How to Use the Microsoft Batch File Language

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   Open your text editor. Expect to use keys A-Z/0-9/, the symbols (!$| etc), and Enter. Most commands do not check entry for upper/lower case, so for the moment don't worry about CAPS (or cApS). Each command (and its parameters) goes on one line. Open a command line window (cmd.exe) to test the commands you want to run. Arrange your windows so you can see them both.
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EditWrite the Batch File

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   This section does some hand-holding. If you want the finished script, jump to the next section.
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To start writing the file, most people start with <@echo off> as it stops each command being printed as it is processed. It reduces clutter on the user's screen. To use this, type:

@echo off

Hit enter. Remember to press enter after each command. Let's welcome the user to our program. Type:

echo Welcome to the Backup Script!

Did you hit enter again? Good. Now let's have a blank line (for neat spacing). Type:

echo.

And enter again, of course. Now let's do the real business. Type:

choice /C:FNQ /N Select [F]ull Backup or [N]ew files only. Press [Q] or [CTRL-Z] to exit.

That gives the user a choice. Either they press F, or N, or they press Q or CRTL-Z which cancels the whole script. Now lets create commands for each choice. Type:

IF errorlevel 3 goto end

IF errorlevel 2 goto small_backup

IF errorlevel 1 goto full_backup

Now we're cooking! If the user presses Q the program returns a "3", and goes to section "end". If they press N the program returns a "2", and goes to section "small_backup". If they press F, the program returns a "1", and goes to "full_backup". "Errorlevel" is not a error message as such, just the only way to set output from the CHOICE command.

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   Create those sections referred to above. Type:
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 :small_backup

echo.

echo.

echo You chose to backup NEW files. Hit any key to start or ctrl-z to cancel.
pause >nul
xcopy c:\mydirectory d:\mybackup /s/m/e
goto end

 :full_backup

echo.

echo.

echo You chose to backup ALL files. Hit any key to start or ctrl-z to cancel.
pause >nul
xcopy c:\mydirectory d:\mybackup /s/e
goto end

 :end

exit

Suggestion: Create the directories referred to above, and copy a few small test files into the source directory ready for testing. Later you can change those directory names to suit your real <my documents="">.

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   Well it's ready! In Notepad, save the file as <mybackup.bat>, and double click it.
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EditThe Full Code

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   Practice your copy & pasting skills on the following text:
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@echo off echo Welcome to the Backup Script! echo. choice /C:FN /N Select [F]ull Backup or [N]ew files Backup, or ctrl-z to exit. IF errorlevel 3 goto end IF errorlevel 2 goto small_backup IF errorlevel 1 goto full_backup :small_backup echo. echo. echo You chose to backup NEW files. Hit any key to start or ctrl-z to exit. pause >nul xcopy c:\mydirectory d:\mybackup /s/m/e goto end :full_backup echo. echo. echo You chose to backup ALL files. Hit any key to start or ctrl-z to exit. pause >nul xcopy c:\mydirectory d:\mybackup /s/e goto end :end

exit