Batch scripting documentation [closed]

Question

Is there some nice documentation for Windows batch scripting I can download and refer to while offline?

Answer 1

I can recommend:

An A-Z Index of the Windows XP command line.

It is more thorough than help and most importantly it provides several examples for each command. Example: FIND. There are also cross-references to other commands.

For offline reading you can capture the pages by using e.g. Wget (or some other tool that can follow links and down the content). I use Bart Puype's Wget binary for Windows.

(There is a similar one for PowerShell: "An A-Z Index of Windows PowerShell commands".)

Answer 2

You can always look at the command help by typing one of:

<command> /?
help <command>

And to see a complete list of default batch commands you just type:

help

Also, you can look up the commands in Windows Help. Just click on "Start" -> "Help and Support", then search for "cmd reference" and you will get the "Command-line reference A-Z" page in Full-text Search Matches. It's a complete list of all cmd commands (some of the are only available in batch scripts) and other command line applications.

Answer 3

Here's an 8-page PDF you can print out: Win32 Shell Scripting Tutorial.