Batch file issue need some help with

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Hi there,

I have the following line of Code in a Batch File :-

BAT

set "SourceFolder=C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL Misc\PAC-MISC\pacbob1940"


for %%a in ("%SourceFolder%\*.PAC") do PAC-MISC.exe -d Test_Files "%%a"

The Batch File runs a C Language Program, i.e. PAC-MISC.exe, -d is the parameter which saves to the chosen Folder, created if it doesn't exist, i.e. in this case to a folder named Test_Files. Each of the Files are processed, in the SourceFolder, but no bitmap Files are outputted and saved to the chosen Folder.

When I run PAC-MISC.exe from the command prompt for an individual Files in that folder the Program works, i.e. if I type for example :-

pac-misc -d Test_Files BFDASH.PAC that will output .bmp i.e, Bitmap Files to the Test_Files Folder.

Could anybody on this forum, suggest how I could modify my Batch File, to obtain outputted Files, in the chosen Folder ? Some of those .PAC Files in the SourceFolder, won't produce bitmap Files, but many will. I can't work out where I am going wrong here.

Any help and info would be much appreciated.

Regards

Eddie Winch

What I have tried:

The Code I have typed above in C Language, works for individual Files in Command Prompt.

Posted 10-Feb-23 7:54am

Eddie Winch

Updated 18-Feb-23 13:37pm

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Rick York 11-Feb-23 23:13pm

This might be useful : https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=56846. It is a reference of windows commands.

Eddie Winch 19-Feb-23 16:31pm

Many thanks for that link Rick, I will take a look at it.

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l o o l · Answer 1 · 2023-02-18T13:37:00

@echo off

cd /d "C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL Misc\PAC-MISC"
pushd "C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL Misc\PAC-MISC\Test_Files"

for %%i in (*.PAC)do PAC-MISC.exe -d . "%%~nxi"

popd

I have a feeling that the program already handles its argument passing the value path\file by adding the double quotes, so that would explain why it worked in

...)do PAC-MISC.exe -d Test_Files %%a

Note that you can also pass the Name.eXtension of your file in the loop in addition to other options, like the full path, etc...

%%~Drive:\Path\Name.eXtension of %%i == > %%~dpnxi

In your case I would test further by removing the quotes if existing with %%~ and this will ensure that an output where "Value/Variable in loop" is just: value/variable in loop

%%~i :: removes quotes if existing in %%i value ::

You can define your variable with or without the use of quotation marks, this for your path or any other value, the point is to observe if at the end you have any other non-visible characters, such as space, tab... or if there is any other command on the same line side by side as:

set var=value & dir...
set var=value && dir...
set var=value || say...

which is different from something written intentionally as in:

set "var=value" & dir...
set "var=" || dir...

So, as a good practice, and for better visualization, using quotes in set "_variable=value" is regardless of whether you need it or not, but keeping in mind the use of quotes when necessary in the "variable" as needed when using it.

Finally, I would observe how the treatment of the command for the destination folder is received/interpreted, avoiding passing the full path or just the current name for the folder, or even the relative path, as in the situations below:

PAC-MISC.exe -d Test_Files %%a
PAC-MISC.exe -d "Test_Files" %%a
PAC-MISC.exe -d .\Test_Files %%a
PAC-MISC.exe -d "C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL Misc\PAC-MISC\Test_Files" %%a

If your command is running in the current folder and will also save there:

PAC-MISC.exe -d . %%a
PAC-MISC.exe -d %CD% %%a
PAC-MISC.exe -d "%CD%" %%a

If your command is running in another current folder and but it will save a folder above:

PAC-MISC.exe -d "..\Test_Files" %%a

What I propose is testing and observation of behavior results, considering that you don't have access to details about the code and/or how the arguments must be passed or how these arguments are interpreted and treated internally by the program. After that, actions to identify how to deal with these results in loop is easier to identify and resolve by itself.

Some references for querying the commands used:
Set - Environment Variable[^]
CD Change Directory[^]
Pushd - Popd change directory/folder[^]
Parameters / Arguments:
- Refer: %%~i Expand %%i removing any surrounding quotes"[^]

Dave Kreskowiak · Answer 2 · 2023-02-10T11:30:00

Solution 1

First, the SET statement does not need the quotes around it at all.

Next, the problem is going to be with the command you're running as part of the FOR statement, or the batch files ability to find the command.

Is the batch file in the same folder as PAC-MISC.EXE? If not, is the PAC-MISC.EXE file found in a folder in the PATH? If not, it's not going to work and generate an error that says something like: "'PAC-MISC.EXE' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file." You'll have to change the command to supply the fully qualified path to the PAC-MISC.EXE file so the batch file can run from any folder.

Posted 10-Feb-23 11:30am

Dave Kreskowiak

Comments

Eddie Winch 10-Feb-23 18:06pm

Hi Dave,

Many thanks for your reply, Yes the PAC-MISC.EXE File is in the same Folder as the batch File, but not in the Source Folder, are you saying it needs to be there aswell ? Also do you mean the full path, to the Output Folder needs to be typed ?

Dave Kreskowiak 10-Feb-23 19:26pm

No, I'm not saying that. I am saying that if you don't specify the full path to the PAC-MISC executable, you will have to have the batch file in the same folder as that executable.

Since you have both files in the same folder, there's nothing there that needs to change.

Now the problem is possibly the command line parameters you're providing to PAC-MISC.EXE in the batch file.

What is the full path to the folder that contains your batch file and the PAC-MISC.EXE file, and what is the full path to the Test_Files folder?

Eddie Winch 10-Feb-23 19:50pm

Hi Dave,

I see what you mean, the full path to the Folder that contains the batch File is :-

C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL Misc\PAC-MISC\PAC-MISC.EXE

And to the Test_Files Folder is :-

C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL Misc\PAC-MISC\Test_Files

Dave Kreskowiak 10-Feb-23 19:52pm

The batch file should work. If it still doesn't generate the images, then it's going to be a problem with the parameters passed to PAC-MISC.EXE in the FOR statement.

Eddie Winch 10-Feb-23 20:20pm

And when I remove the "" around the %%a and run the batch file again, it doesn't process the .PAC Files.

Dave Kreskowiak 10-Feb-23 20:22pm

If there are spaces in the filepaths, the quotes are required around the entire path. That's why it fails if you remove them.

Eddie Winch 10-Feb-23 20:16pm

I have noticed, it says a Subdirectory or File Test_Files allready exists, when the Batch File processes each File.

Dave Kreskowiak 10-Feb-23 20:17pm

I know nothing about PAC-MISC.EXE so I couldn't tell you what that means.

Eddie Winch 10-Feb-23 20:25pm

The chosen Folder is created, if it doesn't allready exist, but it shouldn't mean the Files don't get outputted to the folder, unless that overwrites the Files ? I will try running the batch File from the Command Prompt.

Eddie Winch 10-Feb-23 20:32pm

No that didn't work either.

Dave Kreskowiak 10-Feb-23 20:33pm

I can't tell you. The problem is coming down to the app. Who wrote it because I can't find any information on it.

Dave Kreskowiak 10-Feb-23 20:37pm

Try this. It could be that the tool is not handling filepaths properly. Change the batch file to this and take a look at the paths that are being passed to the tool. The next thing is, does the tool properly handle those paths?

SET SourceFolder=C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL Misc\PAC-MISC\pacbob1940
FOR %%a IN ("%SourceFolder%\*.PAC") DO ECHO "%%a"

Eddie Winch 10-Feb-23 20:49pm

That didn't work either, I am going to bed now as it is nearly 2am here in the UK, so will try and look at the paths tomorrow. The app was written by someone on the Cboard Forum for me.

Many thanks Dave for all your help so far.

Regards

Eddie

Dave Kreskowiak 10-Feb-23 21:15pm

That wasn't meant to "fix it" or "work". That change was meant to show you the filepaths being passed to the tool. If the tool is poorly written, there could be anything wrong with it keeping it from working as expected.

Another test is to try and delete the Test_files folder then run the tools again from the batch file and see what it says/does.

Richard MacCutchan · Answer 3 · 2023-02-10T22:22:00

Solution 2

You have a space character in the directory path, which will cause the path passed in the for statement to be interpreted as "C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL". Try changing the set statement to the following, removing the double quote in front of SourceFolder and inserting it in front of the actual directory path name.

Shell

set SourceFolder="C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL Misc\PAC-MISC\pacbob1940"

Posted 10-Feb-23 22:22pm

Richard MacCutchan

Comments

Eddie Winch 11-Feb-23 6:33am

Hi Richard,

Many thanks for your reply, unfortunately what you suggested I do, didn't work, doesn't even process the Files, I also tried changing the set line of Code, after changing the Folder to PAC_PNL instead of PAC_PNL Misc to :-

set "SourceFolder=C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL\PAC-MISC\pacbob1940" instead but still no output files to the Test_Files Folder.

Richard MacCutchan 11-Feb-23 6:40am

That makes no sense, and suggests that you trying to guess the path of the folder you are trying to refer to. So go back to the system and check the exact path name.

Eddie Winch 11-Feb-23 7:26am

Hi Richard,

All the Paths and Folder names appear to be correct. I derived the batch File I made, from the following Forum thread :-

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/38957871/how-to-run-an-executable-on-all-files-in-a-directory-matching-a-file-extension-w

Richard MacCutchan 11-Feb-23 7:56am

I have tried this on my system and as far as I can see you need to remove the quotes round %SourceFolder%in the second line, so it should be:

set SourceFolder="C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL Misc\PAC-MISC\pacbob1940"

for %%a in (%SourceFolder%\*.PAC) do PAC-MISC.exe -d Test_Files "%%a"

Eddie Winch 11-Feb-23 8:47am

Hi Richard, That runs and processes the Files this time, but still no output .bmp Files in the Test_Files Folder. I really feel this should work, I could search for more threads, and alter a few things, if I find anything useful. Also I removed the "" around the last %%a, and it processes the Files, like with "%%a".

Richard MacCutchan 11-Feb-23 9:10am

That is not something that we can help with as we have no idea what PAC-MISC.exe is doing. Maybe you should add some debug code to see what happens when it runs.

Dave Kreskowiak 11-Feb-23 10:14am

You're going to have to go back to the person who wrote the PAC-MISC.EXE for you. It's not handling paths properly for some reason.

You can verify this by running the modified batch file I posted with the ECHO in it that shows you exactly what is being passed to PAC-MISC.EXE. You can then run the command with the exact command line the batch file is using.

To get the filepaths:

SET SourceFolder=C:\Users\eddyw\Desktop\PAC_PNL Misc\PAC-MISC\pacbob1940
FOR %%a IN ("%SourceFolder%\*.PAC") DO ECHO "%%a"

Pick one of the paths and in a CMD Prompt in the PAC-MISC folder, type

PAC-MISC -d Test_Files "filepath"

Dave Kreskowiak 11-Feb-23 10:09am

Tested and verified: The SET statement will work and assign the proper value without the quotes around it, even if the value has spaces in it.

Eddie Winch 11-Feb-23 10:45am

Hi Richard, I tried something, and it worked, I copied all the .PAC files I wanted processing to the PAC-MISC Folder, and changed the Batch File Code to :-

for %%a in (*.PAC) do PAC-MISC.exe -d Test_Files %%a

And I got all the bitmaps I could, outputted to the Test_Files Folder. Not ideal, but it worked this time finally.

Eddie Winch 11-Feb-23 10:55am

I also tried copying the PAC-MISC.exe File and the Batch File, to the pacbob1940 Folder, and that worked aswell, with outputted bitmaps to the Test_Files Folder created inside the pacbob1940 Folder.

Dave Kreskowiak 11-Feb-23 10:59am

It seems the code was written to strip the folder paths from whatever is specified on the command line, the "%%a" parameter in the batch file. That's a big mistake on the part of the person that wrote the app.

Richard MacCutchan 11-Feb-23 11:12am

I had a suspicion that might be the case.

Eddie Winch 11-Feb-23 11:53am

Many thanks for all your help with this Richard, it's very much appreciated.

Richard MacCutchan 11-Feb-23 15:32pm

You're welcome.

Batch file issue need some help with

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