The command line still matters

When I was rewriting RapidEE in C#, I was convinced nobody used the command line on Windows anymore. So I left its support out of the new version. But just in case, in my post about the changes in RapidEE 10.0, I wrote: if I was wrong, let me know; this mode might yet return.

It didn’t take long for people to change my mind. The command line is still very much in use. What’s more, the built-in tools aren’t always ideal.

So command-line support is back: you can once again set variable values, edit PATH entries, and delete variables without opening the main window. I also added export to a .reg file, so scripts can create backups too.

I fixed a couple of old bugs as well. Previously, editing a variable without explicitly specifying its type could turn an expandable string into a normal one. Particularly unwelcome when that variable is PATH. Existing variables now retain their type unless you explicitly ask to change it.

The command line has also “inherited” new capabilities from the GUI: variable cleanup now recognizes equivalent paths written slightly differently, such as C:\Tools, C:\Tools\, and C:/Tools. Previously, these entries would remain because they were treated as different.

The syntax, full option list, and examples are in the command-line guide.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in. Something I haven’t used myself in a long time can still be an important part of someone else’s workflow. I can only find that out if you tell me.