error with nested if condition on a batch script that sets a variable that disappears when removing it

Question

i have a batch script like this:

@echo off
setlocal

some commands to set variable %equal%

if %equal%==no (
    some commands to set variable %equall% (including a call to a separate batch file)
    if %equall%==no (
        other commands (including a call to a separate batch file)
    )
) else (
    echo nothing new
)

endlocal
exit /b

But i getting this error (translated from spanish, so it can be innacurate): "(" was not expected at this moment on the first if sentence.

However, if i remove the inner if condition, it runs fine....

What am i missing?

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:02:39Z

2

you've got a delayed expansion problem. The variable equall gets defined inside a code block, so %equall% is still not defined. That makes your line

if %equall%==no (

to be parsed as

if ==no (

which leads to the mentioned error "(" is unexpected at this time"

To correct it, enable delayed expansion with the setlocal enabledelayedexpansion command and use delayed expansion with ! syntax instead of % syntax:

setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
if 1==1 (
  set "var=hello"
  echo !var!
)

Also you should get used to use a better syntax with if (quoting both sides of the comparison):

if "%var%" == "value" ...

(or with delayed expansion: if "!var!% == "value") Even if the variable is empty, this gets parsed as:

if "" == "value" ...

which is perfectly valid syntax.

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:02

CommunityBot

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answered May 10, 2017 at 7:06

Stephan

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2 Comments

kurokirasama Over a year ago

Thankz a lot!. How do i call a for loop variable (%%i) in delayed extension?

Stephan Over a year ago

loop variables (%%i) can't be delayed. Its just %%i

kurokirasama · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-10 02:46:41Z

0

I used a workaround, that is to send everything inside the outer if to a label:

@echo off
setlocal

some commands to set variable %equal%

if %equal%==no (
    goto :label
) else (
    echo nothing new
)

endlocal
exit /b

:label
some commands to set variable %equall% (including a call to a separate batch file)
if %equall%==no (
    other commands (including a call to a separate batch file)
)

answered May 10, 2017 at 2:46

kurokirasama

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