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Path: utzoo!watmath!watdcsu!rsellens
From: rsellens@watdcsu.UUCP (Rick Sellens - Mech. Eng.)
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: Running batch files without echoing commands
Message-ID: <1145@watdcsu.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 21-Mar-85 10:33:33 EST
Article-I.D.: watdcsu.1145
Posted: Thu Mar 21 10:33:33 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Mar-85 01:15:23 EST
References: <1274@aecom.UUCP> <1128@utastro.UUCP>
Reply-To: rsellens@watdcsu.UUCP (Rick Sellens - Mech. Eng.)
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 38
Summary: 

In article <1128@utastro.UUCP> nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather) writes:
>> Hi...
>> 
>> 	Does anybody know how to run a batch file in msdos without
>> any echoing of commands. I hate to use `echo off` as the first command
>> because then "echo off" is echoed!!
>> 
>> 								thanx alot,
>> 								schwady
>
>I always use "echo off" as the first line, followed by the escape sequence
>that jumps the cursor to the beginning or the line, then the sequence that
>erases the line, then the sequence that moves the cursor up a line (to
>compensate for the newline after the "echo off") -- this leaves the screen
>and cursor as you would want them, but the "echo off" flashes momentarily
>while all this is going on.  Shabby, kludgy, awful -- but it works, if you
>have "device=ansi.sys" in your "config.sys" file.
>
>Stuff that provides gratuitous output, like the copy command, can be silenced
>by the following:
>
>	copy *.* newdir > nul

Any text following "echo off" on the same line is ignored by the batch
processor, but echoed to the screen. I put an identifying message in this
area to describe the routine that's been invoked. I think this is less
ugly than an "echo off" all by itself.

Redirection to nul keeps things nice and neat, but I found that when used
in my autoexec it caused some obscure bugs to appear in some of the stuff
I was loading in over DOS. I don't know why, but it might be something to
check if strange things start happening.


Rick Sellens
UUCP:  watmath!watdcsu!rsellens
CSNET: rsellens%watdcsu@waterloo.csnet
ARPA:  rsellens%watdcsu%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa