Get parent directory name for a particular file using DOS Batch scripting

Question

I need to find the name of the parent directory for a file in DOS

for ex.

Suppose this is the directory

C:\\test\\pack\\a.txt

Answer 1

I found this combination of approaches from the answers of djangofan and paranoid to be both, simple and perfectly sufficient, when looking up my script's parent directory:

set FULL_PATH=%~dp0
set FULL_PATH=%FULL_PATH:~1,-1%
for %%i in ("%FULL_PATH%") do set "PARENT_FOLDER=%%~ni"
echo %PARENT_FOLDER%

Since you want to work on user input instead, you have to do some minimal additional work, to handle legal variations like C:\foo\bar\a.txt vs. C:\foo\bar\a.txt or c:/foo/bar/a.txt. This might then work for you:

@setlocal
@echo off

call:GET_PARENT_FOLDER C:\foo\bar\a.txt
echo %PARENT_FOLDER%
call:GET_PARENT_FOLDER C:\foo\bar\\a.txt
echo %PARENT_FOLDER%
call:GET_PARENT_FOLDER c:/foo/bar/a.txt
echo %PARENT_FOLDER%

pause
goto:EOF

:GET_PARENT_FOLDER
:: Strip the filename, so we get something like this: 'C:\foor\bar\'
set "_FULL_PATH=%~dp1"

:: Strips all dangling '\' and '/' in a loop, so the last folder name becomes accessible
:_STRIP
if not "%_FULL_PATH:~-1%"=="\" if not "%_FULL_PATH:~-1%"=="/" goto:_STRIP_END
set "_FULL_PATH=%_FULL_PATH:~1,-1%"
goto:_STRIP
:_STRIP_END

:: We need the context of a for-loop for the special path operators to be available
for %%i in ("%_FULL_PATH%") do set "PARENT_FOLDER=%%~ni"

goto:EOF