March, 2006

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I use a script to lock the Taskbar? -- RK Hey, RK. One of the Scripting Guys was a computer support person at the University of Washington when Windows 95 was released. This Scripting Guy has two lasting memories of those...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I temporarily pause a script in an HTA? -- TJ Hey, TJ. You know, throughout history people have spent an enormous amount of time and energy searching for the meaning of life. The Scripting Guys have never taken part in this...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I change the IP address assigned to a computer? -- RW Hey, RW. To tell you the truth, this is a very difficult question for the Scripting Guys to answer. Not because this is a hard script to write; as you’ll see in a minute...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I disable the Keep Printed Documents attribute on a printer? -- JJ Hey, JJ. You didn’t mention which operating system you’re trying to do this on, but we hope it’s a Windows XP or Windows Servers 2003 computer. Why? Well...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I know that when I run a script I can use code to determine whether the script is running under WScript or CScript. What I can’t figure out is this: how can I determine the default script host on a computer before I run a script? ...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Sometimes I type commands in the Run dialog box that I’d like to retrieve later on. I know the most recent commands I used are cached somewhere; that’s because they show up when I start typing in the Run dialog box. How can I use a...

Hey, Scripting Guy! My daughter has a flash-card style program that gets its list of words from a text file. How can I write a script that will open that file and automatically shuffle the list of words? -- SN Hey, SN. You know, for the most part we...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I get a list of all the users who have an alternate recipient (altRecipient)? -- SA Hey, SA. You know, one of the great things about being a Scripting Guy is that we don’t ever have to know what we’re talking about; all...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I search a Word document for any of 305 different words and highlight these words if they are found? -- SB Hey, SB. This might be hard for you to believe, but the rest of the technical writing community doesn’t exactly hold...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I get a list of installed device drivers, their version number, and their date? -- SH Hey, SH. You know, as we’re writing this column the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is in full swing. But don’t worry...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I start Windows Explorer opened to a specific folder? -- CD Hey, CD. We’re going to let you in on one of the Scripting Guys’ most sordid secrets: sometimes the Scripting Guys don’t agree with each other. No, it’s true; really...

Hey, Scripting Guy! If I have a UNC path like \\server1\test, can I use a script to determine the local path to that shared folder (like C:\Scripts\Test Folder)? -- JVK Hey, JVK. Yes, you are correct: the Kirkland Fire did open their season last night...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I delete a folder that has an apostrophe in the name? -- JH Hey, JH. Ah, yes, the apostrophe: every script writer’s arch-nemesis. The apostrophe seems like such a simple little character, but don’t let its appearance fool...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Given the drive letter, how can I determine the drive label? -- PM Hey, PM. You know, after sitting around all winter, checking his watch every 15 minutes or so just to verify the date and time, the Scripting Guy who writes this...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I write output to the screen that overwrites whatever is currently on the screen? -- KM Hey, KM. If you specifically need to write your output to the command window, well, then we don’t have an answer for you: although we...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I set Scriptomatic so that it automatically outputs to a text file? -- GD Hey, GD. Well, all you have to do is - wait a second: you want to make changes to the Scriptomatic? Oh, GD: say it isn’t so. Would you paint a hat...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I encode scripts within an HTA? -- LL Hey, LL. You know, when we first read this question we thought, “What’s the big deal? Can’t you encode scripts in an HTML Application (HTA) the same way you encode scripts in an HTML...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I recently downloaded your Script Center screensaver, and it works great as long as someone is logged on to the computer. However, when no one is logged on the computer uses a different screensaver. How can I get the computer to use...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I save an Excel spreadsheet, and then save a copy of that spreadsheet as HTML? -- TH Hey, TH. You know, it’s interesting that you used the word “save” in your question. After all, the Scripting Guy who writes this column...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I recently signed up with a new Internet service and now every time I start Internet Explorer the window title says Internet Explorer Provided by Fabrikam.com . How can I change the Internet Explorer title bar? -- AD Hey, AD. You...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I read just the last line of a text file? -- BM Hey, BM. You know, if you’ve ever wondered how Hey, Scripting Guy! differs from other daily columns (like, say, Dear Abby ), well, here’s one way. Suppose someone writes Dear...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I determine whether or not a computer is running Windows Server 2003 and, if so, whether Service Pack 1 is installed? -- TW Hey, TW. You know, we Scripting Guys always get a kick out of questions like this. Not because there...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I right-align a single column in a Word table? -- RC Hey, RC. You know, one of the phrases no one ever wants to hear is “This isn’t as bad as it looks.” After all, that’s what your business partner says when you discover...