Defining and using a variable in batch file

batch-filecmdenvironment-variables

I'm trying to define and use a variable in a batch file. It looks like it should be simple:

@echo off

set location = "bob"
echo We're working with "%location%"

The output I get is the following:

We're working with ""

What's going on here? Why is my variable not being echo'd?

Best Answer

The space before the = is interpreted as part of the name, and the space after it (as well as the quotation marks) are interpreted as part of the value. So the variable you’ve created can be referenced with %location %. If that’s not what you want, remove the extra space(s) in the definition.

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How to pass arguments to a batch file

Another useful tip is to use %* to mean "all". For example:

echo off
set arg1=%1
set arg2=%2
shift
shift
fake-command /u %arg1% /p %arg2% %*

When you run:

test-command admin password foo bar

the above batch file will run:

fake-command /u admin /p password admin password foo bar

I may have the syntax slightly wrong, but this is the general idea.

Windows – Batch file to delete files older than N days

Enjoy:

forfiles -p "C:\what\ever" -s -m *.* -d <number of days> -c "cmd /c del @path"

See forfiles documentation for more details.

For more goodies, refer to An A-Z Index of the Windows XP command line.

If you don't have forfiles installed on your machine, copy it from any Windows Server 2003 to your Windows XP machine at %WinDir%\system32\. This is possible since the EXE is fully compatible between Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP.

Later versions of Windows and Windows Server have it installed by default.

For Windows 7 and newer (including Windows 10):

The syntax has changed a little. Therefore the updated command is:

forfiles /p "C:\what\ever" /s /m *.* /D -<number of days> /C "cmd /c del @path"

Best Answer

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How to pass arguments to a batch file

Windows – Batch file to delete files older than N days

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