choice:tldr:0162c

The "choice" command is a Windows command prompt command used to prompt the user to select from a list of options. It displays a message with a specified set of options and waits for the user to input a choice. Once the user selects an option, the chosen option's index value is returned by the command.

The syntax for the choice command is as follows:

choice [/c options] [/n] [/t timeout] [/d default] [/m message]

Here are the available options for customizing the behavior of the command:

• /c options: Defines the set of options for the prompt. The options must be a string of characters enclosed in double quotation marks (""). For example, /c "yn" specifies the options "y" and "n".

• /n: Used to bypass the prompt and immediately return the default choice. This is helpful when automating a script that does not require user interaction.

• /t timeout: Sets the timeout period, in seconds, before the default option is selected if the user does not provide any input. For example, /t 10 sets a 10-second timeout.

• /d default: Specifies the default choice if the user does not provide any input before the timeout. The default option must be included in the set of options defined by /c.

• /m message: Defines the prompt message displayed to the user. The message must be enclosed in double quotation marks ("").

Once the user selects an option, the chosen option's index value (1-based) is stored in the ERRORLEVEL environment variable. This allows you to use conditional statements or scripts to perform different actions based on the selected option.