How do I run this kind of file?

[Hotshot]

It's a backup file with .bat suffix: it looks like a cogwheel in a frame.  Do I just double-click to run it?

[Brett_Henderson]

That's a batch file. If memory serves, batch-file programmingis a lot like a series of DOS line commands.

Before trying to figure out how to run it, I'd wanna know what it does. Batch files run on their own (as opposed to being called up like a routine) are probably useless at best... destructive at worst..

[Hotshot]

Thanks, Brett. Problem solved!

[macca22au]

Yep, batch files are usually embedded in applications which call them up as needed.  If you have one on its own its an orphan.

[Fr. Bill]

It's a trivial matter to open any .bat file in notepad.exe to see what it's doing...  :o

[stuart1044]

[quote]It's a trivial matter to open any .bat file in notepad.exe to see what it's doing...