May, 2006

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I extract just the file name from the full path to the file? -- SD Hey, SD. As you might know, Ted Williams was the last major league baseball player to bat .400 for an entire season. Coming into the final day of the year...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I hide the command window when executing a command like net localgroup Administrators ? -- AA Hey, AA. You know, before we begin we’d like to take a few minutes to recognize all those faithful readers who read the Hey, Scripting...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I create a new Excel spreadsheet at midnight each night? I’d like each spreadsheet to have a file name similar to this: 6-1-06.xls . -- DH Hey, DH. You know, often-times the simplest approach is also the best approach. For...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I rename a local user account on a Windows XP computer? -- TY Hey, TY. You know, nowadays the “in” thing is to poke fun at Microsoft and Windows XP. We know: we’ve seen the new commercials from that one computer company...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I convert a global security group to a universal security group? -- BB Hey, BB. We have to tell you the truth, we were pretty excited when we first read your email. Convert a global security group to a universal security...

Hey, Scripting Guy! We have tons of text files in which each line in the file represents a record or an event of some kind. How can I use a script to retrieve records or events that occurred on a specified date? -- TW Hey, TW. You know, in your email...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I search a Word document for all the words in double brackets? For example, I need to find words like this: [[failed]]. I then need to save the words I find to a text file. -- PP Hey, PP. You know, one thing that seems to...

Hey, Scripting Guy! For purposes of testing, I often need to create multiple user accounts like this: pgeorge01, pgeorge02, etc. How can I write a script that automatically creates the next account in the sequence; that is, pgeorge03? -- RG Hey, RG...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I change all the lowercase letters in an Excel worksheet to uppercase letters? -- BC Hey, BC. Have you ever heard the old expression, “If you want something done you have to do it yourself”? Well, to tell you the truth,...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a bunch of files with names like 001.jpg and 002.jpg. I also have a text file that includes the names I would like each of these files to have; for example, 001.jpg should be named Picture_of_Family_Members.jpg. How can I write...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a script for installing a printer that I give to my end users. When the script finishes, I’d like it to be able to delete itself. How can I get a script to delete itself? -- EA Hey, EA. You know, that’s an interesting idea...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I clear the list of URLs that appear in the Internet Explorer address bar? -- GA Hey, GA. You know, if you’ve ever pondered the question, “What is it that makes the Scripting Guys different from other Microsoft employees...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I need to put the page number (centered) in the footer of a Word document. Do you have any suggestions on how I can do that? -- AW Hey, AW. To tell you the truth, the Scripting Guy who writes this column no longer makes suggestions...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I force users to type command-line arguments in a specific order? -- JA Hey, JA. You know, the Scripting Guy who writes this column has a 16-year-old son. He coaches Colt League baseball. He works every day with all the...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I get a list of all the .dll files in a folder, along with their version numbers? -- DD Hey, DD. You know, when we sit down to write this column we usually try to start off with an amusing and at least semi-relevant anecdote...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I parse information in a text file, and then use that information to map network drives based on a computer’s site? -- BH Hey, BH. We’ll be with you in a second - we’re still replaying last night’s baseball game, in which...

Hey, Scripting Guy! We have a custom in-house application that writes data to a log file. The problem is that the data often has a bunch of blank spaces before and after it. How can I remove all the blank spaces that come before and after my data? --...

Hey, Scripting Guy! In Windows XP, how can I use a script to automatically queue up files that I want to burn to a CD? -- BD Hey, BD. Well, unfortunately, we have some bad news for you: there’s currently no way to burn a CD using a script. You see...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I determine the size of all the items currently in the Recycle Bin? -- T D-L Hey, T D-L. You know, if we wanted to, the Scripting Guys could probably change our name to the Recycle Bin Guys; that’s because we get so many...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a silly question for you: how can I tell whether a .GIF file is a regular old picture file or an animated picture file? -- WW Hey, WW. To begin with, there’s no such thing as a silly question. We’ve always believed that ...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I rename a user account in a Windows NT 4.0 domain? -- JK Hey, JK. You know, as this column is being written it’s a Monday here in Seattle, and it’s raining. And yes, we know what you’re thinking: when isn’t it raining in...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I search for folders that have a dot in their name? For example, a folder like Administrator.name or Folder.old ? -- DU Hey, DU. You know, if your intention was to trick the Scripting Guys (not that tricking the Scripting...