How to input a string from user into environment variable from batch file

Question

I want to prompt the user for some input detail, and then use it later as a command line argument.

Syllabi

Answer 1

You can use set with the /p argument:

SET /P variable=[promptString]

The /P switch allows you to set the value of a variable to a line of input entered by the user. Displays the specified promptString before reading the line of input. The promptString can be empty.

So, simply use something like

set /p Input=Enter some text: 

Later you can use that variable as argument to a command:

myCommand %Input%

Be careful though, that if your input might contain spaces it's probably a good idea to quote it:

myCommand "%Input%"

Scape

Is something like that for input password ? – Cichlid

There are numerous answers to this, usually via a VBScript to get the password without echoing to the console. – Scape

I used this to ask for input file path to give to an EXE, but if that PATH also contains an environment variable ("%MY_SRC_DIR%\blabla\file.ext") it doesn't work, I have to give it the absolute or relative file path without the environment variable. Any way to fix this? – Kanara

@dominicbri7: You'd need to expand the environment variable, that is, make it visible twice to the cmd parser. call set Input=%Input% would be a way. This would be parsed twice (due to the call), expanding %Input% the first time and whatever environment variables you have in there the second time. But this doesn't really have anything to do with this question or answer. – Scape

Answer 2

A rather roundabout way, just for completeness:

 for /f "delims=" %i in ('type CON') do set inp=%i

Of course that requires ^Z as a terminator, and so the Johannes answer is better in all practical ways.

Syllabi

That one is ... interesting. Now you only need to educate the user that only her last line entered will be used :-) – Scape

Answer 3

Thanks! I just wanted this to keep my bat file from Closing:

set /p anykey=Press any key to continue

Works pretty good. Only problem is that you have to press any key + enter. You can't just hit Enter and enter a blank string.

Komarek

yes, you can. Set /p is totally happy with an empty input (just ENTER without any key before). The pause command on the other hand does just the opposite: waiting for any key without needing ENTER) – Rebellion

Yeah, I actually figured that out and was going to edit this post but forgot. pause is exactly what I needed. Still, the whole "Press any key to continue. " brought me back to my old C++ days. cin<<anykey; // lol amazing how some shit we can't remember and oher stuff we never forget. – Komarek