CD to directory, where the path is in a file

Question

I have a directory path stored in a text file, and I need to CD to that directory in a script but don't know how. I was hoping it would be something like

cat FILE | cd

but its not that easy.

This is a windows environment btw, in unix/linux it is easy:

cd `cat FILE`

Can anyone give me a hand?

Answer 1

set /p dirname=<FILE
cd %dirname%

The documentation for set (for XP) can be found here.

/p : Sets the value of variable to a line of input.

Answer 2

In PowerShell, it is that easy:

Get-Content FILE | Set-Location

Or if you prefer the CMD aliases:

type FILE | cd

Or if you prefer the shorthand PowerShell aliases:

gc FILE | sl