Processing the contents of a text file using FOR loop

As admins, we often have to take actions against a list of things (computers, servers, file shares, etc). One great way to approach this is to put the list in a test file and use a FOR command to loop through the file and take a action against the contents.

Say we have a file full of computernames:

complist.txt:

EricsPC

BobsPC

ExtraPC





and we need to delete each of these computers from the domain. Using a FOR loop to profress the file is the way to go (especially if there are really 300 computer names!)



First a test:

FOR /f %a in ('complist.txt') do echo Computer: %a



should return

Computer: EricsPC

Computer: BobsPC

Computer: ExtraPC



To actually delete the PCs from the domain, change the command to:



FOR /f %a in ('complist.txt') do net computer \\%a /DEL



When we run it we'll see

net computer \\EricsPC /DEL

net computer \\BobsPC /DEL

net computer \\ExtraPC /DEL



Of course we can use this to run any command-line against any list. In fact, we can use the FOR to run a command that would generate the file.



(Note: This is valid command-line syntax. To run in a batch file, use two percent signs (e.g. '%%a' )



\\Greg