computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, ...

, choice is a

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...

that allows for

batch file Batch may refer to: Food and drink * Batch (alcohol), an alcoholic fruit beverage * Batch loaf, a type of bread popular in Ireland * A dialect term for a bread roll used in North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Coventry, as well as on the Wirra ...

s to prompt the user to select one item from a set of single-character choices. It is available in a number of

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...

command-line shells.

History

The command was first introduced as an external command (with filenames CHOICE.COM or CHOICE.EXE) with

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

6.0. It is included in

Novell DOS DR-DOS (written as DR DOS, without a hyphen, in versions up to and including 6.0) is a disk operating system for IBM PC compatibles. Upon its introduction in 1988, it was the first DOS attempting to be compatible with IBM PC DOS and MS-D ...

7 and IBM

PC DOS PC or pc may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Player character or playable character, a fictional character controlled by a human player, usually in role-playing games or computer games * '' Port Charles'', an American daytime TV soap opera * ...

7.0, and is also available from the

command-line A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

of some versions of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...

, but not under

Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was released to manufacturing on December 15, 1999, and was officiall ...

and

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...

. It was first made available for Windows in the Windows XP

Resource Kit Resource Kit is a term used by Microsoft for a set of software resources and documentation released for their software products, but which is not part of that product. Resource kits offer supplementary resources such as technical guidance, compatibi ...

. It has been reintroduced in

Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 is the sixth version of Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft. It is part of the Windows NT family of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on March 28, 2003 and generally available on April 24, 2 ...

and is present in later versions. Starting with Windows 2000, the

SET 
Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to:


 Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics
*Set (mathematics), a collection of elements
*Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively
 Electro ...

command has similar functionality using the /P

command-line argument A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...

. However this command requires an additional key stroke (hitting ENTER key), which is not required by choice. The choice command has been ported to

OS/2 OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 r ...

, Rexx and

Perl Perl is a family of two high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming languages. "Perl" refers to Perl 5, but from 2000 to 2019 it also referred to its redesigned "sister language", Perl 6, before the latter's name was offic ...

. It is also available in

Datalight Datalight was a privately held software company specializing in power failsafe and high performance software for preserving data integrity in embedded systems. The company was founded in 1983 by Roy Sherrill, and is headquartered in Bothell, Was ...

ROM-DOS Datalight was a privately held software company specializing in power failsafe and high performance software for preserving data integrity in embedded systems. The company was founded in 1983 by Roy Sherrill, and is headquartered in Bothell, Was ...

FreeDOS FreeDOS (formerly Free-DOS and PD-DOS) is a free software operating system for IBM PC compatible computers. It intends to provide a complete MS-DOS-compatible environment for running legacy software and supporting embedded systems. FreeDOS can ...

PTS-DOS PTS-DOS (aka PTS/DOS) is a disk operating system, a DOS clone, developed in Russia by PhysTechSoft and Paragon Technology Systems. History and versions PhysTechSoft was formed in 1991 in Moscow, Russia by graduates and members of MIPT, inf ...

, and ReactOS. The FreeDOS version was developed by Jim Hall and is licensed under the

GPL v2 The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general u ...

Usage

The command returns the selected choice as an exit code which is set to the index of the key that the user selects from the list of choices. The first choice in the list returns a value of 1, the second a value of 2, and so forth. If a key is pressed that is not a valid choice, the command will sound a warning beep. If an error condition is detected, an exit code value of 255 will be returned. An exit code value of 0 will be returned if the user presses + or +. Choice displays the default choices Y and N if used without parameters.

Syntax

DOS

CHOICE  C[:hoices.html"_;"title=".html"_;"title="C[:">C[:hoices">.html"_;"title="C[:">C[:hoices[/N.html" ;"title="">C[:hoices.html" ;"title=".html" ;"title="C[:">C[:hoices">.html" ;"title="C[:">C[:hoices[/N">">C[:hoices.html" ;"title=".html" ;"title="C[:">C[:hoices">.html" ;"title="C[:">C[:hoices[/N[/S] [/T ,nn] ["text"]

Arguments: */C hoices Specifies allowable keys. The default is "YN". */T ,nn This defaults choice to "c" after "nn" seconds. *text Specifies the prompt string to display. (Quotes are optional). Flags: */N Specifies not to display the choices and "?" at end of prompt string. */S Specifies that choice keys should be treated as case sensitive.

Microsoft Windows, ReactOS

CHOICE  C_[<…>_[/N.html" ;"title="Choice1><…>.html" ;"title="C [<…>">C [<…> [/N">Choice1><…>.html" ;"title="C [<…>">C [<…> [/N[/CS] [/T  /D ] [/M <"Text">]

Arguments: */C hoices Specifies allowable keys. The default is "YN". (Microsoft Windows restricts valid choice keys to a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and ASCII values of 128 to 254) */T n This defaults choice to /D after "nn" seconds. Must be specified with default /D. */D This defaults choice to 'c'. */M text Specifies the prompt string to display. Flags: */N Specifies not to display the choices and "?" at end of prompt string. */CS Specifies that choice keys should be treated as case sensitive.

Example

The batch file below gives the user three choices. The user is directed depending upon his input by evaluating the exit code using the IF ERRORLEVEL command (which tests on "greater or equal"). The selected choice is then printed to the screen using the

ECHO 
 
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a  reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

command. @ECHO off @CHOICE /C:123 IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO three IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO two IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO one GOTO end :one ECHO You have pressed "1"! GOTO end :two ECHO You have pressed "2"! GOTO end :three ECHO You have pressed "3"! :end @PAUSE :''Note that the example uses the DOS syntax. This example requires slight adjustments before it applies directly to Windows versions of the CHOICE command.'' :''Note that the IF command, when checking the ERRORLEVEL, compares the number and matches if ERRORLEVEL is equal to or higher than that number. Because of this IF ERRORLEVEL comparisons should be done in decrementing order.'' :''Note that if the user presses Control-C to escape CHOICE followed by N then the program will continue. The first "Goto end" is needed.''

References

External links

Microsoft TechNet Choice article
{{Windows commands External DOS commands Microcomputer software ReactOS commands Windows administration