The if<\/tt> command in Windows batch files has some strange implications. One problem is that parentheses take on special meaning.<\/p>\n
I first ran into this problem because my batch file would terminate shortly after showing, “folder unexpected at this time<\/tt>“.<\/p>\n
A very basic if<\/tt> command might look like this:<\/p>\n However, placing parentheses inside the echo statement will entirely confuse CMD:<\/p>\n Well, that sort of makes sense. It becomes confusing when the last word in your echo command is something more general, like the word ‘folder’:<\/p>\n This is actually the classic %%i was unexpected at this time<\/tt> error<\/a>.<\/p>\n One solution is to put double quotes around the message to be echoed:<\/p>\n The drawback here is that the double quotes appear in the output. A better option is to use the caret (^) escape character:<\/p>\n The if command in Windows batch files has some strange implications. One problem is that parentheses take on special meaning. I first ran into this problem because my batch file would terminate shortly after showing, “folder unexpected at this time“. … Continue reading \n
C:\\>if exist C:\\ ( echo The C drive exists )\r\nThe C drive exists<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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C:\\>if exist C:\\ ( echo The C drive exists (no, really) )\r\n) was unexpected at this time.<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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C:\\>if exist C:\\Windows ( echo Found the Windows (on C:) folder )\r\nfolder was unexpected at this time.<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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C:\\>if exist C:\\Windows ( echo \"Found the Windows (on C:) folder\" )\r\n\"Found the Windows (on C:) folder\"<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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C:\\>if exist C:\\Windows ( echo Found the Windows ^(on C:^) folder )\r\nFound the Windows (on C:) folder<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"