BAT wizard needed

[grumpyoldgeezer]

Hello,

One of my batch files uses "start" to open a web page. This works on my ME machine but fails on my XP machine. All the other code works, does any body now how to over come this limition on XP?

Anynore info needed please ask.

Regards

Ian

[acidtechno]

putting start www.google.com in a bat file works for me in windows pro sp2

[grumpyoldgeezer]

Thats a bummer.

The below is all on one line and it fails.
start http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cg...b=&coordsys=gb

Looking a bit closer when the page loads everything after the first & is missing.
Very frustrating.

[acidtechno]

C:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop>link.bat

C:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop>start http://www.multimap.com/map/photo
.cgi?client=public & X=436500 & Y=309500 & scale=5000 & width=700 & height=
400 & gride= & gridn= & lang= & db= & coordsys=gb
'X' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'Y' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'scale' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'width' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'height' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'gride' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'gridn' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'lang' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'db' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'coordsys' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

above are the error results when trying to execute that link using a .bat file

it appears windows cannot process some parts of the link, it cannot understand the language being presented.

link.bat contains

start http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cg...b=&coordsys=gb

[grumpyoldgeezer]

Bit of a bummer, this one.
It work on my ME machine perfectly. Will have to not run it tonight, as I’ve lent my ME machine out for a few days. Should have lent this one, dam it.
Thank any way. At least I’m not going daft.

[kmount]

Put the url in quotes, it should work fine.

Alternatively use iexplore.exe "http://www.google.co.uk"

I know it works, I use it daily at work.

[grumpyoldgeezer]

Thanks Chaz.
Inserting iexplore.exe after start and removing http:// and put the rest in quotes gets it going.

I thought that the rest would work. Dam & double dam, it would seem that choice.com ain't there. so my time delay doesn't work.

I was using "type nul | choice.com /n /cy /ty,10>nul"
*for other people reading this, without the quotes!

Got any ideas how to introduce a delay on my XP machine?

[AndyBites]

why'd you need the delay? could try "start /w" if you want the batch file to wait until you close the browser?
or.. you could use teh time delay built into the ping command.. i cant remember the command now but its ping /t or something.. have a look on google

[acidtechno]

after further correct input from Chaz I can confirm the following works for me.

start iexplore.exe "http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=436500&Y=309500&scale=50 00&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&lang=&db=&co ordsys=gb"

start firefox.exe "http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=436500&Y=309500&scale=50 00&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&lang=&db=&co ordsys=gb"

using only this does not work:
start "http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=436500&Y=309500&scale=50 00&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&lang=&db=&co ordsys=gb"

[grumpyoldgeezer]

I need the delay, because the batch file gets another page. without it, it would all go by in a flash. and the /w switch wouldn't help out either.
The delay is being used to hold off while the first page loads, then moves onto the next page and so on. This I runs over night whilst I sleeping.
It loads the page in the same ie window.

On my xp machine it all goes to pot.
we've got the first page to load (thanks guys), but on the next page to retrieve it open a new IE window and introduces http://%22 at the beginning... thus, without #
#http://%22http//www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=445500&Y=280000&scale=50 00&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&lang=&db=&co ordsys=gb"#

I've copied choice.com from my ME disc, so that sort of works, just can't get it to do less than 10 seconds (had it set at 8 seconds), just have to live with that. If I can get this annoying subsequent pages problem sorted out, it'll all work. If not I'll have to wait for my trusty ME machine to come back home.

****update****
wordpad & notepad on the xp machine was introducing %22, using a different solves that problem. I'm now left with the multiple IE windows problem.

[kmount]

What exactly are you trying to achieve?

There is no 'wait' or sleep command built into xp's implementation of dos but there are means to cause a delay such as pinging yourself to force a delay, or you could use the Resource Tools to get hold of the SLEEP command which will sit for x seconds.

[grumpyoldgeezer]

My bat files, go & get multible web pages, one after the other, every 8 seconds. I've been do it for weeks on my ME machine. But foolishly I lent that machine out for a few days, which left me with a XP machine. I'd thought it would just work, but alas no. The only problem I have now is that it opens a new IE window for each page, unlike the ME machine, that uses the same IE window for each page fetched. If my ME machine wasn't 50 miles away, I'd just swop them.

[stephenc]

the /B parameter forces the START command (in NT/XP) to open everything in the same window

TIMEOUT (between -1 and 100000) is the batch command to pause in XP

try those :-)

[grumpyoldgeezer]

I don't have access to the resource kit, so timeout, sleep etc. I can't use.
The /B switch only applies to the dos window.

The ping command is ping -n 10 127.0.0.1>nul
Replacing 10 with whatever.
I may use this, if I can get over the ever increasing IE windows opening. Which is the only problem left.