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Microsoft => Microsoft DOS => Topic started by: pleaselogin on February 18, 2010, 12:41:49 AM

Title: FOR command
Post by: pleaselogin on February 18, 2010, 12:41:49 AM

Hi All!

Is there a way to ensure that the set of files identified in a FOR command are processed in alphabetical order without explicitly naming each file (in my case, all PDF files)? This list of PDF files changes dynamically.

FOR %%Z IN (*.pdf) DO <whatever>...

If I use what I have here, the process picks up any file in the directory, regardless of order.  Maybe there's a way to dynamically dump a list of names for all PDF files within a directory into a variable and then I could pass the variable as the set of files...

Title: Re: FOR command
Post by: gpl on February 18, 2010, 12:53:08 AM

You can process the output of a command, so make the command a sorted directory listing :

Code: [Select]

for /f "delims=" %A in ( 'dir /b/on *.pdf' ) do <whatever>... %A

Title: Re: FOR command
Post by: pleaselogin on February 18, 2010, 07:15:24 PM

Thanks, gpl.  I actually got that close, except I forgot the single quotes inside the brackets and couldn't figure it out.