[SOLVED] Error when quotes used in FOR /F statement

try: for /F "usebackq" %i in ('"%windir%\system32\dism.exe" /English /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:"E:\x64\sources\install.esd" ^| find /C "Index"') do set images=%i

 

What if you add the path to dism 1st like so:

Code:

@echo off
setlocal
set path=C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\DISM;%path%

for /F %%i in ('dism.exe /English /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:"w10_10586_64.esd" ^| find /C "Index"') do set images=%%i
echo Images: %images%
endlocal

 

I don't see any mistake in your original lines, I'm curious why it's not working with full path.

 

To answer this very shortly, it's because the /F form of the for loop invokes a 2nd parsing session
on the for loop input that works in a different way other than the normal command-line / batch parser.
This parsing phase removes surrounding double-quote characters.

I would like to try to explain this weird behavior in details,
first let's study the behavior of the CMD when we type something that isn't a valid command.

# Case 1)
Open CMD and type something like this: C:\
you'll get this error: (notice the syntax)

Spoiler

Code:

'C:\' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

# Case 2)
now type: "C:\"

Spoiler

Code:

'"C:\"' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

So generally it is: <Single quote><the command you typed><Single quote> is not recognized...

Let's go ahead and try this simple for loop, which should execute the command: C:\ (Case 1)

Code:

for /f %A in ('C:\') do echo:

output:

Spoiler

Code:

'C:\' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

same as Case 1, and that was expected.

Now to the funky part!, let's mimic Case 2 but using a for loop:

Code:

for /f %A in ('"C:\"') do echo:

output:

Spoiler

Code:

'C:\' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

wait a second, where did the quotes go ?!
and the simple plain answer to that is that they're removed!

Let me show you some more weird/funky results, open CMD and try those:

Spoiler

1)

Code:

for /f %A in ('"C:\"__"D:\"') do echo:

output:

Spoiler

Code:

'C:\"__"D:\' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

2)

Code:

for /f %A in ('""C:\""') do echo:

output:

Spoiler

Code:

'"C:\"' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

3) Notice that the 1st character is not a double-quote

Code:

for /f %A in ('_"C:\"__"D:\"') do echo:

output:

Spoiler

Code:

'_"C:\"__"D:\"' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

4)

Code:

for /f %A in ('""c:\""asd') do echo:

output:

Spoiler

Code:

'"c:\"asd' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

As a general rule: in the /F form of the for loop, if the first character is a double-quote,
then this character along with the last double-quote (even if it's not the last char in the command-line)
are both removed.

So now you should know the root-cause of the your problem,
and to solve it simply add an extra pair of surrounding quotes:

Code:

for /F %i in ('""%windir%\system32\dism.exe" /English /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:"E:\x64\sources\install.esd" ^| find /C "Index""') do set images=%i

so that this extra useless pair gets removed instead of the original useful one.

But, we're not finished yet!
we've now broken the command-line / batch parser,
watch how the above line will be interpreted: (red colors = literal string = not a command)

Code:

for /F %i in ('""%windir%\system32\dism.exe" /English /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:"E:\x64\sources\install.esd" ^| find /C "Index""') do set images=%i

that looks completely wrong as opposed to what we want, isn't it ?
and the solution is very simple, what caused this mess is the extra quotes pair, so let's make it non-effective.


The final solution:

Code:

for /F %i in ('^""%windir%\system32\dism.exe" /English /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:"E:\x64\sources\install.esd" ^| find /C "Index"^"') do set images=%i

EDIT: here's also a sample from the DISM log: (see how the command-line is correct)

Spoiler

Code:

2016-03-11 21:05:06, Info                  DISM   DISM.EXE: <----- Starting Dism.exe session ----->
2016-03-11 21:05:06, Info                  DISM   DISM.EXE: 
2016-03-11 21:05:06, Info                  DISM   DISM.EXE: Host machine information: OS Version=6.3.9600, Running architecture=amd64, Number of processors=4
2016-03-11 21:05:06, Info                  DISM   DISM.EXE: Dism.exe version: 6.3.9600.17031
2016-03-11 21:05:06, Info                  DISM   DISM.EXE: Executing command line: "C:\Windows\system32\dism.exe"  /English /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:"E:\x64\sources\install.esd"