I have a simple text file with numbers like:
12345 45678 34567 89101 I need a batch that will return the nth line from this file. n should be taken from a command line argument.
I am very new to batch scripting so Thanks in advance for any help on this.
To get the file from the nth line you could use more +n (For line1 is n=0).
To split the rest of the file you could use a FOR /F loop.
This works even, if there are empty lines before the nth line.
It could be necessary to set the EOL to an unused character or to linefeed (default is ;)
set "lineNr=%1" set /a lineNr-=1 for /f "usebackq delims=" %%a in (`more +%lineNr% text.txt`) DO ( echo %%a goto :leave ) :leave 
eol be set to line-feed?You can use batch file extension.
token.bat
@echo off setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION set l=%1 set c=0 for /f "delims=" %%1 in ('type foo.txt') do ( set /a c+=1 && if "!c!" equ "%l%" echo %%1% ) If you have a file like following,
foo.txt
AAAA BBBB CCCC DDDD And specify line number like following
token 3 You'll get
CCCC
` and n`?
! and sometimes the ^ from the output line! are removed as the delayed expansion is enabled, only with disabled expansion you can safely access %%1 see also Script to remove special characters from filenames+1 for Jeb's solution... I did not realize you could use the more command to skip lines like that!
Here is an alternate method that I use for getting a specific line from a file (or from the multi-line output of another program):
@echo off for /f "tokens=1* delims=:" %%a in ('findstr /n .* "C:\SomeFile.txt"') do ( if "%%a" equ "%1" echo.%%b ) I use findstr /n .* "Path\FileName.ext" to add line numbers, and to ensure no empty lines are skipped by the for loop.
I then set "tokens=1* delims=:" to separate the line numbers from the line content.
Finally, I compare the current line number (%%a) with the line specified by the %1 parameter, and echo the line contents (%%b) on a match.
You could use FOR /F with the skip parameter:
@ECHO OFF SET skip=%1 SET /A skip-=1 IF %skip% LSS 0 GOTO out IF %skip% GTR 0 SET params="skip=%skip%" FOR /F %params% %%L IN (filename) DO (SET "line=%%L"& GOTO out) :out ECHO %line% The skip parameter means the FOR /F loop must skip the specified number of lines at the beginning. The parameter is only applied if you specify a line number greater than 1. If you specify a number less than one or a non-number, the script outputs an empty string.
@echo off REM Next line = Set command value to a file OR Just Choose Your File By Skipping The Line vol E: > %temp%\justtmp.txt REM Vol E: = Find Volume Lable Of Drive E REM Next Line to choose line line no. +0 = line no. 1 for /f "usebackq delims=" %%a in (`more +0 %temp%\justtmp.txt`) DO (set findstringline=%%a& goto :nextstep) :nextstep REM Next line to read nth to mth Character here 22th Character to 40th Character set result=%findstringline:~22,40% echo %result% pause exit /b Save as find label.cmd
The Result Will Be Your Drive E Label
Enjoy
Based off of Amit's Answer, I made a utility called snip.cmd.
USAGE: snip FILE LINE FIRSTCHARACTER LASTCHARACTER
example:
foo.txt
// // File Checksum Integrity Verifier version 2.05. // 77752e4c91ba96dcc6c2bb4bdcdbdec5 c:\users\lapinot\desktop\token.bat snip foo.txt 3 0 33 will yield 77752e4c91ba96dcc6c2bb4bdcdbdec5
Here is my code for snipe.cmd (you can add snipe to your command line by copying snip.cmd to c:\Windows\System32):
@echo off :: USAGE :: snip <file> [Line - Starts at 0] [First Column - Start Count at 0] [Last Colum] set file=%1 set line=%2 set char1=%3 set char2=%4 for /f "usebackq delims=" %%a in (`more +%line% %file%`) DO (set findstringline=%%a& goto :nextstep) :nextstep echo echo %%findstringline:^~%char1%,%char2%%% > %temp%\result.bat %temp%\result.bat del %temp%\result.bat :EOF exit /b 
