Open text file and program shortcut in a Windows batch file

Question

I have two files in the same folder that I'd like to run. One is a .txt file, and the other is the program shortcut to an .exe. I'd like to make a batch file in the same location to open the text file and the shortcut then close the batch file (but the text file and program remain open).

I tried this with no luck:

open "myfile.txt"
open "myshortcut.lnk"

Also didn't work:

start "myfile.txt"
start "myshortcut.lnk"

Floppy

Answer 1

I was able to figure out the solution:

start notepad "myfile.txt"
"myshortcut.lnk"
exit

Floppy

Answer 2

This would have worked too. The first quoted pair are interpreted as a window title name in the start command.

start "" "myfile.txt"
start "" "myshortcut.lnk"

Delative

Answer 3

Don't put quotes around the name of the file that you are trying to open; start "myfile.txt" opens a new command prompt with the title myfile.txt, while start myfile.txt opens myfile.txt in Notepad. There's no easy solution in the case where you want to start a console application with a space in its file name, but for other applications, start "" "my file.txt" works.

Herron

Answer 4

The command-line syntax for opening a text file is:

type filename.txt

File types supported by this command include (but are not limited to): .doc, .txt, .html, .log

If the contents is too long, you can add "|more" after "type filename.txt", and it will pause after each screen; to end the command before the end of the file, you can hold Ctrl + C.

Doig

Answer 5

I use

@echo off
Start notepad "filename.txt"
exit

to open the file.

Another example is

@echo off
start chrome "filename.html"
pause

Gelatin

Answer 6

You can also do:

start notepad "C:\Users\kemp\INSTALL\Text1.txt"

The C:\Users\kemp\Install\ is your PATH. The Text1.txt is the FILE.

Institutionalism

Answer 7

"location of notepad file" > notepad Filename

C:\Users\Desktop\Anaconda> notepad myfile

works for me! :)

Mumford

this is ambiguous to me. By "location of notepad file" are you referring to the notepad executable or the file to be opened in notepad? – Farseeing

Answer 8

In some cases, when opening a LNK file it is expecting the end of the application run.

In such cases it is better to use the following syntax (so you do not have to wait the end of the application):

START /B /I "MyTitleApp" "myshortcut.lnk"

To open a TXT file can be in the way already indicated (because notepad.exxe not interrupt the execution of the start command)

START notepad "myfile.txt"

Naominaor

Answer 9

If you are trying to open an application such as Chrome or Microsoft Word use this:

@echo off
start "__App_Name__" "__App_Path__.exe"

And repeat this for all of the applications you want to open.

P.S.: This will open the applications you select at once so don't insert too many.

Grisham

Answer 10

The command start [filename] opened the file in my default text editor.

This command also worked for opening a non-.txt file.

Bulahbulawayo

computerhope.com/starthlp.htm it is better to use the full syntax such as stated in the approved answser – Divert

Answer 11

Try using:

@ECHO off
ECHO Hello World!

START /MAX D:\SA\pro\hello.txt

Melancholia

Answer 12

Its very simple, 1)Just go on directory where the file us stored 2)then enter command i.e. type filename.file_extention e.g type MyFile.tx

Macrospore

Answer 13

To open a file with default software just need to type the path of the file or, if you are at the file location, the file name.

C:\Users\MyName>C:\User\MyName\Desktop\hello.txt

or

C:\Users\MyName\Desktop>hello.txt

If you want specific program like notepad you can specify it first.

C:\Users\MyName>notepad C:\User\MyName\Desktop\hello.txt

or

C:\Users\MyName\Desktop>notepad hello.txt

Note that notepad is usually default text editor for .txt, in this case would make more sense to type notebook only to open a .cs/.cpp/.py file if your default for that files is any IDE and you just want to see the file on notebook

Regarding the batch file it will work the same way but to open them at the same time and let the command line go away you should use:

start "title" {filename}

So the command can open the file and return to next line immediately.

start "" C:\Users\MyName\MyFolder\foo.exe
start "" C:\Users\MyName\MyFolder\notes.txt

or

start "" foo.exe
start "" notes.txt

The last one only works if the batch file is on the same location of the files.

If you plan on using the console to open the batch file and you want the console to close at the end you should indeed write exit on last line.

Palaeo

Answer 14

When in doubt, it always helps to read the docs:

>help start


Starts a separate window to run a specified program or command.

START ["title"] [/D path] [/I] [/MIN] [/MAX] [/SEPARATE | /SHARED]
      [/LOW | /NORMAL | /HIGH | /REALTIME | /ABOVENORMAL | /BELOWNORMAL]
      [/NODE <NUMA node>] [/AFFINITY <hex affinity mask>] [/WAIT] [/B]
      [command/program] [parameters]

    "title"     Title to display in window title bar.
    path        Starting directory.
    B           Start application without creating a new window. The
                application has ^C handling ignored. Unless the application
                enables ^C processing, ^Break is the only way to interrupt
                the application.
    I           The new environment will be the original environment passed
                to the cmd.exe and not the current environment.
    MIN         Start window minimized.
    MAX         Start window maximized.
    SEPARATE    Start 16-bit Windows program in separate memory space.
    SHARED      Start 16-bit Windows program in shared memory space.
    LOW         Start application in the IDLE priority class.
    NORMAL      Start application in the NORMAL priority class.
    HIGH        Start application in the HIGH priority class.
    REALTIME    Start application in the REALTIME priority class.
    ABOVENORMAL Start application in the ABOVENORMAL priority class.
    BELOWNORMAL Start application in the BELOWNORMAL priority class.
    NODE        Specifies the preferred Non-Uniform Memory Architecture (NUMA)
                node as a decimal integer.
    AFFINITY    Specifies the processor affinity mask as a hexadecimal number.

Picture for the visual learners:

Zone