Normalize file path in batch

Question

Is there a way to resolve the .. from an absolute file path in batch? For example, the following batch script should output C:\Users\xyz\other\abc.txt:

REM Project dir is an absolute path, for example, C:\Users\xyz\project\
SET projectDir=%~1

REM Target file is a path relative to the project dir, for example, ..\other\abc.txt
SET target=%~2

REM Concatenate paths. This becomes C:\Users\xyz\project\..\other\abc.txt
SET absoluteTarget=%projectDir%%target%
SET absoluteTargetClean=...
echo %absoluteTargetClean%

The absoluteTarget variable refers to an existing file.

I need the same for a directory instead of the file. Can you use the same way to achieve that?

Answer 1

I wonder, how anyone ever could come up with a path like C:\Users\xyz\project\..\other\abc.txt, but here we go:

SET "absPath=C:\Users\xyz\project\..\other\abc.txt"
for %%i in ("%absPath%") do SET "absPathClean=%%~fi"
echo %absPathClean%

works for both files and folders.

For more information, consult for /?