Tuts4Tech

Introduction

So first of all what is batch file? Its a file with a list of commands that are executed by command prompt(CMD) to open your cmd window go to start > run > cmd

Basic Commands

1. [batch]@echo off[/batch]
   This removes the "C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>" part
2. [batch]cls[/batch]
   This clears all writing off the CMD window
3. [batch]color backgroundcolor-textcolor[/batch]
   This allows you to change the color of the text

   0 = Black       8 = Gray
   1 = Blue        9 = Light Blue
   2 = Green       A = Light Green
   3 = Aqua        B = Light Aqua
   4 = Red         C = Light Red
   5 = Purple      D = Light Purple
   6 = Yellow      E = Light Yellow
   7 = White       F = Bright White

   Example command:
   [batch]color 04[/batch]
   This example would give you red text on a black background

4. [batch]goto TEXT[/batch]
   This will cause the script to go to a particular section of the script it will be explained more later on in this tutorial
5. [batch]pause[/batch]
   This Pauses the command prompt and displays the message press any key to continue...

Your first batch script

For this example we will make a simple hello world script.

To get started open up notepad start > all programs > accessories > notepad
[batch]@echo off
color 64
echo hello world
pause[/batch]
Save it with a .bat extension and then double click on it to run it. It should print the text "hello world" in red font on a yellow background and then pause

The goto command

The goto command tells the script to go to a certain part of it
[batch]goto bush[/batch]
this will cause the script to go to the line that starts with
[batch]:bush[/batch]
Example:
[batch]@echo off
echo Hello, this script will repeat the message "you will see this over and over again" to cancel it press ctrl+c
pause
:bush
echo you will see this over and over again
goto bush[/batch]
The message was repeated because after it was printed the goto command made the script start again from :bush

Launching programs from a batch script

Using the start command we can start programs

Example:
[batch]@echo off
color f1
echo this script will open google.com in your default internet browser
pause
start http://www.google.com[/batch]