Full Version: %~dp0
I see in some .cmd files %~dp0, what is it?
QUOTE (cano @ Dec 17 2003, 10:21 AM)
I see in some .cmd files %~dp0, what is it?
@cano
Look at this:
Manipulating variables in CMD shell
I'm not sure why this type of information isn't more prominent in the help files, but there you go. NT's command shell can manipulate variables but the operations you can perform are fairly limited. Still, better than nothing. :-) If you want to do some really clever stuff then you're going to have to look elsewhere. Vbscript can be useful as it's got lots of string handling capabilities. There's also Perl and AWK which are Windows (windoze?) ports of some very powerful Unix commands.
%1 is your command line option.
Namely: mycommand.cmd myoption1.
%0 determins where the batch file is running from. I've created a demo batch file in my winnt system32 folder called x.cmd. Running this gives the results shown below
%~f1 expands %1 to the drive, path and file name. If you pass %1 from the current directory then this expands that variable to it's full path
echo f0 = %~f0 produces f0 = c:\WINNT\system32\x.cmd
%~d1 gets the drive letter from %1
echo d0 = %~d0 produces d0 = D
%~p1 extracts the path from variable %1
echo p0 = %~p0 produces \WINNT\system32\
%~dp1 pulls the drive letter and path
echo dp0 = %~dp0 produces C:\WINNT\system32\
%~sp1 creates a short path (but no drive letter)
echo sp0 = %~sp0 produces \WINNT\system32
If I set %1 to "c:\Program Files\Internet Explorer" then %~sp1 produces \PROGRA~1\INTER. Note you have to wrap the long path in quotes otherwise the truncation doesn't work.
%~x1 leaves only the command extension
echo x0 = %~x0 produces .cmd
%~nx1 extracts the file name and extension
echo nx0 = %~nx0 produces x.cmd
%~sx1 extracts the short extension from %0
echo sx0 = %~sx0 produces .cmd but a longer extension (.document?) would be cut down to .doc
I hope that helps you.
Joshua
perhaps this will also help. this is from xp help.
QUOTE
Using batch parametersYou can use batch parameters anywhere within a batch file to extract information about your environment settings.
Cmd.exe provides the batch parameter expansion variables %0 through %9. When you use batch parameters in a batch file, %0 is replaced by the batch file name, and %1 through %9 are replaced by the corresponding arguments that you type at the command line. To access arguments beyond %9, you need to use the shift command. For more information about the shift command, see Shift. The %* batch parameter is a wildcard reference to all the arguments, not including %0, that are passed to the batch file.
For example, to copy the contents from Folder1 to Folder2, where %1 is replaced by the value Folder1 and %2 is replaced by the value Folder2, type the following in a batch file called Mybatch.bat:
xcopy %1\*.* %2
To run the file, type:
mybatch.bat C:\folder1 D:\folder2
This has the same effect as typing the following in the batch file:
xcopy C:\folder1 \*.* D:\folder2
You can also use modifiers with batch parameters. Modifiers use current drive and directory information to expand the batch parameter as a partial or complete file or directory name. To use a modifier, type the percent (%) character followed by a tilde (~) character, and then type the appropriate modifier (that is, %~modifier).
The following table lists the modifiers you can use in expansion.
Modifier Description
%~1 Expands %1 and removes any surrounding quotation marks ("").
%~f1 Expands %1 to a fully qualified path name.
%~d1 Expands %1 to a drive letter.
%~p1 Expands %1 to a path.
%~n1 Expands %1 to a file name.
%~x1 Expands %1 to a file extension.
%~s1 Expanded path contains short names only.
%~a1 Expands %1 to file attributes.
%~t1 Expands %1 to date and time of file.
%~z1 Expands %1 to size of file.
%~$PATH:1 Searches the directories listed in the PATH environment variable and expands %1 to the fully qualified name of the first one found. If the environment variable name is not defined or the file is not found, this modifier expands to the empty string.
The following table lists possible combinations of modifiers and qualifiers that you can use to get compound results.
Modifier Description
%~dp1 Expands %1 to a drive letter and path.
%~nx1 Expands %1 to a file name and extension.
%~dp$PATH:1 Searches the directories listed in the PATH environment variable for %1 and expands to the drive letter and path of the first one found.
%~ftza1 Expands %1 to a dir-like output line.
Note
In the previous examples, you can replace %1 and PATH with other batch parameter values.
The %* modifier is a unique modifier that represents all arguments passed in a batch file. You cannot use this modifier in combination with the %~ modifier. The %~ syntax must be terminated by a valid argument value.
You cannot manipulate batch parameters in the same manner that you can manipulate environment variables. You cannot search and replace values or examine substrings. However, you can assign the parameter to an environment variable, and then manipulate the environment variable.
Cmd.exe provides the batch parameter expansion variables %0 through %9. When you use batch parameters in a batch file, %0 is replaced by the batch file name, and %1 through %9 are replaced by the corresponding arguments that you type at the command line. To access arguments beyond %9, you need to use the shift command. For more information about the shift command, see Shift. The %* batch parameter is a wildcard reference to all the arguments, not including %0, that are passed to the batch file.
For example, to copy the contents from Folder1 to Folder2, where %1 is replaced by the value Folder1 and %2 is replaced by the value Folder2, type the following in a batch file called Mybatch.bat:
xcopy %1\*.* %2
To run the file, type:
mybatch.bat C:\folder1 D:\folder2
This has the same effect as typing the following in the batch file:
xcopy C:\folder1 \*.* D:\folder2
You can also use modifiers with batch parameters. Modifiers use current drive and directory information to expand the batch parameter as a partial or complete file or directory name. To use a modifier, type the percent (%) character followed by a tilde (~) character, and then type the appropriate modifier (that is, %~modifier).
The following table lists the modifiers you can use in expansion.
Modifier Description
%~1 Expands %1 and removes any surrounding quotation marks ("").
%~f1 Expands %1 to a fully qualified path name.
%~d1 Expands %1 to a drive letter.
%~p1 Expands %1 to a path.
%~n1 Expands %1 to a file name.
%~x1 Expands %1 to a file extension.
%~s1 Expanded path contains short names only.
%~a1 Expands %1 to file attributes.
%~t1 Expands %1 to date and time of file.
%~z1 Expands %1 to size of file.
%~$PATH:1 Searches the directories listed in the PATH environment variable and expands %1 to the fully qualified name of the first one found. If the environment variable name is not defined or the file is not found, this modifier expands to the empty string.
The following table lists possible combinations of modifiers and qualifiers that you can use to get compound results.
Modifier Description
%~dp1 Expands %1 to a drive letter and path.
%~nx1 Expands %1 to a file name and extension.
%~dp$PATH:1 Searches the directories listed in the PATH environment variable for %1 and expands to the drive letter and path of the first one found.
%~ftza1 Expands %1 to a dir-like output line.
Note
In the previous examples, you can replace %1 and PATH with other batch parameter values.
The %* modifier is a unique modifier that represents all arguments passed in a batch file. You cannot use this modifier in combination with the %~ modifier. The %~ syntax must be terminated by a valid argument value.
You cannot manipulate batch parameters in the same manner that you can manipulate environment variables. You cannot search and replace values or examine substrings. However, you can assign the parameter to an environment variable, and then manipulate the environment variable.
Wow! Great info!
I knew enough to implement it in a limited way, but I never had the full scoop.
I knew enough to implement it in a limited way, but I never had the full scoop.
Yes, Thanks as well. I've done a lot of reading on shell scripting, but apparently haven't gotten all of it down. (I cheat when I read) 
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