| DELAY |
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| Purpose: | Pause for a specified length of time. |
| Format: | DELAY [/B /F /M time] |
DELAY UNTIL [yyyy-mm-dd] hh:mm[:ss]
| time | The number of seconds or milliseconds to delay. |
Usage:
DELAY is useful in batch file loops while waiting for something to occur. For example, to wait for 10 seconds:
delay 10
DELAY is most useful when you need to wait a specific amount of time for an external event, or check a system condition periodically. For example, this batch file checks the battery status (as reported by your Advanced Power Management drivers) every 15 seconds, and gives a warning when battery life falls below 30%:
do forever
iff %_apmlife lt 30 then
beep 440 4 880 4 440 4 880 4
echo Low Battery!!
endiff
delay 15
enddo
The maximum time value is limited to about 49 days in Windows XP, and 585 million years in Windows Vista, Windows 2008, Windows 7. If you don't enter a time, the default is 1 second.
You can optionally wait until the specified date and time. If no date is specified, DELAY defaults to today.
TCC uses the minimum possible processor time during a DELAY, in order to allow other applications full use of system resources.
You can cancel a delay by pressing Ctrl-C or Ctrl-Break.
Options: