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Batch file to comment specific lines into a text file

Hi Experts,

Happy cristmas for all, and hope we find all the happiness, health and money (lotof money $$$) :D

Please, i need to do a batch file like that :

MyBatchFile.bat file.txt FileWithLineToComment.txt

Where :

FileWithLineToComment.txt
it's a text file, this one containall the lines text (not numbers of line) that we need to comment.

MyFile.txt:
Containe all the lines

MyBatchFile.bat
Is the program that i need to write. This batch file will :
1- open FileWithLineToComment.txt, and read line by line
2- for each line we read, we will search it into the "MyFile.txt"
3- one time we find it we will add " // " in the first of the find line, and like that it will be
comment.

Exemple :

MyFile.txt Containe :

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FileWithLineToComment.txt

12
757

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if i do this command line :

MyBatchFile.bat    file.txt    FileWithLineToComment.txt

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MyFile.txt will be like that:

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Hope you can help me

Thanks

Joesephlebon

Asked: 2012-12-26

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1 Solution

LVL 43

Steve KnightIT ConsultancyCommented: 2012-12-27

Are these real world examples, or are they going to be text files with any amount of data, words, spaces, commas, other characters potentially on the line. Same for the list of lines to check?

Are there any blank lines etc. in the file that are important?

And just to check it seems you are checking the whole line to comment, i.e. if your string was found part way across the line.

If all of those end up being just like your answer it is a relatively simple for loop but no point writing that if not.

thanks

Steve

LVL 61

Bill PrewCommented: 2012-12-28

This should give you a pretty good place to start, let me know what questions you have.

@echo off
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion

REM Make sure required parms were supplied
if "%~1" EQU "" (
  echo No data file specified to process
  exit /b
)
if "%~2" EQU "" (
  echo No comment file specified to process
  exit /b
)

REM Get input file and comment file from command line parms
set Filename=%~1
set Comments=%~2

REM Define name for temporary file
set Outfile=%Temp%\%~nx1

REM Send changed file to tem file for now
(
  REM Read each line of file
  for /F "usebackq tokens=*" %%L in ("%Filename%") do (
    REM Read each line from comment file
    set MakeComment=N
    for /F "usebackq tokens=*" %%C in ("%Comments%") do (
      REM If this line is to be commented flag it

      if /I "%%L" EQU "%%C" set MakeComment=Y
    )
    if "!MakeComment!" EQU "Y" (
      echo.//%%L
    ) else (
      echo.%%L
    )
  )
)>"%Outfile%"

if exist "%Outfile%" (
  copy /Y "%Outfile%" "%Filename%" >NUL
  del "%Outfile%" >NUL
)