March, 2005

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’m using the FileSystemObject to create an XML file. However, I need to put double quote marks around some of the items in that file. How do I do that? -- JP Hey, JP. According to your email, you’re trying to write the following...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’d like to display a Yes/No message box for a few seconds and then, if no one clicks a button, have the message box disappear and the script perform the default operation. How do I do that? -- JR Hey, JR. Sounds like you need the...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Can I create an environment variable using a script? -- OD Hey, OD. WMI is a great technology for scripting, but it has its eccentricities. For example, can you create a process using a script? Of course you can; after all, WMI...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I determine which USB devices are connected to a computer? -- WM Hey, WM. If you watch a lot of TV - um, not that the Scripting Guys do; we spend our spare time reading the works of Shakespeare, solving differential equations...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’d like to be able to open an Excel spreadsheet, get all the information off one of the worksheets, and then save that worksheet data to a comma-separated values file. How can I do that? -- SS Hey, SS. You know, you just...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I delete a single registry value? I don’t want to delete the entire registry key, just one value. -- BF Hey, BF. Registry terminology can be a bit confusing, thanks in large part to those of us here at Microsoft (we tend...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I get my script to do something interesting while the code executes; you know, how can I display a progress bar or something? -- HD Hey, HD. To begin with, we don’t recommend that you try to use a true progress bar; that...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I set an Active Directory property to NULL? I tried setting the value to an empty string (“”) but it didn’t work. -- JJ Hey, JJ. You know, it’s not like the Scripting Guys to get philosophical; one of the Scripting Guys...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I determine which version of Internet Explorer is installed on a computer? -- MG Hey, MG. Probably the best (and definitely the easiest) way to do this is to use WMI; after all, using WMI makes it as easy to get this information...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Awhile back you showed us how to use a File Open dialog box in our scripts. At the same time you said you’d show us how to use a multi-select dialog box. Did you just forget about the multi-select dialog box? -- AA Hey, AA. Yes...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’d like to copy one of the worksheets in an Excel workbook and then paste that copy into the very same workbook; once it’s pasted it, I’d like to rename it. Can I do that? -- JG Hey, JG. Of course you can do this; after all, if...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a folder with a bunch of files in it. I need to move all those files; the only problem is that the files need to be moved to different folders depending on their file extensions. For example, I want all the .log files to go...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I determine the size of the My Documents folder? -- SC Hey, SC. The My Document folder is actually just another folder on the hard disk, one with a path similar to this: C:\Documents and Settings\kenmyer\My Documents. Of...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I clear a list box in an HTA? -- AK Hey, AK. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, an HTA - among other things - is a way to use Internet Explorer to provide a graphical user interface for your scripts. (If...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I create a folder on the Start menu? I want the folder to be named the same as the %username% environment variable. -- SB Hey, SB. As we are wont to do, we’re going to break this question down into subtasks. We’ll explain...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Is there a way I can be notified any time a network cable gets unplugged on a computer? -- DD Hey, DD. A lot of people, when growing up, had a grandmother or an aunt or someone somewhere who had a house with a big attic, an attic...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I tell how many days there are between two dates? For example, if I have a log file that says an application started on January 1, 2005 and that the application ended today, is there a way to determine how many days the application...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I check a text file to see if a word appears in that file and, if it doesn’t, add the word to the file? -- JO Hey, JO. We seem to have gotten quite a few questions on this topic lately. You mentioned adding words to a custom...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I get a list of all the domains in a forest? -- NS Hey, NS. Any time you want information about Active Directory your best bet is to go right to the source: simply ask Active Directory to provide you with this information...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Can I delete a table from a Jet database using a script? -- AK Hey, AK. Of course you can delete a table from a Jet database using a script; after all, you can do anything using a script! Well, OK, maybe not DHCP server stuff...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’d like to add an Active Directory group to a second group, but only for an hour; after an hour, I’d like remove that group from the second group. Can I do that with a script? -- JW Hey, JW. Well, this is definitely one of the...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I tell whether a file exists on any CD or DVD drive connected to a computer? -- GH Hey, GH. Well, one way to do this would be to search the entire file system - including any mapped network drives - and check to see if a...