Passing Environment variables to the CMD prompt

Question

0.00/5 (No votes)

See more:

Hi,

I have this basic question, (probably stupid !!)

I am trying to run a batch file from the "Run dialog" on Win 7 and XP.
Currently, at the run window, I am typing in "cmd.exe /k c:\users\myuser\Desktop\mybatch.bat"

However, Instead of typing in the fully qualified path to the batch file located on desktop, I wish to use the system environment variable.

For Instance : "cmd.exe /k [Desktop]\mybatch.bat"
instead of "cmd.exe /k c:\users\myuser\Desktop\mybatch.bat"

similarly, "cmd.exe /k [SystemFolder]\mybatch.bat" instead of "cmd.exe /k c:\windows\system\mybatch.bat"

Now, If I proceed by using [Desktop] or [SystemFolder] in the Run Window, it complains of not knowing either of the systemfolder.

Please guide me.

Thanks in advance.

Posted 21-Sep-15 10:14am

JamesHadleyChase

Add a Solution

Comments

Patrice T 21-Sep-15 16:30pm

Tried Google ?

JamesHadleyChase 21-Sep-15 16:33pm

tried, in vain.

1 solution

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

Dave Kreskowiak · Accepted Answer · 2015-09-21T11:37:00

First, those are not environment variables. Those names don't exist by default, unless you've got some login script that are setting them.

What you SHOULD be doing is assembling the fully qualified paths to these files using known starting points. What you're using in your examples are not environment variables but are much closer to the names in the Environment.SpecialFolder enum, found here[^].

You can use those in the Environment.GetFolderPath()[^] to get the fully qualified paths to the folder specified, like Directory or System.

You then use the returned paths with Path.Combine() to build the path to your target file you want to launch. You then pass the resulting path to your Process code to launch the command prompt.