Append text with .bat

Question

I want to create a log of every operation processed in a batch file and used the following but to no avail. How do I fix it (the file was not created)?

REM>> C:\"VTS\ADVANCED TOOLS\SYSTEM\LOG\Advanced tools %date%.log"

Answer 1

You need to use ECHO. Also, put the quotes around the entire file path if it contains spaces.

One other note, use > to overwrite a file if it exists or create if it does not exist. Use >> to append to an existing file or create if it does not exist.

Overwrite the file with a blank line:

ECHO.>"C:\My folder\Myfile.log"

Append a blank line to a file:

ECHO.>>"C:\My folder\Myfile.log"

Append text to a file:

ECHO Some text>>"C:\My folder\Myfile.log"

Append a variable to a file:

ECHO %MY_VARIABLE%>>"C:\My folder\Myfile.log"

Answer 2

I am not proficient at batch scripting but I can tell you that REM stands for Remark. The append won't occur as it is essentially commented out.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490986.aspx

Also, the append operator redirects the output of a command to a file. In the snippet you posted it is not clear what output should be redirected.

Answer 3

Any line starting with a "REM" is treated as a comment, nothing is executed including the redirection.

Also, the %date% variable may contain "/" characters which are treated as path separator characters, leading to the system being unable to create the desired log file.