Execute Batch File After Tfs Build Health

On Windows 10, a batch file is a special kind of text file that typically has a .bat extension, which can include one or multiple commands that Command Prompt can understand and run in sequence to perform various actions.

When in Team Foundation Server I perform the build step 'Publish. No possibility to get any information about execution of test items. I do automated testing because there's only so much a human being can do and remain healthy. I started using the build step 'batch file', calling a batch file which in.

Usually, you can input commands manually to perform a particular task, but a batch file simplifies the work of retyping commands, saving you time.

Also, even though, there are other tools, such as PowerShell, that write more advanced scripts, using batch files with Command Prompt is a convenient option when you need to run commands to change system settings, automate routines, and launch apps or websites.

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In this Windows 10 guide, we walk you through the steps to get started creating and running your first batch file on your computer.

How to create a batch file on Windows 10

The process of writing a batch (script or batch script) file is easy. You only need a text editor and some knowledge using Command Prompt. In the steps below, we detail the steps for creating a simple and advanced batch file, as well as the steps to write a script to change the system settings.

Creating simple batch file

To create a simple batch file on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Notepad, and click the top result to launch the app.

3. Type the following lines to create a simple batch file:

   Source: Windows Central

   The above script outputs the phrase, 'Congratulations! Your first batch file executed successfully' on the screen.

   Source: Windows Central

   • @ECHO OFF — Turns off the display prompt to show only the message on a clean line. Usually, this particular line goes at the beginning of the file. (You can use this command without '@,' but the symbol hides the command being executed for a cleaner output.)
   • ECHO — Prints the desired text on the screen.
   • PAUSE — Prevents the console window from closing after executing the command. You can use this command at the end of the script or after a specific command when running multiple tasks, and you want to pause between them.
4. Click the File menu.
5. Select the Save as option.

6. Type a name for the script — for example, first_simple_batch.bat.

   Quick note: While batch files typically use the .bat file extensions, you may also see scripts using the .cmd or .btm file extensions.

Once you complete the steps, you can double-click the file to run it, or you can use the steps below to learn the different ways to execute a batch file on Windows 10.

Creating advanced batch file

To create an interactive batch file that executes multiple commands, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Notepad, and click the top result to launch the app.

3. Type the following lines to create a complex batch file:

   Source: Windows Central

   The above batch script will run a series of commands to query different system information that is grouped into three different categories, including OS INFO, HARDWARE INFO, and NETWORK INFO.

   Source: Windows Central

   • @ECHO OFF — Turns off the display prompt to show only the message on a clean line. Usually, this particular line goes at the beginning of the file. (You can use this command without '@,' but the symbol hides the command being executed for a cleaner output.)
   • TITLE — Displays a custom name in the title bar of the console.
   • :: — Allows you to add comments and documentation information, which are ignored when the batch file runs.
   • ECHO — Prints the text on the screen.
   • PAUSE — Prevents the console window from closing after executing the command. You can use this command at the end of the script or after a specific command when running multiple tasks, and you want to pause between them.
4. Click the File menu.
5. Select the Save as option.
6. Type a name for the script — for example, first_advanced_batch.bat.

After you complete these steps, you can run the script double-clicking the .bat file, or you can use the steps below to learn the different ways to execute a batch on Windows 10.

Creating actionable batch file

You're not limited to showing information on a Windows 10 console. You can also write non-interactive batch files to perform virtually any task. For instance, to write a batch file that runs a specific command without the need for user interaction, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Notepad, and click the top result to launch the app.

3. Copy and paste the following command:

   Source: Windows Central

   The above command is just an ordinary command that maps a network folder as a drive on File Explorer using the 'Z' drive letter.

   Source: Windows Central

4. Click the File menu.
5. Select the Save as option.
6. Type a name for the script — for example, map-z-drive.bat.

Once you complete the steps, when you run the batch file, the command will map a shared network folder with the settings, you specified without the need to open Command Prompt. Although we only specified one command in the file, you can include as many commands as you like, as long as you write one per line.

How to run a batch file on Windows 10

On Windows 10, there are a least three ways to run a batch file. You can run a batch on-demand (using File Explorer or Command Prompt). You can create a scheduled task using Task Scheduler. Or you can place the script in the 'Startup' folder to run it every time you sign in to your computer.

Running batch file on-demand

When you need to run a batch file on-demand, you can use File Explorer or Command Prompt.

File Explorer

To run a batch file using File Explorer, use these steps:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Navigate to the folder with the script.

3. Double-click the batch file to run it.

   Source: Windows Central

   If you're executing a command that requires administrator privileges, you'll need to run the script as an admin by right-clicking the batch file and selecting the Run as administrator option, and clicking the Yes button.

After you complete the steps, the batch will run each command in sequence displaying the results on the screen.

Command Prompt

To run a batch file from Command Prompt, use these steps.

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the path and the name of the batch file and press Enter:

   C:PATHTOFOLDERBATCH-NAME.bat

   For example, the following command runs the batch file located in the user's 'batch' folder inside the 'Downloads' folder:

   C:UsersuserDownloadsbatchfirst_simple_batch.bat

   Source: Windows Central

Once you complete the steps, the output will display on the screen regardless of the script containing the 'PAUSE' command or not.

Running batch file on scheduled

To schedule a batch file on Windows 10, you'll need to use the Task Scheduler with these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Task Scheduler, and click the top result to open the app.
3. Right-click the 'Task Scheduler Library' branch and select the New Folder option.

4. Type a name for the folder — for example, MyScripts.

   Quick note: It's not necessary to create a folder, but it's recommended to organize your tasks.

5. Click the OK button.
6. Expand the 'Task Scheduler Library' branch.
7. Right-click the MyScripts folder.

8. Select the Create Basic Task option.

   Source: Windows Central

9. In the 'Name' field, type a short descriptive name for the task — for example, SystemInfoBatch.

   Source: Windows Central

10. (Optional) In the 'Description' field, create a description for the task.
11. Click the Next button.

12. Select the Monthly option.

    Source: Windows Central

    Task Scheduler allows you to select from a number of triggers, including on a specific date, during startup, or when you or a particular user signs in to the computer. Depending on your requirements, you'll need to configure additional parameters. In this case, we're selecting the option to run a task every month.

13. Click the Next button.
14. Using the 'Start' settings, specify the day and time when the task should start running.

15. Use the 'Monthly' drop-down menu to pick the months of the year that you want to run the task.

    Source: Windows Central

16. Use the 'Days' or 'On' drop-down menu to specify the days that the task will run.

    Source: Windows Central

17. Click the Next button.

18. Select the Start a program option to run the batch file.

    Source: Windows Central

19. In the 'Program/script' field, specify the path for the batch file.

    Source: Windows Central

20. Click the Finish button.

Once you complete the steps, the task will be saved, and it'll run the batch file on the schedule you specified.

These instructions cover the steps to create a basic task. If you want to create a more customizable task, use this guide.

Running batch files on startup

Alternatively, if you want to run a batch file every time that you sign in to your device, use these easy steps:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Navigate to the folder that contains the batch file.
3. Right-click the file and select the Copy option.
4. Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command

5. Type the following command, and click the OK button:

   shell:startup

   Source: Windows Central

6. Click the Paste option from the 'Home' tab in the Startup folder. (Or you can click the Paste shortcut button to create a shortcut to the batch file.)

   Source: Windows Central

7. Sign out of your Windows 10 account.
8. Sign back into your account.

After you complete the steps, every time you sign in to your account, the batch file will automatically execute in sequence the commands you wrote.

We're focusing this guide on Windows 10, but the ability to use batch files has been around for many years, which means that you can refer to these instructions if you're still using Windows 8.1 or Windows 7.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

Razer Viper Mini quick-review: A tiny gaming mouse with a small price

Razer has a new gaming mouse built off the chassis design of the popular Viper series. The new Viper Mini ($40) features an optical sensor, 8,500 DPI, support for a profile, and Razer's famed RGB lighting, now with an under glow twist. The mouse is perfect for those with smaller hands — or a smaller budget. Here's what you need to know!

9 Feb 2016CPOL

Use PowerShell Post-build scripts to check in binaries to TFS for continuous integration during the build process.

Introduction

Some of us are still bound to XAML-driven builds in TFS, but with the advent of Pre- and Post-build script capability for these builds, there are new, easier ways to perform activities. This tip shares how to use a post-build PowerShell script to take the output of a build and check those binaries into a shared library in TFS. This is actually a follow-up to a previous article.

Background

We have a very large code base with many shared binary assemblies, and we love our continuous integration. There are a number of solutions in this code base that rely on the shared binaries being built in a certain sequence. Moreover, when the solutions that produce these shared binaries are run, the build process needs to check those binaries into TFS so that the latest binaries are available to subsequent builds. This allows our nightly builds to have all the latest and greatest binaries, and produces a solid build for our QA team to start out their day. With PowerShell and the Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Powershell snap-in, this process is much simpler than what it had been in the past.

However, XAML builds aren't without their issues. If you have to override a policy to check in a file, the build system throws errors, in spite of a successful check-in. This tip will address how to override those errors thrown by the build process with a simple change to the build template.

Using the Code

The PowerShell script itself is relatively simple. There are parameters that need to be passed from the command line in the build definition, and a couple of strings are defined for use in the script. The workspace as defined in the Source Settings of the build definition needs to be passed in, along with the name of the TFS project collection. The workspace is the target of the binary output, the place where the files are to be checked in. For example, if the mapped workspace is '$(SourceDir)SharelibBaselibs,' then the workspace parameter is simply 'SharelibBaseLibs.' Here's the script in its entirety:

Invocation from the build definition is straightforward: -workSpacePath 'SharelibSharedLibs' -projectCollection 'DefaultCollection'

The first step in the process is to add the PSSnapin for Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Powershell, which provides cmdlets that facilitate a couple of important operations, such as determining the TFS server, and adding a Pending Change. It's worth noting that the New-TfsChangeset cmdlet (as of this writing, at least), doesn't perform as expected, so the option of using the TF.exe command has been taken up instead.

The basic premise is to find the TFS workspace, find the TFS destination folder, and copy the files that already exist in that TFS folder from the build output. By adding the pending change and then using the TF.exe command to execute the checkin, this should always work. In prior implementations, it was necessary to check for pending changes, undo those pending changes, and then check in. That is no longer the case.

Points of Interest

There's a very important caveat here: if there are check-in policies in place, they will need to be overridden. This is easily done in the tf.exe command, using the /bypass and /override parameters, as illustrated in the script. However, the build process sees these override operations as errors. Unfortunately, these errors don't bubble up to the PowerShell script, so the build will fail. This is a bad thing. Note that two exit codes have been added to the PS script, a 0 for success, and a 1 for some error that has not yet been encountered. An IF block has been added to the XAML template in the Compile, Test and Publish section. Check for the scriptResult, which is an Int32 variable added to the build template, If the returned value from the script is 0, then the Properties of the Microsoft.TeamFoundation.build.Workflow.Activities.SetBuildProperties object in the THEN block is set to 'Build Succeeded,' otherwise, the ELSE block is set to 'Build Failed.'

History

• 9^th February, 2016: Initial version