There are some command line statements that require you to answer Y (yes) or N (no) before the statement will completely execute. Case in point: let's say I want to delete files that are in a particular directory to clean up any files I no longer need (e.g., they are temporary work files), and I want to do this using a Run Command tool.
So I drag and drop a Run Command tool to my canvas.
And I configure the tool:
Since the Run Command is a stand-alone tool, I have to select 'dummy' output and input files. In the command line I point to where command line executable file is located (C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe in my case). Then I add my command arguments. '/C' carries out the command specified and then terminates. DEL is the command to delete files and I specify the path where the files are located. '*' is a wildcard character that will allow me to delete all the files in that path.
When I run the workflow, I get prompted with a question that requires a manual answer/input from me.
If I had set this up to run minimized and/or in silent mode, it is possible I wouldn't know I was being prompted for an answer. How can you answer 'Y' in the command prompt automatically? You need to turn echo off. This can be done by adding '/Q' in the Command Argument like this:
Now, when you run the workflow, it will automatically answer 'Y' and delete your files.
As an added bonus, there are many of these '/?' commands that can come in handy. Here is a list of the more commonly used commands:
/C Carries out the command specified by string and then terminates /K Carries out the command specified by string but remains /S Modifies the treatment of string after /C or /K (see below) /Q Turns echo off /D Disable execution of AutoRun commands from registry (see below) /A Causes the output of internal commands to a pipe or file to be ANSI /U Causes the output of internal commands to a pipe or file to be Unicode /T:fg Sets the foreground/background colors (see COLOR /? for more info) /E:ON Enable command extensions (see below) /E:OFF Disable command extensions (see below) /F:ON Enable file and directory name completion characters (see below) /F:OFF Disable file and directory name completion characters (see below) /V:ON Enable delayed environment variable expansion using ! as the delimiter. For example, /V:ON would allow !var! to expand the variable var at execution time. The var syntax expands variables at input time, which is quite a different thing when inside of a FOR loop. /V:OFF Disable delayed environment expansion.