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Also, I can't ALWAYS answer all questions, but if you do have any pertaining to DOS or DOS batch scripting, please email and let me know! Anything helpful (questions or suggestions) will be posted to this website, along with a credit to you (with your permission).

computing@Fusion13.com

The 13th Ocean defines Batch Files as multiple DOS commands placed together in a file which executes the DOS commands in succession.

To create a batch file:

To start, let's look at the basics of just creating a text file with the extension .bat itself. I would begin by opening notepad. After starting your new file, go to File > Save (some versions of Windows insist that you type text into your new notepad document before saving it??!!), and choose the location where you would like to save your file to... DON'T HIT SAVE YET!!! Here comes the important part:

Instead of leaving the default 'Save As Type:' as '.txt', pick 'All Files' from the dropdown box. Then save your new batch file to the filename of your choice, but DO NOT forget to specify that your file will have the '.bat' file extension.

See screenshot below.

Please email me with any questions about the above process. The computer shown is running Windows 2000, so your screen may differ slightly from the one pictured above.

One of the most basic and functional batch files to create is one that transfers data from one place to another (very useful when automating a data transfer, or creating a backup script). The following batch script (written in text) will copy the data from C:/Data.txt to A:/DataBackup.txt. This is something that you can use if you regularly create data (such as passwords that change, account info that will change, or anything that changes on a regular basis). Remember, that unless you set the permissions on the newly created file (covered in later submissions) that the new file will be readable (and writable) by all others. If this is a concern, place the floppy disk in secure location.