November, 2006

Hey, Scripting Guy! In an HTA, how can I read the individual lines in a multi-line text box? -- KM Hey, KM. You know, to be perfectly honest the Scripting Guy who writes this column has always had a grudging admiration for people who do totally ridiculous...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I change the text for the Marquee screen saver? -- SJ Hey, SJ. Greetings from the frozen wasteland formerly known as Redmond, WA. On Monday night a freak November snowstorm hit the Seattle area. However, instead of leaving...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I add a suffix to a folder name? For example, I’d like to rename the folder C:\January to C:\January_2006. -- NB Hey, NB. You know, back in July the Scripting Guy who writes this column happened to wander through the living...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I position the cursor in a specific text box each time I start an HTA? -- BM Hey, BM. You know, if the Scripting Guy who writes this column has any regrets in life it’s that he didn’t become a Theoretical Physicist Guy....

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I open a CSV file, locate a value in column 1, then store the value in column 2 in a variable? -- THvdH Hey, HvdH. We have to be honest with you, it’s a little difficult for the Scripting Guy who writes this column to stay...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I add a function to a Windows PowerShell script? -- TT Hey, TT. You know, we’re going to do something a little unusual today: we aren’t going to mention the fact that the University of Washington defeated Washington State...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I add a user to an Active Directory group if I don’t know the distinguished name of that user? -- VO Hey, VO. You know, if we wanted to take the easy way out here we’d just tell you, “Sorry, but if you don’t know the distinguished...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I delete all the .BAK files in a folder that are more than 7 days old? -- KT Hey, KT. You know, on his way to work this morning the Scripting Guy who writes this column heard an advertisement for a local seafood restaurant...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I create a new registry key? -- DL Hey, DL. First of all, for those of you who get all your news from the Hey, Scripting Guy! column (as if there was any other source for news and information?) we are happy to report that...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I add a bunch of rows to an Excel spreadsheet and then stick a total row at the bottom? -- MW Hey, MW. Could we ask you a favor: is there any chance that you could write back later with this question? As you may or may not...

Hey, Scripting Guy! In a text file, how can I extract the information that appears between the string HOSTNAME= and a blank space? -- B Hey, B. You’ll have to pardon us if we seem a little sluggish today; we’re still recovering from all the fun and...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I map a drive, copy a file to that drive, and then unmap the drive? -- ZK Hey, ZK. You know, sometimes these questions are difficult for us to answer, simply because we don’t usually find ourselves performing the task being...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I change the default highlight color for a Microsoft Word document? -- TW Hey, TW. You know, any time the Scripting Guy who writes this column wants to terrify the Scripting Son, he tells the blood-curdling saga of the first...

Using Windows PowerShell, how can I retrieve a list of all the computer accounts in my domain? -- TE Hey, TE. You know, several years ago the Scripting Guy who writes this column was playing basketball with one of his brothers. Because there were a...

Hey, Scripting Guy! In Microsoft Excel, how can I display a date like 01/20/2006 using this format: 20060120? -- CM Hey, CM. Who do we make the check out to again? And for how much? Oh, sorry. After attending a parent meeting for the Scripting Son...

Hey, Scripting Guy! In determining system uptime I get back a value like 65.75 hours. How can I convert this value to "65 hours and 45 minutes"? -- JM Hey, JM. We’ll see what we can do for you, but we have to be honest: this is a very sad day for the...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I extract the text between the header and footer in a text file? -- LL Hey, LL. Before we answer your question we should point out that, depending on when you’re reading this, you might be missing Day 1 of Windows PowerShell...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I run a specified Word macro after opening Word using a script? -- JD Hey, JD. You know, when they first tested the atomic bomb a number of physicists had legitimate fears that the bomb might set off an unstoppable chain...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I enable Windows XP’s System Restore using a script? -- RL Hey, RL. Thanks for the question; the Scripting Guy who writes this column is running way late today, the clock is ticking, and he was desperately in need of a question...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I seem to recall that there’s a way to “freeze” the display in Microsoft Excel any time you carry out a lengthy operation; that way the user doesn’t see anything change until the operation is complete. Do you have any idea how I can...