You specify a
specific date using the month/day/year (mm/dd/yyyy) format. Add a plus sign if you want
files after the specified date or a minus sign if you want files before the specified date. For example,
/D -01/01/2008 would select all files modified before January 1, 2008. You can also specify
a relative date by providing a positive or negative number. For example, /D -7 would select all
files modified within the last seven days. The /D command line switch accepts any number
between 0 and ??“32,768.
Using the For Command
The For command fulfills a special niche in batch file programming. The ???Working with Wildcard
Characters??? sidebar in Chapter 14 tells you how you can use wildcard characters to make multiple
140 CHAPTER 5 CREATING CMD AND BAT FILES
file selections when needed. Unfortunately, using wildcard characters won??™t always work. Sometimes
you need to know the name of the file. A command line utility might not support wildcard
characters or the file argument doesn??™t easily fit within the wildcard method of description. That??™s
where the For statement comes into play for batch files. This command takes the form:
FOR %%variable IN (set) DO command [command-parameters]
You can also use this command at the command prompt to process files manually.
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