"insert" a script inbetween PATH and command.com

[rudi]

Hi.

When you run a command from a CMD box, then the current path, afterwards all paths in %path% and CMD.EXE / COMMAND.COM are searched to serve the given command.

If all fail, a "Command or file not found" is the final result.

I'd like to insert an autoit3 script in that "search chain", so that I could pack there a lot of custom commands.

No clue if such a thing is possible

Any suggestions appreciated, regards, Rudi.

Edited May 31, 2008 by rudi

[ResNullius]

Hi.

When you run a command from a CMD box, then the current path, afterwards all paths in %path% and CMD.EXE / COMMAND.COM are searched to serve the given command.

If all fail, a "Command or file not found" is the final result.

I'd like to insert an autoit3 script in that "search chain", so that I could pack there a lot of custom commands.

No clue if such a thing is possible

Any suggestions appreciated, regards, Rudi.

For a permanent change to the path, there are two registry keys (on XP anyway) that hold the values.

One for the global "system" path, applies to all users:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment

look for the "Path" value

The other is user specific:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Environment

again, look for the "Path" entry

Each of these is a semicolon delimited list of the paths to search in order of the search.

To make your AutoIt Script folder the first searched path, insert it at the begining of the list followed by a semicolon.

To make it the last searched, append it to the end making sure there is a semicolon between it and the previous entry.

[rudi]

For a permanent change to the path, there are two registry keys (on XP anyway) that hold the values.

One for the global "system" path, applies to all users:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment

look for the "Path" value

The other is user specific:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Environment

again, look for the "Path" entry

Each of these is a semicolon delimited list of the paths to search in order of the search.

To make your AutoIt Script folder the first searched path, insert it at the begining of the list followed by a semicolon.

To make it the last searched, append it to the end making sure there is a semicolon between it and the previous entry.

Yes, I know where to modify the %PATH% variables for system and user, but that wasn't my question. I'll try to prase my question more precisely:

If I type in a CMD box "foobar" [enter] iirc the system is doing this:

1.) look, if the "foobar" is a CMD.EXE internal. If not, then

2.) look in the current path, if there is a foobar.bat, foobar.com, foobar.exe ..., if this fails, then

3.) look in every folder specified in the %PATH% variable to do the same, if this fails, then

4.) return the message "Command or file not found"

I'd like to insert some kind of 2nd level CMD.EXE (MYCMD.EXE) inbetween 1.) and 2.). MYCMD.EXE shall be fishing for "foobar", and then executing some other program (that I do NOT want to drop in a folder in the %PATH% specified folders.

Regards, Rudi.

[martin]

Yes, I know where to modify the %PATH% variables for system and user, but that wasn't my question. I'll try to prase my question more precisely:

If I type in a CMD box "foobar" [enter] iirc the system is doing this:

1.) look, if the "foobar" is a CMD.EXE internal. If not, then

2.) look in the current path, if there is a foobar.bat, foobar.com, foobar.exe ..., if this fails, then

3.) look in every folder specified in the %PATH% variable to do the same, if this fails, then

4.) return the message "Command or file not found"

I'd like to insert some kind of 2nd level CMD.EXE (MYCMD.EXE) inbetween 1.) and 2.). MYCMD.EXE shall be fishing for "foobar", and then executing some other program (that I do NOT want to drop in a folder in the %PATH% specified folders.

Regards, Rudi.

If you want custom commands then the 3 easiest ways that I can think of

One

You have your own program which is passed the command as a parameter like this

C:\> SpecialProg foobar

Two

You have a batch file, exe or script in one of the search paths which is named foobar.bat or foobar.exe or foobar.wsh or foobar.au3.

Three

If you have a compiled AutoIt script, say MyCmd.exe, and you associate *.zzz with that, then you can run the MyCmd.exe with foobar.zzz as a parameter by typing foobar.zzz.

Edited June 1, 2008 by martin

[rudi]

If you want custom commands then the 3 easiest ways that I can think of

One

You have your own program which is passed the command as a parameter like this

C:\> SpecialProg foobar

Then I always have to enter two things, the prog's name + parameter

Two

You have a batch file, exe or script in one of the search paths which is named foobar.bat or foobar.exe or foobar.wsh or foobar.au3.

That's, what I currently do: some 150+ CMD files in \\server\sys\public\ folder

Three

If you have a compiled AutoIt script, say MyCmd.exe, and you associate *.zzz with that, then you can run the MyCmd.exe with foobar.zzz as a parameter by typing foobar.zzz.

Hm. That might be an alternative way. Basically I wanted to get rid of the Two solution by introducing an additional "Command Line Filter" between CMD.EXE and the %PATH% search...

Regards, Rudi.