How do I pass parameters to a batch file? | Windows Server content from Windows IT Pro

Related: How to parse a batch parameter

A. When you call a batch file, you can enter data after the command that the batch file refers to as %1, %2, etc. For example, in the batch file hello.bat, the following command

@echo hello %1 boy

would output

hello john boy

if you called it as

hello john

The following table outlines how you can modify the passed parameter.

Parameter Description

%1 The normal parameter.

%~f1 Expands %1 to a fully qualified pathname. If you passed only a filename from the current directory, this parameter would also expand to the drive or directory.

%~d1 Extracts the drive letter from %1.

%~p1 Extracts the path from %1.

%~n1 Extracts the filename from %1, without the extension.

%~x1 Extracts the file extension from %1.

%~s1 Changes the n and x options’ meanings to reference the short name. You would therefore use %~sn1 for the short filename and %~sx1 for the short extension.

The following table shows how you can combine some of the parameters.

Parameter Description

%~dp1 Expands %1 to a drive letter and path only.

%~sp1 For short path.

%~nx1 Expands %1 to a filename and extension only.

To see all the parameters in action, put them into the batch file testing.bat, as follows.

@echo off<br>

echo fully qualified name %~f1<br>

echo drive %~d1<br>

echo path %~p1<br>

echo filename %~n1<br>

echo file extension %~x1<br>

echo short filename %~sn1<br>

echo short file extension %~sx1<br>

echo drive and directory %~dp1<br>

echo filename and extension %~nx1

Then, run the file with a long filename. For example, the batch file run on the file c:\temp\longfilename.long would produce the following output.

fully qualified name c:\TEMP\longfilename.long<br>

drive c:<br>

path \TEMP\<br>

filename longfilename<br>

file extension .long<br>

short filename LONGFI~1<br>

short file extension .LON<br>

drive and directory c:\TEMP\<br>

filename and extension longfilename.long

This method also works on the second and subsequent parameters. You simply substitute the parameter for 1 (e.g., %~f2 for the second parameter’s fully qualified path name).

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The %0 parameter in a batch file holds information about the file when it runs and indicates which command extensions you can use with the file (e.g., %~dp0 gives the batch file’s drive and path).

Learn more: How many parameters can I pass to batch file?