Auto Answer Y or N in Run Command

[WayneWooldridge]

There are some command line statements that require you answer Y (yes) or N (no) before the statement will completely execute. Case in point: let's say I want to delete files that are in a particular directory to clean up any files I no longer need (e.g. they are temporary work files), and I want to do this using a Run Command tool.

So I drag and drop a Run Command tool to my canvas.

And I configure the tool:

Since the Run Command is a stand-alone tool, I have to select 'dummy' output and input files. In the command line I point to where command line executable file is located (C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe in my case). Then I add my command arguments. '/C' carries out the command specified and then terminates. DEL is the command to delete files and I specify the path where the files are located. '*' is a wildcard character that will allow me to delete all the files in that path.

When I run the workflow, I get prompted with a question which requires a manual answer/input from me.

If I had set this up to run minimized and/or in silent mode, it is possible I wouldn't know I was being prompted for an answer. How can you answer 'Y' in the command prompt automatically? You need to turn echo off. This can be done by adding '/Q' in the Command Argument like this:

Now when you run the workflow, it will automatically answer 'Y' and delete your files.

As an added bonus, there are many of these '/?' commands that can come in handy. Here is a list of the more commonly used commands:

/C      Carries out the command specified by string and then terminates /K      Carries out the command specified by string but remains /S      Modifies the treatment of string after /C or /K (see below) /Q      Turns echo off /D      Disable execution of AutoRun commands from registry (see below) /A      Causes the output of internal commands to a pipe or file to be ANSI /U      Causes the output of internal commands to a pipe or file to be         Unicode /T:fg   Sets the foreground/background colors (see COLOR /? for more info) /E:ON   Enable command extensions (see below) /E:OFF  Disable command extensions (see below) /F:ON   Enable file and directory name completion characters (see below) /F:OFF  Disable file and directory name completion characters (see below) /V:ON   Enable delayed environment variable expansion using ! as the         delimiter. For example, /V:ON would allow !var! to expand the         variable var at execution time.  The var syntax expands variables         at input time, which is quite a different thing when inside of a FOR         loop. /V:OFF  Disable delayed environment expansion.