Batch FOR /D outputs unusable values?

Question

When I run this in a batch file:

for /d %%i in ("%SystemDrive%\Users\*") do (
  set myvar=%%i\apple
  set myvar=%myvar%\orange
)

My output looks like this:

set myvar=C:\Users\Joe\apple
 set myvar=\orange

set myvar=C:\Users\Bob\apple
 set myvar=\orange

...

I'm expecting to see set myvar=C:\Users\Joe\apple\orange. Why does myvar appear to be have an empty value even though you can see it being set with one?

This is the classic delayed expansion problem. See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10558316/example-of-delayed-expansion-in-batch-file. — bgoldst, Apr 04 '16 at 19:27
@bgoldst I tried adding `setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION` but that didn't help. What would the batch file need to look like to output what I'm expecting? — Jason, Apr 04 '16 at 19:40
You also must use exclamation marks on delayed expansions, rather than percents. So the second assignment must be changed to `set myvar=!myvar!\orange`. — bgoldst, Apr 04 '16 at 19:50

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 04 '16 at 20:26

0

Per the comments, this generates the expected result:

setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
for /d %%i in ("%SystemDrive%\Users\*") do (
  set myvar=%%i\apple
  set myvar=!myvar!\orange
)

answered Apr 04 '16 at 20:26

Jason

103
4

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 05 '16 at 16:24

0

Another solution is to use call. For example:

for /d %%i in ("%SystemDrive%\Users\*") do call :MyFunction
exit
:MyFunction
set myvar=%%i\apple
set myvar=%myvar%\orange

answered Apr 05 '16 at 16:24

Jason

103
4

Batch FOR /D outputs unusable values?

2 Answers2