- 1 year ago
Use whitespace in Windows command line parameters
In the Windows command line, you can use double quotes to specify command line parameters that contain whitespace or special characters. Here are a few examples:
Using double quotes:
cmdmyprogram.exe "C:\Program Files\My Folder\myfile.txt"
Escaping with caret (^):
cmdmyprogram.exe C:\Program^ Files\My^ Folder\myfile.txt
Using short file names (8.3 notation):
If the path has a short file name (8.3 notation), you can use it to avoid issues with whitespace:cmdmyprogram.exe C:\PROGRA~1\MyFolde~1\myfile.txt
Using the ampersand (&) character:
The ampersand character can be used to separate multiple commands on the same line. For example:cmdecho "Hello" & echo "World"
Note that the way you pass parameters may also depend on how the program you are executing handles command line arguments. Some programs may have specific requirements or need additional escaping.
If you are writing a batch script, it's a good practice to enclose all parameters in double quotes to ensure correct handling of whitespace and special characters. For example, in a batch script, you could use the following:
batch@echo off
set "filename=C:\Program Files\My Folder\myfile.txt"
myprogram.exe "%filename%"
By enclosing the variable %filename%
in double quotes, you ensure that it is correctly handled by the command line interpreter, even if it contains spaces or special characters.
Remember that the behavior of command line parameters can vary depending on the specific command or application being executed, so it's essential to refer to the documentation of the specific tool or command you are using for more precise details.