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Dos batch file - dealing with a nul value

I am using a batch file in windows xp.
I am trying to create a continuous string with date and time stamp in it. I can do it with the following command:
set archivestamp=%DATE:~10,4%%DATE:~4,2%%DATE:~7,2%-%TIME:~0,2%%TIME:~3,2%

the only catch is that if it is before 10 am it does not attach the time becuse the leading time value is some sort of nul value.

If I can just test to see if it is null and can get around it but nothing seems to work. if %time:~0,1% == nul echo "test" will fail saying "echo was unexpected at this time"

I tried checking to the reverse and it gives me the same error when I check for a 1 or 2.

How can I get around this?

SOLUTION

oBdA

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ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Gary Patterson, CISSP

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MSE-dwells

While I think you're pretty much covered by the earlier two responses, I'll throw this one-liner out as a possible, and hopefully useful, trick/solution for you at some later point. Please note, this isn't necessarily a recommendation; more a proof of concept on my part to see if it could be done this way ...

for /F "delims=:./AP tokens=1,2,3,4,5,6" %T in ('set /p=06/27/2008:<nul&time /t') do set archiveSTAMP=%T%U%V%W%X

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MSE-dwells

... ooops, I inadvertently pasted the runtime syntax. In a batch file, you'll of course need to double-up on certain percent-symbols like this -

for /f "delims=:./AP tokens=1,2,3,4,5,6" %%T in ('set /p^=%DATE:~4%:^<nul^&time /t') do set archiveSTAMP=%%T%%U%%V%%W%%X

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naglpa

ASKER

Thanks guys - perfect answers