How to Run a Text File in Command Prompt (CMD)

Command Prompt, or CMD, is a powerful tool in Windows that provides a text-based interface to interact with the operating system. This article will guide you through various ways to run a text file in CMD, whether you want to view its contents, open it in a text editor, or execute commands from it.

1. Viewing the Contents of a Text File

If you simply want to view the contents of a text file, you can use the type command. This command allows you to display the contents of a text file in the CMD window.

type filename.txt

Replace filename.txt with the exact path to your text file. If the file is in the same directory as your CMD prompt, you can omit the path.

2. Opening a Text File in Notepad

If you need to edit the text file, you can use the notepad command to open the file in Notepad, the default text editor for Windows.

notepad filename.txt

3. Running a Script from a Text File

If your text file contains a script like a batch script, you might want to run it directly from CMD. This can be achieved by directly calling the script.

Ensure that the text file has a .bat extension and is in the current directory. If the file is elsewhere, provide the full path:

For example, if you have a file named that contains:

echo Hello World!pause

You can run this batch script using:

4. Executing Commands from a Text File

If you have a list of commands stored in a text file, you can run these commands by using the call command. This command allows you to execute batch scripts or commands stored in files.

For example, if you have a text file named commands.txt with the following content:

echo Hello World!ping 127.0.0.1ipconfig

You can run these commands using:

call commands.txt

Note that if the file you're trying to run is in a different encoding (like binary files), you might encounter errors. In these cases, you might need to convert the file to a text format or use alternative commands.

5. Additional Hints for Different Operating Systems

While the above instructions are for Windows, here are some additional hints for running text files on different operating systems:

Linux: You can view the contents of a text file using the cat command: Display the contents in the terminal: cat filename Display the contents one page at a time: less filename Linux: To open a file in its default application, use the xdg-open command: xdg-open filename Linux: If you want to view an image file, use the display command: display filename Windows: On a Windows machine, you can open a text file by just giving the file name. For example, to open a text file named file1.txt, you just need to type the name in CMD and press Enter.

6. Additional Tips

For further customization or to run a file in CMD, you can use the sudo command on Linux systems before running the file:

sudo ./filename

Ensure that the file has execute permissions set correctly:

chmod  x ./filename

If you need to run the file in different directories, provide the full path to the file:

path/to/your/file

Conclusion

By understanding these commands and techniques, you can efficiently manage and run text files in CMD, enhancing your productivity and workflow. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced user, these methods will help you work more effectively with text files in the command line interface.