I am hoping someone can help with this. I have three bat files. The first is set to run with a scheduler, and it calls the second and third bat file. What I would like is to poll a certain folder every 60 seconds, and if it is empty, then call the first bat. Once the first bat runs, it will call the 2nd and 3rd, then the poller will start again after they complete.

If there is something still in the folder, have the "poller" sleep for 60 seconds, then poll again until it is empty. Thanks in advance.

When in doubt, format.

::== poll.bat

@echo off
setLocal EnableDelayedExpansion
pushd c:\test
:loop
dir/a-d/b > nul 2>nul
if errorlevel 1 (
echo call 1
echo call 2
echo call 3
)
ping -n 1 -w 60000 1.1.1.1 > nul
goto :loop

=====================================
If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

M2

Report Offensive Follow Up For Removal

Thank you for the response. I'll check this out and let you know the results.

When in doubt, format.

Ok, if you can't tell, I'm a little new to this. It looks like it's doing exactly what I need. Here is the batch with edits to work in my environment:

@echo off

:loop
dir/a-d/b c:\staging> nul 2>nul
if errorlevel 1 (
call c:\ami\bin\first.bat
)
TIMEOUT /T 5 /NOBREAK
goto :loop

2 questions, first, if I wanted to reverse this and run a batch when it sees new folders, would I set the errorlevel to 0?

Second, how would I set the batch above to quit and exit after it runs the called batch file? Meaning, the batch will poll a folder to see when it is empty. Once it sees that it is empty, it will call the first.bat, run it, and then stop and exit all together.

Oh, thank you again.

When in doubt, format.

You seem to catch on quick.

"if I wanted to reverse this and run a batch when it sees new folders, would I set the errorlevel to 0?"

No. This is a classic gotcha. A test for errorlevel means:

if errorlevel X [OR MORE] !]

so 0 will always be true. To reverse the logic, use:

if not errorlevel 1

"the batch will poll a folder to see when it is empty. Once it sees that it is empty, it will call the first.bat, run it, and then stop and exit all together."

Simplest way is not CALL but just run the next bat. That way it never returns. Like this:

::==
@echo off

:loop
dir/a-d/b c:\staging> nul 2>nul
if errorlevel 1 (
c:\ami\bin\first.bat
)
TIMEOUT /T 5 /NOBREAK
goto :loop
::==

::==

=====================================
If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

M2

Let me be the first to say, you the man. This works perfectly. Can you recommend a good reference site? I know the help command, but just looking at the set /? output hurts my brain.

Oh, almost forgot. If I open a window from the command line, "start c:\folder", is there a way to close it via command line? If not, no biggie.
When in doubt, format.

"is there a way to close it via command line?"

Not that I know of.

=====================================
If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

M2