December, 2005

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I retrieve the path to the Program Files folder on a computer? -- CC Hey, CC. How can you retrieve the path to the Program Files folder on a computer? Well, to be honest, not as easily as we thought you could. If you’re...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I change the footer in an Excel spreadsheet? -- JA Hey, JA. Ah, a trick question, huh? As it turns out, there’s no such thing as the footer in Excel; instead, Excel has three different footers: the left footer, the center...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I get the “grandparent” of an object in Active Directory? -- JG Hey, JG. Wait a second: is this “grandparent” thing some sneaky reference to the fact that the Scripting Guys (well, except for Jean, of course) are all starting...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I delete the C$ share from a computer? -- RB Hey, RB. One quick clarification here: we can tell you how to temporarily delete the C$ share from a computer. However, the share will automatically be recreated any time the...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I create an HTA that doesn’t have a Close button in the title bar? -- AK Hey, AK. You know, you’ve presented us with a great moral and ethical quandary. After all, suppose we answer this question: suddenly the world might...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I add additional worksheets to an Excel workbook? By default you get 3 worksheets, but I have a scenario in which I need a workbook that has 12 worksheets. -- AA Hey, AA. You know, a couple years ago one the Scripting Guys...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I configure the Days to keep pages in history setting in Internet Explorer? -- AK Hey, AK. To tell you the truth, at first we were a little hesitant about answering this question. Why? Well, we’ve all seen enough TV to know...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I disable a computer account? -- MD Hey, MD. You know, our first thought when we read your question was to ask our very own Peter Costantini, a scripting guru who’s done a lot of work with Active Directory. For better or...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I delete everyone except the Administrator and the Domain Admins group from the local Administrators group? -- JS Hey, JS. You know, when you become a doctor you have to take the Hippocratic Oath, which famously begins,...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I use alternate credentials when searching Active Directory? -- PT Hey, PT. So what’s the big idea here? Devoted readers of this column (both of them) know that we usually love tackling questions where the answer...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a script that my help desk people use to create user accounts. Unfortunately, sometimes these help desk personnel get in a hurry and type in names like this: kEn MYEr. How can I convert names to proper case (i.e., Ken Myer)...

Hey, Scripting Guy! When I use Windows Explorer to connect to a remote computer, I can see a description of that computer in the Details pane. How can I change the description for a computer? -- GF Hey, GF. Just to make sure everyone is clear what...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I print text files to a printer other than the default printer? -- JD Hey, JD. Boy, talk about pride going before the fall. When we first set out to answer this question we already “knew” how to solve the problem. We were...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I convert an Outlook email message into a text file? -- MW Hey, MW. You know what drives the Scripting Guys crazy? (We mean besides the other Scripting Guys.) It’s this: people who barely say hello before they start making...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I change the location of a user’s home drive in Active Directory? -- DS Hey, DS. Did you ever read the story The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe? In that story the narrator commits the perfect crime: he kills an old man...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I remove all the local printers from a computer? -- JW Hey, JW. You did say that you wanted to do this only on computers running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, didn’t you? You didn’t? Oh. Well, we’re going to pretend...