How to use a batch file so that results remain visible on completion

Question

I run batch files and they exit immediately. I dont want that to happen so that i can see my output. Can someone tell me how to make this happen ?

I use windows 7.

Answer 1

Adding pause is a good answer. Here are some other ways as well..

Rather than double-clicking on them to execute you can run from a command line:

1. Press the windows key + r (this opens the "run" window)
2. Type: cmd into the text input and press enter (or click ok)
3. Change to the directory that contains the batch file, e.g: cd c:\scripts\foo
4. Execute the batch file by typing it's name and pressing enter, e.g: somename.bat

If there is a lot of output and it scrolls off the screen you can direct the output to a text file instead like so:

somename.bat > output_filename.txt

Then you can open the 'output_filename.txt' file in any text editor to view/search all of the output. This is better than pause when there more output than what is available in the scrollback.

Answer 2

Put this on the very last line of the Batch:

cmd /k

Answer 3

Add the pause command at the end of your batch file. This waits for you to key something in.

(The nice thing is that if you're running the batch file from a non-interactive process, such as a automated build system or scheduled task, the pause is simply skipped.)

The help message for pause is:

C:\>help pause
Suspends processing of a batch program and displays the message
    Press any key to continue . . .

If there is lots of output and you can't scroll far enough back, adjust the screen buffer height of the command window. This can be done via right-click on the c:\ icon go to properties -> layout: