Hack 31. PS3 – Prompt used by “select” inside shell script

by Ramesh

You can define a custom prompt for the select loop inside a shell script, using the PS3 environment variable, as explained below.

Shell script and output WITHOUT PS3:

ramesh@dev-db ~> cat ps3.sh
select i in mon tue wed exit
do
  case $i in
    mon) echo "Monday";;
    tue) echo "Tuesday";;
    wed) echo "Wednesday";;
    exit) exit;;
  esac
done
 
ramesh@dev-db ~> ./ps3.sh
1) mon
2) tue
3) wed
4) exit
#? 1
Monday
#? 4
 
[Note: This displays the default "#?" for select command prompt]

Shell script and output WITH PS3:

ramesh@dev-db ~> cat ps3.sh
PS3="Select a day (1-4): "
select i in mon tue wed exit
do
  case $i in
    mon) echo "Monday";;
    tue) echo "Tuesday";;
    wed) echo "Wednesday";;
    exit) exit;;
  esac
done
 
ramesh@dev-db ~> ./ps3.sh
1) mon
2) tue
3) wed
4) exit
Select a day (1-4): 1
Monday
Select a day (1-4): 4
 
[Note: This displays the modified "Select a day (1-4):" for select command prompt]