Change encrypted password in data loader CLI

One of the processes I run regularly is a batch file calling Apex Data Loader to export a number of objects from my Salesforce org. I use these files to populate a fresh backup of the Salesforce data, and when my password changed recently I needed to generate a new encrypted string to use in the proces-conf.xml file. However, even though the encryption process is fairly simple, the documentation provided isn't clear.

Open the cmd window and change the directory to point at the bin folder where your encrypt.bat file resides.

Use the encrypt.bat file and the -e switch to generate a newly encrypted password and security token from plain text.

Copy the generated string using right-click, Mark, <enter> and then paste into your process-conf.xml file.

In this example I have used the default encryption key so I did not provide a key.txt file.

For more detailed information view the Data Loader documentation.