BAT files are text documents that have a special extension. Commands are written into it for subsequent execution on the command line. By running the file, you activate the CMD program, it reads commands that are executed sequentially. This way you can make working with the command line easier while maintaining the desired order. Of course, you can enter all the commands at once into the command line manually, however, if you need to repeat the same operations, it is much more convenient to do this by automatically reading the list written in the form of a bat document. This option is also practical and convenient because you can subsequently change the order, add new processes that you need, and also remove unnecessary ones.

BAT helps automate processes: launching programs, archiving, backups. Therefore, it is useful to know how to create a bat file yourself, correct and supplement it.

Working with bat using Notepad

Creation algorithm

The process of working through Notepad is not at all complicated. If you have never done this before, you can handle it just fine by learning how to create a bat file and add commands to it. Let's start with creation. Here, follow the algorithm strictly:

1. When you create a text document, you will initially get it with the txt extension. There are several ways to perform this operation, some depend on the level of Windows you have installed:
   • In the folder you have chosen, right-click on the field, a menu will open, there we select “Create” - “Text document”;
   • Launch “Notepad” through “Start” by selecting “All Programs” - “Accessories” - “Notepad” (for Windows 7);
   • In later (after 7) versions of Windows, you can also open “Notepad” through “Start”: go through “All applications”, then “Accessories” - “Windows” and there select “Notepad” from the list;
   • Open the system command window using the Win + R combination, enter “notepad” in the line, click “Ok”.
2. Enter the command text. To try, write down, for example, “START taskmgr.exe” - start task manager. “START” tells the command interpreter that a program needs to be launched, then the program’s executable is indicated.
3. Specify the path where to save the created document.
4. Specify in the save window:
   • in the “Type” line - “All files”;
   • in the “Name” line, enter the name and extension of bat, adding it after the name, placing a dot between the name and extension, for example, “file.bat”.
5. Click on “Save”.

A batch file with the extension .bat will appear in the folder you specified.

Running a file

It is easier to open a bat file by double-clicking on it with the mouse. The second method is to launch from the command line: enter the address where the document with the .bat extension that you saved is located.

Editing

If you want to change the document - add commands to the bat file, delete some of them, enter another program to work with it later - it is not difficult to do. Open the document using a text editor. It is convenient to do this by right-clicking on the bat file and selecting “Edit” in the menu that opens. Notepad will launch - there you can edit commands, change content, and make additions.

Application of Dr.Batcher

For a beginner who is just starting to work with the command interpreter and uses it quite rarely, Notepad is enough. If you want to reach a higher professional level, we recommend using the Dr.Batcher utility. In Dr.Batcher you can number pages, there is support for bookmarks, a list of system commands used in bat, entered commands are highlighted.

Creating a document

The algorithm is simple and does not require special skills or professionalism. After downloading the utility, you can quickly do everything you need.

Launch Dr.Batcher.

1. Open a new page: “File” - “New” or click on the blank sheet icon located under the “File” menu.
2. In the dialog box, click on “Empty Batch File”.
3. A program window will appear containing functions for working with bat.
4. After entering the required text, save.

Editing

If you need to change a bat file, this can be done in several ways in Dr.Batcher:

1. Right-click on the icon and select “Edit with Dr.Batcher” from the menu.
2. Launch Batcher. Open the desired bat file by following the path:

• "File";
• "Open";
• specify the path to the document;
• "Open".

Having followed one of the suggested paths, you will open the utility; there will be text in the window where you can make adjustments, change commands, supplement them, and delete unnecessary ones.

A bat file is useful when you need to automate tasks in Windows. Especially if it is necessary to perform actions in a certain algorithm several times (periodically or in a row). This is usually required when creating a directory system, bulk renaming files, and other simple and more complex operations. Having saved the order of actions, you can quickly and without wasting time on manually entering commands, you can start the process at any time, repeat it for different programs, entering only their name in the finished text. The recommendations on how to make a bat file outlined above will help you not only create them yourself, but also edit them.

People who are familiar with the term batch file know that BAT files can significantly simplify life and save time if you know how to write and use them correctly. In this article, I will talk about how to create BAT files and introduce you to common mistakes that usually occur when writing them.

Creating a BAT file is very simple. Just open Notepad and save a blank sheet with the .bat extension, selecting the Save as... option and writing in the File name field something ending in .bat, for example test.bat.
Specify the file type as in the screenshot below - All files. Save and receive a BAT file.

You can edit the BAT file in Notepad or any other text editor focused on working with code.

Now let's move directly to practical information. Many people on the Internet are looking for an answer to the question: How to deal with spaces in BAT files? . In paths to folders and executable files, the presence of a space causes an error. The most common answer is: Enclose the path in quotes. And this answer is not correct. True, some will foam at the mouth and claim that it works. So, two whys appeared - why it is not true and why some will be.

On Windows (as well as on UNIX), programs installed on the system are registered accordingly by the system. Therefore, some of the installed programs can be launched with one simple command from a BAT file or from the Run applet of the Start panel. One such program is Firefox:

start firefox

If after this command you write the path to the executable file, then the following happens: the Firefox browser starts and tries to process the request, that is, the file whose path is specified. That is, if you specify the following:

start firefox C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe

The browser will open, no matter what it says after start firefox . That is why some comrades will assure that everything works great. However, if you take a portable program, the situation will be completely different. Let's take the Filezilla ftp client as an example. Since the system does not know about the program, the above line

start filezilla

won't work. To run a program unknown to the system, you need to specify the path to it:

start D:\FileZilla\FileZilla.exe

Long names in bat files

Now let's talk about paths and spaces. The first way to avoid this problem is to use a short name.

start C:\Program Files\Sound Club\scw.exe

In the example there are two names with spaces. Let's replace them with short ones. The rules for creating short names are as follows: the short name uses the first six characters of the name, excluding spaces, after the name the serial number of the folder is indicated using the symbol ~ . Since my Program Files and Sound Club folders are singular, it will look like this:

Program Files - Progra~1 Sound Club - SoundC~1 start C:\Progra~1 \SoundC~1 \scw.exe

If there are two folders nearby, for example Sound Club and Sound Clown, then following the rules, in the example above you will need to specify SoundC~2, since in this case Sound Club will be the second name (names are counted in alphabetical order).

But this method is inconvenient because you have to indicate serial numbers. The situation with Program files is more or less normal. Few people will find two similar folders on the system drive. But if you decide to install multiple Mozilla products on your computer. You will end up with several folders, for example:

Mozilla Firefox Mozilla Thunderbird Mozilla Sunbird

Short names for them will be

Mozill~1 Mozill~2 Mozill~3

Now imagine that you wrote a BAT file mentioning these programs. If you uninstall Firefox, the remaining entries will no longer work, and if you uninstall Thunderbird, the entry for Sunbird will no longer work. In short, the method with short names is not our way.

Spaces and quotes in bat files

Quotes actually work, but not in the ways that are usually advised. The following is usually advised:

start "C:\Program Files\Sound Club\scw.exe"

So the command will not work, because if you look at the help for it (start /? ), then in the help you will see the following:

START ["header"] [command/program] [parameters]

As you can see, the first parameter is the window title and it is in quotes. This parameter is optional, but it is still recommended to specify it () to avoid errors when executing the command. You don't have to write anything inside the quotes. It will turn out like this:

start "" "C:\Program Files\Sound Club\scw.exe"

The option of enclosing all names with spaces separately in quotes will also work:

start C:\"Program Files"\"Sound Club"\scw.exe

However, in some cases, none of the above works. In such cases, I can recommend using the cd command. Go to the system partition, then use cd to the Program Files folder and run the program (start):

%SystemDrive% cd \Program Files\Sound Club\ start scw.exe

I think this method will work everywhere. Now a couple more important points. Let's say you have created a batch file that launches three programs and you need to temporarily exclude the launch of one of the three. This can be done by deleting the line or commenting it out. The first method is vandal, and the second, see below.

start firefox start jetaudio rem start defraggler

In this case, the launch of the Defraggler.exe program installed on the system is disabled. Comment lines by specifying the rem command at the beginning of the line. All BAT files are executed in a console window. To make it disappear when the commands are completed, do not forget to write the exit command at the end.

start firefox start jetaudio rem start defragler exit

Launching applications from a bat file

In the first part of the article, I spoke in general terms about BAT files. Now it has become clear what it is and what it is eaten with. In the second part we will talk about more specific things. For example, how to use a BAT file to launch several applications with certain settings or install a program automatically so as not to waste time on answers like Do you agree to the terms of the license agreement? and don't press unnecessary buttons.

Several ways to launch applications using a BAT file were outlined above. The very first one is a short command to launch the program installed on the system.

start firefox

This doesn't always work. Therefore, this technique can be fully applied to a specific system, but it is not suitable as a universal solution. If your goal is to make the BAT file work everywhere and always, you need to use full paths:

start C:\"Program Files"\"Mozilla Firefox"\firefox.exe

I also noted that the BAT file must contain a command to complete:

start C:\"Program Files"\"Mozilla Firefox"\firefox.exe exit

Running programs in bat files with parameters (keys)

You can not only run the program, but also give it additional commands when starting it. For example, command to run minimized:

start /min D:\FileZilla\FileZilla.exe exit

To command in this case means to indicate the key. The key is indicated with a slash after the main command (command / key). The main command in this case is start . True, the min key only works in half the cases, because it relates specifically to the start command, and not to the programs that this command launches.

In general, there are a lot of keys and the sets of keys for different programs can vary significantly. There are, however, a few common ones. For example, the help key (/? or /help). To see how this key works, let's look at a practical example. Open the console (Click + R , enter cmd , then Enter ) and type the following in the console:

start /?

The console will display a list of valid keys with comments for the start command.

Pay attention to the /wait switch. In some cases, it is simply irreplaceable. For example, you decided to use a BAT file to unpack the archive with the program and run this very program. The batch file will contain two commands - for unpacking and for launching. Since the commands will be executed almost simultaneously when running the BAT file, the archive will not have time to unpack and there will be nothing to run. Therefore there will be an error. In this case, the key will come to the rescue /wait:

Thus, the system will first perform the first action, wait for it to complete, and only then proceed to the second. If you need to wait a specific period of time, it is easier to use a console utility. In the right place in the BAT file, write the following command (the number is the number of seconds):

start Sleep.exe 15

You can do a lot with keys. It is possible to install applications. To do this, several keys are used depending on the type of installer used to install the program on the computer:

/S /s /q /silent and a number of others

In some cases it can be very convenient. Avast antivirus has a silent installation option in the corporate version. The free (home) version supposedly does not have a silent installation. However, if you know how the InstallShield installer works, you will understand that this is a canard, since this installer itself supports the /S silent installation switch. This means that all products made on its basis do the same. And Avast is no exception. Just create a file with the contents in the folder with Avast's BAT

start avast.exe /S exit

you launch it and the program is installed on your computer with virtually no input from you. This way you can write a whole list of programs for silent installation and save time, for example, on reinstalling the system. In the article you can get more detailed information on the keys.

There are other options for managing programs using BAT files. You can start a program by telling it to open a file at startup. I use this method when developing websites. It’s very convenient when your entire toolkit opens the necessary documents and folders with the click of just one button:

rem connection to ftp server start /min D:\FileZilla\FileZilla.exe "ftp://login:password@server" rem opening index.php in Firefox start C:\"program files"\"mozilla firefox"\firefox.exe "http://localhost/site_folder/index.php" rem opening start.html in a text editor start /min C:\"Program Files"\text_editor.exe "E:\server\site_folder\index.html" rem opening the folder with site files start /min E:\server\site_folder rem console exit exit

I note that all the techniques described above can be used in various combinations and combinations.

start /min /wait program.exe /m /S start C:\Directory\program2.exe "C:\Files\file.odt" exit

But it is important to remember: everything related to the execution of the program launched in the batch file is written with it on the same line.

start C:\"program files"\"mozilla firefox"\firefox.exe "http://localhost/site_folder/index.php"

As an epilogue, I will offer for your review the converter of BAT files into applications in the .exe format - . A BAT file is not always aesthetically pleasing, but with the help of a converter you can pack a batch file into an exe file, decorating it with any icon of your choice.

I came across another BAT to EXE converter, you can consider it as an alternative to the previous program: Advanced Bat To Exe Converter

Windows bat files are a convenient way to perform various tasks on a PC, which is actively used by computer experts. They allow you to automate everyday tasks, reduce their completion time, and turn a complex process into something feasible for the average user. This article presents the basic capabilities of batch files and recommendations for writing them yourself.

Automation made easy

How to create a bat file? To do this you need to do the following:

1. In any text editor, for example, Notepad or WordPad, create a text document.
2. Write your commands in it, starting with @echo , and then (each time on a new line) title [name of the batch script], echo [message that will be displayed on the screen] and pause.
3. Save the text in an electronic document with the .bat extension (for example, test.bat).
4. To run, double-click on the newly created batch file.
5. To edit it, you need to right-click on it and select “Edit” from the context menu.

The raw file will look something like this:

title This is your first bat file script!

echo Welcome to the batch processing script!

We will discuss bat file commands and their use in more detail below.

Step 1: Create a software script

Let's assume that a user often has problems with the Network. He constantly uses the command line, typing ipconfig and pinging Google to troubleshoot network problems. After a while, the user realizes that it would be much more effective if he wrote a simple bat file, wrote it to his USB drive and ran it on the computers he diagnoses.

Creating a new text document

A batch file makes it easy to perform repetitive tasks on your computer using the Windows Command Prompt. Below is an example of a script responsible for displaying some text on the screen. Before creating a bat file, you should right-click on an empty space in the directory and select “Create”, and then “Text Document”.

Adding code

Double-clicking this new text document will open your default text editor. You can copy and paste the example code above into a text entry.

Preservation

The above script displays the text “Welcome to the Batch Processing Script!” on the screen. The electronic document must be written by selecting the text editor menu item “File”, “Save As”, and then specify the desired name of the bat file. It should be completed with a .bat extension (for example, welcome.bat) and click OK. To display the Cyrillic alphabet correctly, in some cases you should make sure that the encoding is selected correctly. For example, when using the console of a Russified Windows NT system, the document must be saved in CP866. Now you should double click on the bat file shortcut to activate it.

But the following message will appear on the screen:

"Welcome to the batch script! Press any key to continue..."

If the bat file does not start, users recommend going to the registry and deleting the key:

"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.BAT\UserChoice."

Don't think that's all that batch scripts can do. Script parameters are modified versions of command line commands, so the user is limited only by their capabilities. And they are quite extensive.

Step 2: Get to Know Some Commands

If a PC user is familiar with how to execute DOS console commands, then he will be a master at creating software scripts because they are the same language. The lines in the bat files will tell the cmd.exe interpreter everything that is required of it. This saves time and effort. In addition, it is possible to specify some logic (for example, simple loops, conditionals, etc., which are conceptually similar to procedural programming).

Built-in Commands

1. @echo is a bat file command that will allow you to see the script running on the command line. It is used to view the progress of production code. If the batch file has any problems, this command will quickly isolate the problems. Adding off makes it possible to quickly terminate code execution, avoiding unnecessary information being displayed on the screen.

2. Title provides the same functionality as a tag