insert command into start cmd

Question

I am trying to insert the content of a text file into a cmd console, by using:

start cmd.exe < c:\text.txt

I also tried:

start cmd.exe | c:\text.txt

However, the both open the cmd shell but nothing gets passed.

My point being in the end that I have a scheduler jenkins, and I pass the content of the text file inside the console when opening it with the start command. So I am not simply trying to print to the cmd console; I could just use echo for that different case.

Answer 1

Something like this?

from CMD.exe itself,

type C:\Text.txt

If it is a batch file, then

type C:\Text.txt
pause

or to just see the content, use more

more C:\Text.txt

If you want to actually run commands from the file instead of trying to insert the commands from the text file into the cmd console, you should rather build it as a batch file which is an executable. you do this by renaming the file to either .bat or .cmd

you then insert you commands into the file and execute it by either double clicking the file or running it from a scheduler etc. Here is an example of a batch or cmd file:

echo Please wait while I execute.
tp merge $/ServerFolderA $/ServerFolderB

So just a few explanations on your initial commands. When you ran:

start cmd.exe | c:\text.txt

you actually told the system to run multiple executables from a single command. The pipe commands is like separator to specify each command. so this:

ping 127.0.0.1 | nslookup www.google.com | cmd.exe | c:\text.txt

will actually do all of those commands in sequence, first it will ping, the do nslookup, open cmd.exe then open c:\text.txt

Here you were on the right track, but my guess is you had a single line in the file and not a new line.

start cmd.exe < Text.txt

That will use the Text.txt file as an answer file so if I edit it and insert the following:

echo This is an answer file
ping 127.0.0.1
ping 10.132.4.99
echo Completed all commands

and then run start cmd.exe < Text.txt it will execute everything in sequence. This difference here is it reads the file line by line and displays each commands it runs. so your output will be something like this:

C:\>echo this is an answer file
this is an answer file
ping 127.0.0.1

Pinging 127.0.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 127.0.0.1:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms
ping 10.132.4.99

Pinging 10.132.4.99 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 10.132.4.99: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=254

Ping statistics for 10.132.4.99:
   Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
   Minimum = 3ms, Maximum = 8ms, Average = 4ms

As you can see this works perfectly, but it displays each command you are running except, it does not run the very last command which is echo Completed all commands. So to run all commands you always have to add a new line after your last commands. When however you rename it to .cmd it will just run the commands without displaying the commands to run and runs each line until the end. The other issue with the answer file is it reads line by line, so having 3 new lines with no text in the answer file will result in something like this

C:\>
C:\>
C:\>

So having just this in the answer file:

ping 127.0.0.1

will not work as it is a single line without the enter section.

but by just adding a new line after it will make it work.

I hope all this makes some sense.