Extract the date with Ms-dos

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Hello,
I'm looking to extract today's date in the format dd_mm_yyyy and store the result in a variable (which I will use to open a file with that name).
Is that possible??????

32 answers

  1. Hello,

    an extremely simple way to get the system date in the format DD_MM_YYYY with MS-DOS in a single line in a batch file is as follows:

    set thedate=%date:/=_%

    Here we indicate that we need to replace / with _

    You can execute %date:/=_% in DOS and it will indeed display the date in the format DD_MM_YYYY
    9
    1. very clear explanation, even for a novice like me
      0
  2. I tried the method provided by poulpenstring. It works for responding to toto. We created a *.bat

    set my_file=d:\tes-%Date:~-4%%Date:~-7,-5%%Date:~-10,-8%.txt
    echo head> %my_file%

    it generates a file tes-20031208.txt. In DOS, by typing help set
    you will get the online help.
    Zorti
    7
    1. Hello everyone :)

      I used this topic to create an automatic backup batch.
      The file to be backed up will be renamed with the date and then the time.

      The code is as follows:
      rename "%userprofile%\desktop\FILE.xls" FILE.xls_%Date:~-4%%Date:~-7,-5%%Date:~-10,-8%_%Time:~-11,-9%%Time:~-8,-6%%Time:~-5,-3%.xls


      Which gives a file named:
      FILE_20040420_114238.xls

      Everything works perfectly from 10:00.00 to 23:59.59 :))
      But the moment the ten's digit (for the hour) goes to 0 (that is, 00h, 01h, up to 09h), it causes an error :/

      FILE_20040420_

      Because the variable that contains the ten's digit is actually half empty; it consists of:
      %Time:~-11,-10% => ten's digit
      %Time:~-10,-9% => unit's digit
      When there is no ten's digit, well there is something other than 1 or 2, but what?

      FILE_20040420_?14238.xls

      What is this character??

      If I know it, I can replace it with 0:

      SET ten %Time:~-11,-10% If %ten% == "unknown_character" SET %ten% 0


      Thank you very much for any help or advice you can provide!
      4
      1. A small example of what can be done for XP/2000
        (adaptable for other versions; expandable for calculating the date of Easter...)
        Copy/paste the following lines into a text file to be customized as needed:
        @echo off
        REM ==============================================================================================================
        REM RETRIEVAL OF THE LAST CLOSING DATE OF CASH REGISTERS FROM A GIVEN LIST
        REM --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        REM HISTORY:
        REM Created on 26/05/2007 Philippe LEBLANC
        REM Modified on 28/05/2007 Philippe LEBLANC
        REM Redesigned because no value is returned by the subroutines in task planning
        REM ==============================================================================================================
        setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
        title RETRIEVAL OF THE LAST CLOSING DATE OF CASH REGISTERS FROM A GIVEN LIST

        REM ----- SETUP -------------------------------------
        set path=%path%;c:\progra~1\tivoli\lcf\bin\w32-ix86\tools

        REM Windows version
        for /F "usebackq delims==" %%i in (`ver`) do set OSVER=%%i

        REM Identifications for Windows XP and 2K
        set USERADMIN=xxxxxxxxx
        set ADMPASXP=yyyyyyyyy
        set ADMPAS2K=zzzzzzzzz
        set USERCAISSE=ttttttttt\CAISSE
        set CAIPAS2K=uuuuuuuuu
        set CAIPASXP=vvvvvvvvv

        REM File containing the list of registers
        set FichierCaisses=liste.csv
        REM Temporary file containing the list of already processed registers
        set FichierTemp=liste.tmp
        set Lecteur=C$
        REM Retrieval directory
        set Repertoire=winstore
        set Chemin=%Lecteur%\%Repertoire%
        REM INI file
        set FichierData=Transferts.ini

        REM Retrieval of the date and time
        call :DateHeureSysteme
        set Bissextile=0
        set Semaine=0
        set Journee=0
        call :JourneeSemaineDate %Annee% %Mois% %Jour%
        if "%Mois%" == "01" set NomMois=January
        if "%Mois%" == "02" set NomMois=February
        if "%Mois%" == "03" set NomMois=March
        if "%Mois%" == "04" set NomMois=April
        if "%Mois%" == "05" set NomMois=May
        if "%Mois%" == "06" set NomMois=June
        if "%Mois%" == "07" set NomMois=July
        if "%Mois%" == "08" set NomMois=August
        if "%Mois%" == "09" set NomMois=September
        if "%Mois%" == "10" set NomMois=October
        if "%Mois%" == "11" set NomMois=November
        if "%Mois%" == "12" set NomMois=December
        if "%Journee%"=="1" set NomJour=Monday
        if "%Journee%"=="2" set NomJour=Tuesday
        if "%Journee%"=="3" set NomJour=Wednesday
        if "%Journee%"=="4" set NomJour=Thursday
        if "%Journee%"=="5" set NomJour=Friday
        if "%Journee%"=="6" set NomJour=Saturday
        if "%Journee%"=="7" set NomJour=Sunday

        REM Creation of the log file
        set FichierLog=TransfertsIniCaisses_%aaaammjj%.log
        echo %DateHeure% Start of retrieval for %NomJour% >> %FichierLog%

        REM Test for launching in the presence of the file containing the list of registers
        if not exist %FichierCaisses% (
        echo %DateHeure% : No retrieval because the file containing the list of registers %FichierCaisses% is missing. >> %FichierLog%
        goto :SORTIE) else (echo.)
        REM Daily launch test based on the day of the week
        if "%NomJour%"=="Saturday" (
        echo %DateHeure% : No planned retrieval on %NomJour%. >> %FichierLog%
        goto :SORTIE) else (echo.)

        REM Initialization of the result file
        set FichierResultat=ResultatTransfertsIniCaisses_%aaaammjj%.txt
        echo Register;ClosingDate > %FichierResultat%

        REM ----- LOOP ------------------------------------------
        REM Loop to read the file of the list of registers
        for /F "tokens=1,2 delims=;" %%i in (%FichierCaisses%) do (

        REM Test of the 'already processed' indicator of the file of the list of registers
        if %%j==O (echo %%i;O >> %FichierTemp%) else (

        REM Connection with the register
        net use \\%%i\ipc$ /user:%USERADMIN% %ADMPASXP% || net use \\%%i\ipc$ /user:%USERADMIN% %ADMPAS2K%
        if ERRORLEVEL 1 (
        echo %DateHeure% : %%i not connected >> %FichierLog%
        echo %%i;N >> %FichierTemp%) else (

        REM Retrieval of the last closing date of the register
        call :DateClotureCaisse \\%%i\%Chemin%\%FichierData% %%i

        )
        REM End of connection with the register
        net use \\%%i\ipc$ /d
        )
        REM End of the test of the 'already processed' indicator of the file of the list of registers
        )
        REM End of the loop reading the list of registers
        REM -------------------------------------------------------

        REM Updating the file of the list of registers
        copy /Y %FichierTemp% %FichierCaisses%

        REM Retrieval of the date and time
        call :DateHeureSysteme

        :SORTIE
        REM Log message
        echo %DateHeure% End of retrieval for %NomJour% >> %FichierLog%

        REM Deleting temporary files
        @del /q /f %FichierTemp%

        REM End of main processing
        goto :EOF
        REM ==============================================================================================================

        REM ----- SUBROUTINE ------------------------------------
        :DateClotureCaisse
        REM -------------------------------------------------------
        REM Retrieval of the last closing date of the register
        REM parameters: data file name, register name in 'VEG' format
        REM
        call :DateHeureSysteme
        REM ----- LOOP ------------------------------------------
        REM Loop to read the data file:
        REM Searching for the date assigned to the clause 'DateDerniereCloture='
        REM Initializing the variable 'DateCloture', null if the clause is not found
        for /F "tokens=1,2 delims==" %%g in (%1) do (if %%g == DateDerniereCloture set DateCloture=%%h)
        REM
        REM Test of the 'DateCloture' variable:
        REM Writing to the result file if the variable is populated
        REM Updating the temporary file containing the list of already processed registers
        if "%DateCloture%"=="" (
        echo %DateHeure% : Failure when reading the closing date of the register %2 >> %FichierLog%
        echo %2;N >> %FichierTemp%) else (
        echo %2;%DateCloture% >> %FichierResultat%
        echo %2;O >> %FichierTemp%)
        REM
        REM ----- End of the subroutine
        goto :EOF

        REM ----- SUBROUTINE ------------------------------------
        :DateHeureSysteme
        REM -------------------------------------------------------
        REM Retrieval of the system date and time
        REM according to OS version, Windows 2000 or XP
        if "%OSVER:~18,2%"=="XP" (
        set Annee=%DATE:~6,4%
        set Mois=%DATE:~3,2%
        set Jour=%DATE:~0,2%
        set Heure=%TIME:~0,2%
        set Minutes=%TIME:~3,2%
        set Secondes=%TIME:~6,2%) else (
        if "%OSVER:~18,4%"=="2000" (
        set Annee=%DATE:~11,4%
        set Mois=%DATE:~8,2%
        set Jour=%DATE:~5,2%
        set Heure=%TIME:~0,2%
        set Minutes=%TIME:~3,2%
        set Secondes=%TIME:~6,2%))
        if %Heure% LSS 10 set Heure=0%Heure:~1,1%
        REM
        set DateHeure=%Jour%/%Mois%/%Annee% - %Heure%:%Minutes%:%Secondes%
        set aaaammjj=%Annee%%Mois%%Jour%
        REM
        REM ----- End of the subroutine
        goto :EOF

        REM ----- SUBROUTINE ------------------------------------
        :JourneeSemaineDate
        REM -------------------------------------------------------
        REM Retrieval of date elements such as
        REM the leap year of the year,
        REM the week number of the year,
        REM the day number of the week
        set yy=%1
        set mm=%2
        set dd=%3
        set ly=0
        set /a lx=%yy% %% 4
        if %lx% EQU 0 set ly=1
        set /a lx=%yy% %% 100
        if %lx% EQU 0 set ly=0
        set /a lx=%yy% %% 400
        if %lx% EQU 0 set ly=1
        if 1%yy% LSS 200 if 1%yy% LSS 170 (set yy=20%yy%) else (set yy=19%yy%)
        set /a dd=100%dd%%%100,mm=100%mm%%%100
        set /a z=14-mm,z/=12,y=yy+4800-z,m=mm+12*z-3,Jd=153*m+2
        set /a Jd=Jd/5+dd+y*365+y/4-y/100+y/400-32045
        set /a y=yy+4798,Jp=y*365+y/4-y/100+y/400-31738,t=Jp+3,Jp=t-t%%7
        set /a y=yy+4799,Jt=y*365+y/4-y/100+y/400-31738,t=Jt+3,Jt=t-t%%7
        set /a y=yy+4800,Jn=y*365+y/4-y/100+y/400-31738,t=Jn+3,Jn=t-t%%7
        set /a Jr=%Jp%,yn=yy-1,yn+=Jd/Jt,yn+=Jd/Jn
        if %Jd% GEQ %Jn% (set /a Jr=%Jn%) else (if %Jd% GEQ %Jt% set /a Jr=%Jt%)
        set /a diff=Jd-Jr,cw=diff/7+1,wd=diff%%7,wd+=1
        if %cw% LSS 10 set cw=0%cw%
        REM
        set %Bissextile%=%ly%
        set Semaine=%cw%
        set Journee=%wd%
        REM echo yyyy: [%yy%] mm: [%mm%] dd: [%dd%] wd: [%wd%] cw: [%Semaine%] ly: [%Bissextile%]
        REM
        REM ----- End of the subroutine
        goto :EOF
        3
        1. Thank you and well done Philippe, for this example rich in terms of code and comments, which I am eager to copy/paste in case of need.
          Have a good day.
          3
          1. Thank you, I proposed this across the entire "CodeS-SourceS" sites and I got kicked out! On the grounds that it didn't fit into any category... too bad for them!#§@?
            0
        2. Hello,

          Just a quick note regarding the manipulation with dates... I just noticed that unfortunately, depending on the operating system, the results are different, or even non-functional. This is specifically about "DOS," which can vary depending on whether you are using ... win95, win98, win98SE, 2000, or XP.

          For example, under 95 and certain versions of 98, the function "date /T" does not work, and it is impossible to get the date without waiting for a response... (that's what the /T is for, I believe).

          Anyway, there is always a possibility, or even to look online for Unix functions that work under MS/DOS.

          Have a good evening.
          2
          1. Hi,
            If you want to play with batch files, check out the website http://www.robvanderwoude.com/
            You will find everything about everything.

            See you!
            1
            1. Hello Mbt,

              Indeed, this site seems very interesting... So it should be immediately added to Favorites. Thank you

              Have a good evening
              0
          2. Oufff after tinkering I made it :)
            I propose the following code:

            @Echo off SET ten=A%time:~0,1%B if A1B==%ten% goto OK if A2B==%ten% goto OK :ZERO SET ten=0 goto fin :OK SET ten=%time:~0,1% goto fin :FIN rename "%userprofile%\desktop\file.xls" file_%Date:~-4%%Date:~-7,-5%%Date:~-10,-8%_%ten%%Time:~-10,-9%%Time:~-8,-6%%Time:~-5,-3%.xls


            THANK you very much for your help!!
            and thank you also for the excellent link.
            Take care :)
            1
            1. Well, I had 2 minutes and 30 seconds ahead of me...

              Here is a complete example if we assume your files are on C:\ and you are copying them to D:\

              The example is intentionally simplistic; you can potentially optimize it with loops or other labels... (if you feel like it)

              set my_file=c:\bases_%Date:~-4%%Date:~-7,-5%%Date:~-10,-8%.FIC
              copy %my_file% d:\
              set my_file=c:\bases_%Date:~-4%%Date:~-7,-5%%Date:~-10,-8%.NDX
              copy %my_file% d:\
              set my_file=c:\histo_%Date:~-4%%Date:~-7,-5%%Date:~-10,-8%.FIC
              copy %my_file% d:\
              set my_file=c:\histo_%Date:~-4%%Date:~-7,-5%%Date:~-10,-8%.NDX
              copy %my_file% d:\
              set my_file=c:\reglem_%Date:~-4%%Date:~-7,-5%%Date:~-10,-8%.FIC
              copy %my_file% d:\
              set my_file=c:\reglem_%Date:~-4%%Date:~-7,-5%%Date:~-10,-8%.NDX
              copy %my_file% d:\


              (all in a .bat file of course)

              Have a nice day.
              1
              1. Little change (more rational and a bit cleaner)

                set Wdatjour=%Date:~-4%%Date:~-7,-5%%Date:~-10,-8%
                copy c:\bases_%wdatjour%.FIC D:\
                copy c:\bases_%wdatjour%.NDX D:\
                copy c:\histo_%wdatjour%.FIC D:\
                copy c:\histo_%wdatjour%.NDX D:\
                copy c:\reglem_%wdatjour%.FIC D:\
                copy c:\reglem_%wdatjour%.NDX D:\

                there you go...
                0
            2. ```batch
              @echo off
              set amj=%date:~6,4%%date:~3,2%%date:~0,2%
              set h=%time:~0,2%
              set m=%time:~3,2%
              set s=%time:~6,2%
              if %h% lss 10 set h=0%h:~1,1%
              set hms=%h%%m%%s%
              rar a -m3 -ep c:\contact-%amj%-%hms%.rar c:\contact.doc
              move c:\contact-%amj%-%hms%.rar E:\backup\
              pause
              ```
              1
              1. date /T > date.txt

                you will almost have what you want in the file date.txt:
                Thu 07/24/2003
                0
                1. Yes, but the problem is that I want to use this date to name a file, so the "/" is not great!
                  0
                2. @van'What programming languages do you use? DOS? Java? C/C++? Others?
                  0
                3. @van'

                  Does anyone know how to rename a directory with today's date???

                  0
              2. Dans ton fichier date.txt, tu fais Édition > Rechercher > et tu remplaces "/" par "_".
                0
                1. I think he would like to do it automatically from DOS (like with awk commands in Unix) but in DOS, in my opinion, it's a lost cause...
                  0
                2. It's "He" not "She", but oh well, it's not a big deal...
                  Well, if no one has any ideas, I'll do it differently....
                  0
                3. @van'Hello,

                  to achieve what you're asking, you need to use environment variables in your batch file.

                  example toto.bat
                  rem*** assign to the variable mon_fic a file name (and its path) formatted in the following way jour.txt ***
                  set mon_fic = c:\dossier1\mesfichiers\%DATE:~0,-8%.txt

                  rem ** write hello in the file **
                  echo hello > %mon_fic%

                  to vary the string, you need to adjust the "0,-8" part of the command...
                  0 = from the first character
                  -8 = except the last 8

                  you can find different ways to format the date by typing the command in dos: set /help

                  There you go, good luck...
                  0
                4. @poulpenstringThank you for this post poulpenstring, it's exactly what I was looking for, thanks again.
                  ruxpin
                  0
                5. @van'sorry ...

                  mirza
                  0
              3. I tried the command under Dos but it creates a %Date%.txt file
                can someone help me?
                0
                1. Go to the site
                  http://www.chez.com/scudo/Faq/dos/
                  there is the answer... it's powerful!
                  It creates a variable _d that contains the date. Then you'll have to manipulate a bit as written above to make it what you want.

                  Mbt
                  0
              4. command /e:2000 /c for %%i in (1 2) do prompt set _d=$d$_ | find "$" /v >{t}.bat
                for %%c in (call del) do %%c {t}.bat
                0
                1. Hello everyone, I would like to know some uses of DOS for programming!
                  What can we do with DOS?
                  Do you have any programs?
                  Can we create an exe file with DOS?
                  Thank you in advance for your answers
                  Happy New Year to everyone and good continuation!
                  See you later
                  Tom
                  0
                  1. Hello;
                    How to rename a file
                    e.txt to 12:59.txt using a .bat file
                    e.txt: file to rename
                    12:59.txt: desired name, 12:59 is the current time
                    It would be fabulous for automating backups...
                    0
                    1. I tried to replace the variable in question: if it contains neither 1 nor 2, I set it to 0 :)
                      but I can't even test it... :(
                      help !!

                      @Echo off SET dizaine=%Time:~-11,-10% @echo original var : %dizaine% IF %dizaine% == 1 goto fin IF %dizaine% == 2 goto fin SET dizaine=0 GOTO fin :fin @echo var after test : %dizaine% pause
                      0
                      1. Hello,
                        Which OS are you on? I tested your batch, but apparently zero does not exist in %time%, so the first character is... either the tens or the units (so it’s not possible to test). I will take a look at your problem. In my opinion, it would be best to start by testing the number of characters before the : (colon). How? We’ll see...

                        Have a good day.
                        0
                      2. Hello :)
                        I'm using Win2k.

                        So, what you're telling me is that when I want to fill the variable "dizaine":
                        SET dizaine=%Time:~-11,-10%

                        it contains either 1 or 2, or it's not defined?
                        Yet, when I display the time, there's a "space":
                        _9:48
                        and not
                        9:48
                        but when I try to display it alone, it indeed throws an error, I believe.

                        How can I figure out what this damn character is? Does it even exist? I'm honestly quite lost, even with all the good intentions in the world :/

                        I have no idea how to test the number of characters in a string :(

                        On the other hand, I tried something like
                        if not defined set dizaine à 0

                        but that didn't work...

                        Thanks for the helping hand :)
                        0
                    2. Here is a way...
                      try the following batch and modify it as needed...
                      especially for creating the file, I didn't take care of that part...

                      it's a bit of a stretch but it works...

                      ______________________________________________________

                      echo off
                      rem *** add a zero in front of the hour****
                      set wcontrol=%time:~0,1%
                      set wcontrol=A%wcontrol%B
                      echo %wcontrol%

                      if A1B==%wcontrol% goto OK
                      if A2B==%wcontrol% goto OK

                      :ZERO
                      echo 0%time:~1,10%.xls
                      goto fin

                      :OK
                      echo %time%.xls
                      goto fin

                      :FIN
                      echo on


                      ______________________________________________________

                      Good luck and keep me posted.
                      0
                      1. Just a heads up... The problem with the SET - DATE and TIME commands is their "non-portability" in certain cases. Indeed, as I mentioned a bit earlier, a batch containing these commands might not work under W95, W98, 2000, or even XP, depending on the version of DOS that is embedded.
                        That’s why, in my opinion, the ideal solution would be to use small functions (or exe and com programs) found in the Unix world or to create them yourself, which would be usable on any platform.

                        If you have any ideas in that direction... I'm all ears. Thanks in advance.

                        For example, vardate.exe would return, depending on its parameters, a variable in different formats like DD_mm_yy or HH_dd_mm or even MON (for Monday=) etc. etc. etc.
                        0
                        1. Hello,
                          under Win98, it's not working.
                          I want to rename a file with today's date.
                          All of this executed in a .bat

                          Does anyone have an idea?
                          0
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