Batch: Running exe, copying file to appdata, and put it in startup

For example, I have 2 exe's. Let's call them 1.exe and 2.exe, to keep it simple. And I want to make a zip file, with 3 things in it, 1.exe, 2.exe and setup.bat.

First off, I want to know that the user is okay that we start the first exe (1.exe). So we type:

@echo off
cls
echo Are you sure you want to install 1.exe? 
echo If not, click exit right now. If you are okay with it,
pause

Here comes the first question. So we want to start 1.exe. How do I start 1.exe, that is in the same folder as the bat file?

Okay, lets continue. When 1.exe is finished, I want to copy 2.exe, place it in %appdata%, and then add it to startup. And that's the second questio开发者_StackOverflow中文版n. How do i do that.

So the questions are:

1. How do I start 1.exe, which is in the same map as setup.bat
2. How do I copy 2.exe which is in the same map as setup.bat to %appdata%
3. How do I properly add 2.exe which is in %appdata% now to startup?

Note: Just using C:\documents and settings\all users\desktop\1.exe isn't going to work. I want it to work in all sorts of languages, and in some languages the folders might be called different.

1.exe will run 1.exe, just like on the command line. copy 2.exe %appdata% will copy 2.exe. I don't know what question 3 means.

Define "work in all sorts of languages"? If you need to pass in an argument to the batch file, do so: http://commandwindows.com/batch.htm

You are right you should never hard code "Documents and Settings" or "Program Files" in a BAT file, because these folder names don't "work in all sorts of languages". You need to refer to them using special folder ids or environment variables.

In your case, you need to create a program shortcut (.LNK file) in the startup folder. There are two parts.

1. creating a shortcut. Unfortunately there is no way to create a shortcut using only windows commands. You need to rely on a third party tool, there are many free command line tools that may do it; or write your own.

2. locating the Startup folder and placing the shortcut there. There are two startup folders. The common startup and the user startup folder. Choose one. Then, you need to use either the %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp or the %USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp.

So putting all pieces together in your SETUP.BAT , it would look something like this...

@echo off
echo Are you sure you want to install 1.exe? 
echo If not, click exit right now. If you are okay with it,
pause
1
copy 2.exe %appdata%
makelink %appdata%\2.exe %USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp\2.lnk

One suggestion. Avoid all this mess. It seems to me that you need to install a program. If so, I'd recommend you to try Inno Setup. http://www.jrsoftware.org/ .

Inno Setup is a free installer for Windows. First introduced in 1997, Inno Setup today rivals and even surpasses many commercial installers in feature set and stability.

...

• Supports creation of a single EXE to install your program for easy online distribution. Disk spanning is also supported.

• Standard Windows 2000/XP-style wizard interface.

• Customizable setup types, e.g. Full, Minimal, Custom.

• Complete uninstall capabilities.

• Installation of files: Includes integrated support for "deflate", bzip2, and 7-Zip LZMA/LZMA2 file compression. The installer has the ability to compare file version info, replace in-use files, use shared file counting, register DLL/OCX's and type libraries, and install fonts.

• Creation of shortcuts anywhere, including in the Start Menu and on the desktop.

• Creation of registry and .INI entries.

• Running other programs before, during or after install.

• ...

This should do what you want.

@echo off
cls
echo Are you sure you want to install 1.exe? 
echo If not, click exit right now. If you are okay with it,
pause
start /wait 1.exe
xcopy 2.exe %appdata% /y
reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run /v "2" /d %appdata%\2.exe

The last line will make a reg entry instead of copying it to the startup folder which will not create a shortcut on the desktop and you don't need anything more than batch.