting tool like AutoIt (or AutoHotKey) you can write a script to do what you want without the user dealing with a command line interface.

For instance - your script can start when Windows starts and run all of the time (always watching for the phone to be connected). Once the phone connects, a tray tip (balloon) could popup reminding the user to backup the phone's files.... prompting the user to press a certain key combo to start the backup process.

LUA is not normally used as part of an AutoIt script. You don't need to know anything about LUA to use AutoIt. LUA is used by AutoIt devs to customize how the SCiTE editor supports writing and debugging the AutoIt code as you write/test your script. You don't have to use SCiTE - you can use Notepad to write scripting code if you want.

Again, I don't want to point you away from working with the command line interface (CLI) - too few people are learning that interface these days... but once you have things working as desired via CLI, consider recoding it using AutoIt or AutoHotKey to make your backup tool more user friendly.

 

[Pedroc1999]

is there some sort of tool that can convert my batch into a autoitfile without having to write the script out again

 

[UsernameIssues]

Not that I know of.

 

[Pedroc1999]

ok, if i do stick with batch (which i might as learning a new language isnt exactly easy) Is there a program that can at least give it a gui so it looks a bit better?