A fairly common question I get is how to make a batch 
file run minimized or invisibly.

One way is to right-click the batch file and set it's 
properties. You can select it to run in a minimized 
window and to close when finished. The act of setting 
properties will create a separate "pif" file. From then 
on, any time you run the batch file, the settings will 
be honored. 

Another way is to start the batch file with the START 
command using the /MIN option. This has other 
interesting consequences... The batch file will run as 
a separate process. You may also need to use the /WAIT 
option if you need to synchronize the batch file with 
something that has to happen after the batch file. Type 
"start /?" at a DOS prompt for more info. The NT/XP/2000 
START command has lots of cool options, while the 95/98 
command has little more than I've described. Keep in 
mind that the START command will have it's own DOS 
window! So running your batch file with "/min" but 
without "/wait" will cause the START command to very 
briefly pop up a DOS window, then be replaced by your 
batch file running minimized.

The coolest way is to make the batch file run totally 
invisibly. This is just a little dangerous because your 
batch file MUST be able to close itself and MUST never
produce an error which might require user input. 
Otherwise the batch file will hang invisibly until 
system shutdown or until someone kills it with the task 
manager. To do this trick REQUIRES that you have Windows 
Scripting installed. Scripting is standard on Win98 and 
newer, and is an optional free download for Win95. To 
test, type "wscript" in the Start/Run dialog. If you get 
a settings dialog, you have it. If you get an error or 
Windows offers to find it for you, you don't have it. 
See my scripting web page for more info:
http://www.ericphelps.com/scripting/index.htm
Save this one line of text as "invisible.vbs":
CreateObject("Wscript.Shell").Run """" & WScript.Arguments(0) & """", 0, False
To run any program or batch file invisibly, use it like this:
wscript.exe "C:\Wherever\invisible.vbs" "C:\Some Other Place\MyBatchFile.bat"

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   http://www.ericphelps.com