How to use if - else structure in a batch file?

Question

I have a question about if - else structure in a batch file. Each command runs individually, but I couldn\'t use \"if - else\" blocks safely so these parts of my programme d

Answer 1

IF...ELSE IF constructs work very well in batch files, in particular when you use only one conditional expression on each IF line:

IF %F%==1 (
    ::copying the file c to d
    copy "%sourceFile%1" "%destinationFile1%"
) ELSE IF %F%==0 (
    ::moving the file e to f
    move "%sourceFile2%" "%destinationFile2%" )

In your example you use IF...AND...IF type construct, where 2 conditions must be met simultaneously. In this case you can still use IF...ELSE IF construct, but with extra parentheses to avoid uncertainty for the next ELSE condition:

IF %F%==1 (IF %C%==1 (
    ::copying the file c to d
    copy "%sourceFile1%" "%destinationFile1%" )
) ELSE IF %F%==1 (IF %C%==0 (
    ::moving the file e to f
    move "%sourceFile2%" "%destinationFile2%"))

The above construct is equivalent to:

IF %F%==1 (
    IF %C%==1 (
    ::copying the file c to d
    copy "%sourceFile1%" "%destinationFile1%"
    ) ELSE IF %C%==0 (
    ::moving the file e to f
    move "%sourceFile2%" "%destinationFile2%"))

Processing sequence of batch commands depends on CMD.exe parsing order. Just make sure your construct follows that logical order, and as a rule it will work. If your batch script is processed by Cmd.exe without errors, it means this is the correct (i.e. supported by your OS Cmd.exe version) construct, even if someone said otherwise.