How To Make A Batch File

I have seen this question asked many times on the forums here at PCMech. Sometimes, what one takes for granted, makes others scratch their head so I figured this is worth a tip posting.

Suppose you wanted a batch file to simply print the name of your computer. The command you would run would be the following:

echo %computername%

Here is how to make the above command a batch file:

  1. Open Notepad (you can use any text editor, but I am going to assume Notepad).
  2. Type/paste the commands you want to be in your batch file.
  3.  Select File > Save As.
  4. In the dialog, browse to the location where you want to save the batch file.
  5. Change the “Save as type” option to “All Files (*.*)” and then enter the file name ending with “.bat”, for example: MyComputerName.bat
  6. Alternate to step 5, you can enter the file name “MyComputerName.bat” (including the quotes) and this will ignore the Save as type setting.
  7. Click Save.

There you have it. You should now have a batch file in all its glory.

Opt In Image
Free Weekly PCMech Newsletter
Almost 500 Issues So Far, Received By Thousands Every Week.

The PCMech.com weekly newsletter has been running strong for over 8 years. Sign up to get tech news, updates and exclusive content - right in your inbox. Also get (several) free gifts.

Comments

  1. Is there any difference with batch files with the .cmd extension?

  2. Jason Faulkner says:

    In short, yes… it has to do with OS support. Always use a batch file where possible.

    Rather than me explain it, Wikipedia has done a good job:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batch_file

  3. totalcontrol says:

    ok so we can make a batch file but how can we get windows to automatically open this batch file?

    • u go to [MY COMPUTER]and then u go to [DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS] then go to [STARTUP]and then u place the file there and it will start up every time you start up the computer.

  4. Thanks

  5. There are tools handier than Notepad. For example, Notepad++. I prefer to use Dr.Batcher ( http://www.drbatcher.com ). It’s a tool designed especially to create batch files. Unfortunately, it’s not freeware :(

  6. somebody says:

    @echo off
    title Matrix
    cls
    color 2
    :start
    echo %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random%
    goto start
    \\this is the way to make the matrix

Leave a Reply to Jason Faulkner Cancel reply

PCMech Insider Cover Images - Subscribe To Get Your Copies!
Learn More
Tech Information you can use, sent to your inbox each and every week. Check out PCMech's digital e-zine...