Batch File Parameters

The below is copied from the link:

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/percent.mspx?mfr=true

See the link for more information on the modifiers.

You can use batch parameters anywhere within a batch file to extract information about your environment settings.

Cmd.exe provides the batch parameter expansion variables %0 through %9. When you use batch parameters in a batch file, %0 is replaced by the batch file name, and %1 through %9 are replaced by the corresponding arguments that you type at the command line. To access arguments beyond %9, you need to use the shift command. For more information about the shift command, see Shift The %* batch parameter is a wildcard reference to all the arguments, not including %0, that are passed to the batch file.

For example, to copy the contents from Folder1 to Folder2, where %1 is replaced by the value Folder1 and %2 is replaced by the value Folder2, type the following in a batch file called Mybatch.bat:

xcopy %1\*.* %2

To run the file, type:

mybatch.bat C:\folder1 D:\folder2

This has the same effect as typing the following in the batch file:

xcopy C:\folder1 \*.* D:\folder2

You can also use modifiers with batch parameters. Modifiers use current drive and directory information to expand the batch parameter as a partial or complete file or directory name. To use a modifier, type the percent (%) character followed by a tilde (~) character, and then type the appropriate modifier (that is, %~modifier).