How to extract part of a string, in Windows batch file?

Question

If I have a variable in a batch (cmd) file that looks like "Abc_123", and I want to end up with a variable that has just "123", is there any built-in way to do this?

I'm not terribly picky about the method, or performance, as long as it's built in to a typical Windows (Vista/2008) system.

Answer 1

Use the substring syntax:

C:\Users\John>set string=Abc_123

C:\Users\John>echo %string%
Abc_123

C:\Users\John>echo %string:~4,3%
123

Answer 2

If you find that the batch language isn't powerful enough to do what you want - and it likely won't take you too long to get to that point - you can use the Windows PowerShell. This isn't installed by default on all versions of Windows, but you can download it free of charge.

If you don't like the PowerShell language, there's Perl. You'll have to install that on all systems though. There are others too.