How can I use command line arguments to control a batch program that prints multi-colour text?

Question

I have a batch script that can display two or more colors of text on the same line in the command prompt. (below)

@echo off
SETLOCAL EnableDelayedExpansion
for /F "tokens=1,2 delims=#" %%a in ('"prompt #$H#$E# & echo on & for %%b in (1) do rem"') do (
set "DEL=%%a"
)
echo say the name of the colors, don't read

call :ColorText 0a "blue"
call :ColorText 0C "green"
call :ColorText 0b "red"
echo(
call :ColorText 19 "yellow"
call :ColorText 2F "black"
call :ColorText 4e "white"
pause
goto :eof

:ColorText
echo off
<nul set /p ".=%DEL%" > "%~2"
findstr /v /a:%1 /R "^$" "%~2" nul
del "%~2" > nul 2>&1
goto :eof

however that text must be entered in the script before-hand by editing the batch file with notepad. i'd like to be able to just open the command prompt and type something like:

cecho /blue hello world!

or

cecho blue "hello world!"

or something simple where i can supply the color (preferably as a string not a color code) and text (with or without quotations).

---

I don't know if this is of any use to you but it is possible to save this part of the script:

echo off
<nul set /p ".=%DEL%" > "%~2"
findstr /v /a:%1 /R "^$" "%~2" nul
del "%~2" > nul 2>&1
goto :eof

(from ":ColorText" to the end of the script) and save it as "ColorText.bat" in "C:\windows\system32". Then in the other half of the script, everywhere you see:

call :ColorText

Change it to:

call ColorText

(Omit the colons) And save that script as colors.bat in "C:\windows\system32". Then open the command prompt and type "colors". This is how i want it to function; no additional commands, setup scripts, file paths; just a simple one or two word function with all that messy code going on in the background (out of sight). However the above idea still won't let me specify my own text or color from the command prompt.... any ideas?

Answer 1

EDIT: Take 3

Create the folder C:\Utilities. Add this folder to your Path environment variable so Windows looks there for additional scripts and commands.

1. Open Control Panel, System, Advanced System Settings (or "Advanced" in Windows XP), Environment Variables.
2. In the "System variables" list, select the "Path" variable.
   Do not mess these next steps up!
3. Press Edit.
4. Place the cursor at the end of the line and make sure no text is selected.
5. Add the text ;C:\Utilities, including the semi-colon. Do not remove any other text.
6. Press OK.
   Breathe easy again.
7. Press OK as many times as necessary to close all windows.

Take the script following the :ColorText label and save it to C:\Utilities\cecho.bat. Put an @ in front of echo off to prevent echo off from appearing during the script.

CEcho.bat

@Echo Off
SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion
For /F "tokens=1,2 delims=#" %%a In ('"Prompt #$H#$E# & Echo On & For %%b In (1) Do Rem"') Do (
Set "DEL=%%a"
)
<Nul Set /p ".=%DEL%" > "%~2"
FindStr /v /a:%1 /R "^$" "%~2" Nul
Del "%~2" > Nul 2>&1
EndLocal

Now you can use this command from any command line or script. Usage:

CEcho color "text"

Edit: In response to your comment:

You can use words for colours by inserting the following lines and replacing the FindStr line:

Set Color=%1
If %1==blue Set Color=9
If %1==red Set Color=C
etc...
FindStr /v /a:%Color% /R "^$" "%~2" Nul

Now you can type:

CEcho red "apple"
CEcho blue "water"
CEcho A "grass"
CEcho 6 "dirt"
CEcho 26 "tree"

Note that the color word is case sensitive.

Answer 2

You could use the batch parameters %1, %2, ..., %n, as parameter for the color and for the content

cecho 0a "hello world!"

@echo off
call :ColorText %1 "%~2"
...

If you want to use the color names you have to convert them to the corresponding number.

cecho blue "hello"

@echo off
if "%1"=="red" set color=0c
if "%1"=="blue" set color=0b
if ...
call :ColorText %color% "%~2"