How to use the set command as a substitute for the choice command in W2K an XP

The choice command from Win95 can't be used in WinXP or W2K you need to use the SET CHOICE = and the IF'%CHOICE%'== command here is the same example for Win95 example with the CHOICE and ERRORLEVEL commands.

Example One: (Win95)

In the below example a user would be prompted to enter an option of y,n, or Q to print you have selected YES , NO, or QUIT.

@ECHO OFF
:BEGIN
CLS
CHOICE /N /C:ynQ Select (y,n or Q)? %1
IF ERRORLEVEL ==3 GOTO QUIT
IF ERRORLEVEL ==2 GOTO NO
IF ERRORLEVEL ==1 GOTO YES
GOTO END
:QUIT
ECHO YOU HAVE PRESSED QUIT
GOTO END
:NO
ECHO YOU HAVE PRESSED NO
GOTO END
:YES
ECHO YOU HAVE PRESSED YES
:END

To add more choices increase the errorlevel number and append to the ynQ on the choice command

Example 2: (WinXP and W2K)

In the below example a user would be prompted to enter an option of y,n, or Q to print you have selected YES , NO, or QUIT.

@echo off
cls
:start
echo.
set choice=
set /p choice=Type (y,n or Q)?
if not '%choice%'=='' set choice=%choice:~0,1%
if '%choice%'=='y' goto yes
if '%choice%'=='n' goto no
if '%choice%'=='Q' goto quit
echo "%choice%" is not valid please try again
echo.
goto start
:yes
echo you have selected YES
goto end
:no
echo you have selected NO
goto end
:quit
echo you have selected QUIT
goto end
:end

To add more options simply add another if '%choice%'== goto line and give it a name and add the colon to the front of the name.


Hope this helps took me a whole night to work it out for Windows XP I like the way it works its much easier to understand when you don't have to use the ERRORLEVEL.

N.B> I have used 3 options Y,N or Q you don't have to and the choice I have kept simple you can copy this code and add your own replace the (you have selected YES) with whatever you require to happen if the user presses Y.