goto(CMD) 19 June 1992 goto(CMD) Name goto - direct MS-DOS to a line in a batch program marked by a specified label Syntax goto label Description The goto command directs MS-DOS within a batch program to a line identi- fied by a label. When MS-DOS finds the label, it processes the commands beginning on the next line. Parameter label Specifies the line in a batch program to which MS-DOS should go. Notes Valid values for label The label parameter can include spaces but cannot include other separa- tors, such as semicolons or equal signs. goto uses the first eight characters of each label The goto command uses only the first eight characters of a label. There- fore, the labels ``hithere01'' and ``hithere02'' are both equivalent to ``hithere0''. Matching the label parameter with the label in the batch program The label value you specify on the goto command line must match a label in the batch program. The label within the batch program must begin with a colon. If your batch program does not contain the label that you specify, the batch program stops and MS-DOS displays the following message: Label not found MS-DOS recognizes a batch-program line beginning with a colon (:) as a label and does not process it as a command. If a line begins with a colon, MS-DOS ignores any commands on that line. Using goto for conditional operations goto is often used on the same command line with other commands to per- form conditional operations. For more information about using goto for conditional operations, see the if(CMD) command. Example The following batch program formats a disk in drive A as a system disk. If the operation is successful, the goto command directs MS-DOS to a label named ``end''. echo off format a: /s if not errorlevel 1 goto end echo An error occurred during formatting. :end echo End of batch program.