JIYIK CN >

There are multiple commands and installation processes in a batch file, which usually takes some time to complete. However, when a batch file is run, it does not wait for the command process to complete; it executes all the commands line by line.

It is very important to have these commands wait for them to complete and then execute the next command. For the process to wait for completion, we /waituse the parameter with the START command.

If we need to insert a delay at a certain interval in a batch file, instead of starting a command, we can use commands such as TIMEOUT and PAUSE to stop the execution of the next process for a short period of time or until a key is pressed.

This article explains different ways to wait for a command or program to complete before executing the next command.

Use /WAIT to wait for the command to finish executing

When we start a program in a batch file using the START command, we can wait for the program to finish by adding /wait to the START command. Even if there are multiple commands, /wait can be used to let each process finish and move on to the next one.

Additionally, the /B parameter is used to stay in the same process and not create a new window. The START command without the /B parameter opens the program or command in a new window.

Wait for the command to finish executing

For example, we need to wait for one command to finish before running the next one.

@echo off
echo starting first program.
START /B /WAIT cmd /c "C:\Users\Aastha Gas Harda\Desktop\testfile1.bat" > output.txt
echo The first program is executed successfully.
START /B systeminfo >> output.txt
echo All the programs are executed successfully
cmd /k

Output:

Wait for the .exe file to finish executing

Another example is when we need to run an .exe file and wait for the execution to fully complete.

@echo off
echo starting first program.
START /B /WAIT JRuler.exe
echo The first program is executed successfully.
START /B systeminfo >> output.txt
echo All the programs are executed successfully
cmd /k

Output:

Once you close the .exe file, the second program will start executing. The cmd /k in the last line prevents the command prompt from exiting after execution.

If you have multiple programs, you can use /WAIT in each command to wait for execution to complete. The START command with the /WAIT parameter does not have any timeout, i.e. it does not matter how long the process takes to complete; it will wait for the process to complete.

@echo off
START /WAIT install1.exe
START /WAIT install2.exe

/WAITCan be used only with START command. We can use TIMEOUT and PAUSE commands to insert time delay for other commands.

Delaying execution using the TIMEOUT command

TIMEOUTThe command is used to delay the execution of a command for a few seconds or minutes. It can be used only in batch files.

TIMEOUTThe command ranges from -1 to 100000. If the delay is set to -1, it will act as a pause command, waiting for a key press.

As in the above command, we can replace /wait by inserting the TIMEOUT command with the /t parameter. The syntax of the TIMEOUT command is as follows:

TIMEOUT /t <time>

Let's take the above example and add a 30 second delay after the first program is executed. The code is as follows.

@echo off
echo starting first program.
START /B JRuler.exe
TIMEOUT /t 30
echo The first program is executed successfully.
START /B systeminfo >> output.txt
echo All the programs are executed successfully
cmd /k

Output:

After 30 seconds, the second program will begin executing. Also, if the user presses a key before the timeout, the second program will begin executing.

To prevent the user from typing, use the TIMEOUT parameter with the command /nobreak. This will ignore any keys pressed by the user.

However, you can Ctrl+Cstop the delay by pressing , which raises errorlevel 1.

Use the PAUSE command to pause execution

The PAUSE command is used to pause the execution of a batch file until a key is pressed. It is useful if the user wants to read the output text or wait for the process to complete.

However, there is no timeout, and it only lasts until the user presses a key.

@echo off
echo starting first program.
START /B cmd /c "C:\Users\Aastha Gas Harda\Desktop\testfile1.bat" > output.txt
echo The first program is executed successfully.
PAUSE
START /B systeminfo >> output.txt
echo All the programs are executed successfully
cmd /k

Output:

All the methods mentioned above will work fine. If you use the START command, it is recommended to use /waitinstead of the DELAY command because the process may take longer than the specified time.