How to remove trailing and leading whitespace for user-provided input in a batch file

Question

I know how to do this when the variable is pre-defined  However  when asking for the user to enter in some kind of input  how do I trim leading and trailing whitespace  This is what I have so far    echo off  set  p input   echo  The input is  input  before    trim left whitespace for  f  tokens   delims      a in    input    do set input   a   trim right whitespace  up to 100 spaces at the end  for  l   a in  1 1 100  do if   input  -1        set input  input  0 -1    echo  The input is  input  after  pause

User · Answer

A very short  amp  easy solution i m using is this    ECHO OFF  SET  p NAME - NAME    ECHO   NAME   CALL  TRIM  NAME  NAME ECHO   NAME   PAUSE   TRIM SET  2  1 GOTO  EOF   Results in   - NAME    my name   my name    my name

User · Answer

set newVarNoSpaces  someVarWithSpaces

User · Answer

The  trimAll subroutine below    trims leading and trailing tabs and spaces from the string passed to it can be safely CALLed with delayed expansion disabled or enabled handles poison characters  eg           etc   CRs and LFs are not supported   Read comments for references and info    echo off  amp  setLocal enableExtensions disableDelayedExpansion    https   www dostips com forum viewtopic php t 4308  call      sets errorLevel to 0     set lf      BLANK LINE REQUIRED         kudos to Carlos for superior method of capturing CR    https   www dostips com forum viewtopic php p 40757 p40757 set  cr    amp  if not defined cr for  f  skip 1    C in        echo   replace      w  u    do set  cr   C   set   orig    random                          amp     amp          os        call  trimAll res1 orig setLocal enableDelayedExpansion call  trimAll res2 orig echo orig    orig   echo res1    res1   echo res2    res2   endLocal  endLocal  amp  goto  EOF   trimAll result  original     trims leading and trailing whitespace from a string    special thanks to Jeb for    https   stackoverflow com a 8257951 setLocal set  ddx       is delayed expansion enabled or disabled     setLocal enableDelayedExpansion set  die    amp  if not defined  2        gt  amp 2 echo   ERROR  var   2  not defined  amp  set  die 1    else set  str   2      if     if not defined die for   L in    lf      do if   str   neq   str    L           gt  amp 2 echo   ERROR  var   2  contains linefeeds  amp  set  die 1       if     if not defined die for   C in    cr      do if   str   neq   str    C           gt  amp 2 echo   ERROR  var   2  contains carriage returns     set  die 1       if     if defined die goto die   for  f eol     A in    str    do rem nop             gt  amp 2 echo WARNING  var   2  consists entirely of whitespace     endLocal  amp  endLocal  amp  set   1    amp  exit  b 0      cond exec        prepare string for trimming       double carets set  str  str             double quotes set  str  str           escape exclaims set  str  str                act of CALLing subfunction with    expanded string trims trailing whitespace call   trimAll    str       prepare string to be passed over endLocal boundary       double carets again if delayed expansion enabled if not defined ddx set  str  str             escape exclaims again if delayed expansion enabled if not defined ddx set  str  str               restore quotes set  str  str            pass string over endLocal boundary and trim leading whitespace for  f tokens     eol     a in    str    do       endLocal  amp  endLocal  amp  set   1   a         for  f    exit  b 0   die endLocal  amp  endLocal  amp  set   1    amp  exit  b 1    trimAll    subfunction    trailing exclaim is required as explained by Jeb at    https   www dostips com forum viewtopic php p 6933 p6933 set  str   1    exit  b 0   HTH and HNY

User · Answer

You can also strip whitespace by passing in those variables with whitespace as parameters into a sub and then inside your sub simply set them again with the passed in parameters    echo off  set  a     apple        set  b      banana      echo   a   echo   b   call  Strip  a   b  pause goto  EOF   Strip set a  1 set b  2 echo   a   echo   b    ---------------- Results          apple              banana       apple   banana  Press any key to continue

User · Answer

The solution below works very well for me  Only 4 lines and works with most  all   characters   Solution   Trim SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion set Params    for  f  quot tokens 1  quot    a in   quot  Params  quot   do EndLocal  amp  set  1   b exit  b   Test   echo off  call  Test1  amp  call  Test2  amp  call  Test3  amp  exit  b   Trim SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion set Params    for  f  quot tokens 1  quot    a in   quot  Params  quot   do EndLocal  amp  set  1   b exit  b   Test1 set Value    a b c    set Expected a b c call  Trim Actual  Value  if  quot  Expected  quot      quot  Actual  quot   echo Test1 passed  else  echo Test1 failed  exit  b   Test2 SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion set Value    a            quot     lt   gt                   amp        -     z     set Expected a            quot     lt   gt                   amp        -     z call  Trim Actual  Value  if  Expected      Actual   echo Test2 passed  else  echo Test2 failed  exit  b   Test3 set  p Value  quot Enter string to trim   quot      echo Before    Value   call  Trim Value  Value  echo After     Value   exit  b

User · Answer

I ve found that all solution introduced here are not complete enough for me and does not work in one or another case  CAUTION  Seems the stackoverflow incorrectly handles tabulation characters  and loses other characters like  x01  in the copy-pasted code  so the below code might not work if you copy it directly by CTRL C  Use the link at the end to directly download the scripts  trim var bat   echo off  rem drop the output variable value if not  quot   2 quot      quot  quot  if not  quot   1 quot      quot   2 quot  set  quot   2  quot   if not defined   1 exit  b 0  setlocal DISABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION  rem Load and replace a value quote characters by the  x01 character  call set  quot RETURN VALUE     1  quot     quot    TRIM LEFT LOOP if not defined RETURN VALUE exit  b 0 if not   RETURN VALUE  0 1          if not   RETURN VALUE  0 1            goto TRIM RIGHT LOOP set  quot RETURN VALUE  RETURN VALUE  1  quot  if not defined RETURN VALUE exit  b 0 goto TRIM LEFT LOOP   TRIM RIGHT LOOP if not defined RETURN VALUE exit  b 0 if not   RETURN VALUE  -1          if not   RETURN VALUE  -1          goto TRIM RIGHT LOOP END set  quot RETURN VALUE  RETURN VALUE  0 -1  quot  goto TRIM RIGHT LOOP   TRIM RIGHT LOOP END rem recode quote and exclamation characters set  quot   ESC     quot  set   QUOT     quot  set  quot   EXCL     quot  set  quot RETURN VALUE  RETURN VALUE      EXCL     quot  set  quot RETURN VALUE  RETURN VALUE      ESC     quot  set  quot RETURN VALUE  RETURN VALUE     QUOT     quot   rem safe set setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION for  F  quot tokens   delims  quot    i in   quot  RETURN VALUE  quot   do for  F  quot tokens   delims  quot    j in   quot   i quot   do     endlocal   endlocal   if not  quot   2 quot      quot  quot        set  quot   2   j quot      else       set  quot   1   j quot         exit  b 0  echo var bat   echo off  if not defined   1     echo   2  3   exit  b 0    setlocal DISABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION  rem Load and replace a value quote characters by the  x01 character  call set  quot RETURN VALUE     1  quot     quot   rem recode quote and exclamation characters set  quot   ESC     quot  set   QUOT     quot  set  quot   EXCL     quot  set  quot RETURN VALUE  RETURN VALUE      EXCL     quot  set  quot RETURN VALUE  RETURN VALUE      ESC     quot  set  quot RETURN VALUE  RETURN VALUE     QUOT     quot   rem safe echo setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION for  F  quot tokens   delims  quot    i in   quot  RETURN VALUE  quot   do for  F  quot tokens   delims  quot    j in   quot   i quot   do     endlocal   endlocal   echo   2  j  3    exit  b 0  test trim var bat   echo off  setlocal DISABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION  set myvar1               1   2    3   amp  4    5   6   7   8   9   0    1   2   3   4   gt  5   lt  6  quot  7               call  quot trim var bat quot  myvar1 myvar2  call  quot echo var bat quot  myvar1 - - call  quot echo var bat quot  myvar2 - -  Output  -                        1   2   3  amp  4   5   6   7   8   9   0   1   2   3   4  gt  5  lt  6  quot  7               - -1   2   3  amp  4   5   6   7   8   9   0   1   2   3   4  gt  5  lt  6  quot  7-  The latest implementation  https   sourceforge net p contools contools HEAD tree trunk Scripts Tools std trim var bat Pros   Safely handles almost all specific characters like           quot    Cons   The  quot  character replaces by the  x01 character and might be affected by current code page  not tested

User · Answer

You need to enable delayed expansion   Try this    echo off setlocal enabledelayedexpansion  blah set  p input   echo   input   for  f  tokens   delims      a in    input    do set input   a for  l   a in  1 1 100  do if   input  -1        set input  input  0 -1  echo   input   pause goto blah

User · Answer

I had to create a Function  Use it as   echo off SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION   set  quot TextString     Purple Cows are flying in the Air Tonight          quot  echo REM   Notice there is whitespace at the start and end of the TextString echo  quot  TextString  quot  CALL trimWhiteSpace  quot  TextString  quot  OutPutString echo Resulting Trimmed Text   quot  OutPutString  quot  echo REM   Now there should be no White space at the start or end   Exit  B  Add this to the bottom of your batch file   FUNCTIONS  REM FUNCTIONS AREA GOTO EOF EXIT  B     TRIM FUNCTIONS AREA      USAGE     trimWhiteSpace  quot  InputText  quot  OutputText    Remember to use the  quot   on the input text  but NOT on the Output text     The Following is Wrong  trimWhiteSpace  quot  InputText  quot   OutputText       Because it has a   around the OutPutText    Make Sure to add  quot  around the InputText when running the call     If you don t add the  quot  then it will only accept the first word before a space    Example      set  quot TextString     Purple Cows are flying in the Air Tonight          quot      echo REM   Notice there is whitespace at the start and end of the TextString     echo  quot  TextString  quot      CALL trimWhiteSpace  quot  TextString  quot  OutPutString     echo Resulting Trimmed Text   quot  OutPutString  quot      echo REM   Now there should be no White space at the start or end    trimWhiteSpace set textToTrim   1 CALL trimWhiteSpaceOnTheRight  quot  textToTrim  quot  OutPutString SET textToTrim  OutPutString  CALL trimWhiteSpaceOnTheLeft  quot  textToTrim  quot  OutPutString SET  2  OutPutString  GOTO EOF   trimWhiteSpaceOnTheRight set str   1 for  l   a in  1 1 31  do if  quot  str  -1  quot    quot   quot  set str  str  0 -1  SET  2  str  GOTO EOF   trimWhiteSpaceOnTheLeft set str   1 for  f  quot tokens   delims   quot    a in   quot  str  quot   do set str   a SET  2  str  GOTO EOF  And remember you MUST add  quot SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION quot  to the top of your batch file or else none of this will work properly  SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION  REM   Remember to add this to the top of your batch file

User · Answer

I d like to present a compact solution using a call by reference  yes   batch  has pointers too   to a function  and a  subfunction       ECHO OFF   SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION    SET  p NAME - NAME      ECHO   NAME     CALL  TRIM NAME   ECHO   NAME     GOTO  EOF     TRIM   SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion   Call  TRIMSUB    1     EndLocal  amp  set  1  tempvar    GOTO  EOF     TRIMSUB   set tempvar      GOTO  EOF

User · Answer

This was my quick-and-dirty solution  Note that it will have unexpected results if the input text has characters that are forbidden in file names   echo off set  p input Enter some text with spaces before and after  gt  echo  quot  input  quot  for  f  quot tokens   quot    i in   echo  input    do set trimmed    nxi echo  quot  trimmed  quot   EDIT To provide a more robust text input character set and still remove the single trailing space that would normally be left by the for in   echo      approach  this is an alternative  set  p input Enter some text with spaces before and after  gt  for  f  quot tokens   quot    i in   echo  input    do set j   i set trimmed  j  0 -1  echo  quot  trimmed  quot

User · Answer

echo off  amp  setlocal enableextensions   rem enabledelayedexpansion   set S   This  is  a  test   echo  S     for  f  tokens   delims      a in   echo  S    do set S   a   echo  S     endlocal  amp  goto  EOF   from http   www netikka net tsneti info tscmd079 htm  for removing leading spaces

User · Answer

I m using the  Trim Right Whitespace  exactly working on my  Show-Grp-of-UID CMD      Other idea for improvement are welcome

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Just came up with this  set sString  quot  hello 123 4   quot  call  trimMENew  sString  echo  quot  sString  quot  exit  b 0   trimMeNew set  quot sString   1 quot  if  quot  sString  0 1  quot      quot   quot  set  quot sString  sString  1  quot  if  quot  sString  -1  quot      quot   quot  set  quot sString  sString  0 -1  quot  exit  b 0

User · Answer

I did it like this  temporarily turning on delayed expansion              sqlcmd -b -S  COMPUTERNAME  -E -d  DBNAME  -Q  SELECT label from document WHERE label     DOCID     -h-1 -o Result txt       if errorlevel 1 goto INVALID        Read SQL result and trim trailing whitespace     SET  P ITEM  lt Result txt      echo ITEM is  ITEM       setlocal enabledelayedexpansion     for  l   a in  1 1 100  do if   ITEM  -1        set ITEM  ITEM  0 -1      setlocal disabledelayedexpansion      echo Var ITEM  ITEM  now has trailing spaces trimmed

User · Answer

To improve on Forumpie s answer  the trick is using    all params  in the sub   Edit  Added echo of the TRIM subroutines params  to provide more insight   ECHO OFF  SET  p NAME - NAME    ECHO   NAME   CALL  TRIM  NAME  SET NAME  TRIMRESULT  ECHO   NAME    GOTO  EOF   TRIM   echo   1    echo   2    echo   3    echo   4    SET TRIMRESULT    GOTO  EOF   This strips leading and trailing spaces  but keeps all spaces between      1 2    3 4       1 2    3 4    Details of     Batch Parameters

User · Answer

for  f  usebackq tokens      a in   echo  StringWithLeadingSpaces    do set StringWithout   a   This is very simple  for without any parameters considers spaces to be delimiters  setting     as the tokens parameter causes the program to gather up all the parts of the string that are not spaces and place them into a new string into which it inserts gaps of its own

User · Answer

echo off setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion set S   This  is  a  test echo  S   for  f  tokens   delims      a in   echo  S    do  set b   a  amp  set b  b      amp  echo  b   endlocal  amp  goto  EOF   or   echo off setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion set S   This  is  a  test echo  S   for  f  tokens   delims      a in   echo  S    do  set b   a  amp  set b  b       amp  echo  b   endlocal  amp  goto  EOF

[input] How to remove trailing and leading whitespace for user-provided input in a batch file?

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