Semicolon, Equal Sign As Arguments in Batch File

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SUMMARY

When a semicolon (;) or equal sign (=) is used as a command line argument in a batch file, it is treated as a blank space.

MORE INFORMATION

For example, in the following batch file, TEST.BAT,

   echo %1 %2 %3

the command line and resulting output appear as follows:

   Command Line       Output
   ------------       ------

   test a=b           a b
   test a;b           a b
   test ;ab           ab
   test =             ECHO is on (parsed as test)
   test ;             ECHO is on

For more information, query on the following words:

equal and sign and characters and batch

APPLIES TO

Microsoft MS-DOS 4.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft MS-DOS 4.01 Standard Edition
Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0a
Microsoft MS-DOS 6.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft MS-DOS 6.2 Standard Edition
Microsoft MS-DOS 6.21 Standard Edition
Microsoft MS-DOS 6.22 Standard Edition

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KB71247

Retired KB Content Disclaimer

This article was written about products for which Microsoft no longer offers support. Therefore, this article is offered "as is" and will no longer be updated.

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