May, 2007

Hey, Scripting Guy! I regularly update a file that needs to be copied to all of my servers. How can I write a script that will copy the same file (to the same folder) on multiple computers? -- JU Hey, JU. It’s Monday, May 14 th as we write this column...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I saw your column on replacing text in a text file , and that’s almost the solution I’m looking for. However, the text I need to replace is the single quote mark, and I can’t figure out how to do that. How do I replace single quote...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I dynamically hide and show a control in an HTA? -- R L-K Hey, R L-K. To tell you the truth, we’re a little distracted today. Admittedly, we’re a little distracted pretty much every day. However, today is different: today...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have two separate text files. One file contains a list of MAC addresses taken from a network scan; the other contains a list of MAC addresses for our currently-managed devices. How can I compare these two files, and output a list...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I write a script that will force all the users in an OU to change their password the next time they log on? -- TH Hey, TH. You know, you picked a bad day to ask a question; the Scripting Guy who writes this column is in...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I determine the home directory for all the disabled user accounts in Active Directory? -- DB Hey, DB. You know, it’s not like the Scripting Guy who writes this column is addicted to TV or anything, but last night he was...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I delete all the worksheets in an Excel spreadsheet except for the first worksheet? -- NN Hey, NN. Please excuse any bloodstains that might appear on your screen; as it turns out, the Scripting Guy who writes this column...

Hey, Scripting Guy! We have a third-party application that rarely crashes; however, when it does crash it seriously disrupts our business. We can always tell when the application is getting ready to crash; at that point, one of its directories starts...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I put a button in an HTA that, when clicked, exports an HTML table to Excel? -- DW Hey, DW. You know, yesterday afternoon the Scripting Guy who writes this column went to get his hair cut, figuring he needs to look his best...

Hey, Scripting Guy! In yesterday’s column you showed us how to search for phone numbers in a text file; you also promised us that in today’s column you’d show us how to modify that script so that it can search through all the text files in a folder. Are...

Hey, Scripting Guy! In an Excel spreadsheet, how can I change the color of a row if there is a date stored a particular cell in that row? -- GL Hey, GL. Some of you might have noticed that there was no Hey, Scripting Guy! column yesterday. Is that...

Hey, Scripting Guy! We have an HTA we use for data input. In one of the text boxes our users are only supposed to type numbers. How can I prevent users from typing anything except numbers in that text box? -- KV Hey, KV. You know that’s a pretty good...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a script that starts two applications; however, the second application can not start until the first program has finished running. How can I ensure that my second program doesn’t start until the first one ends? -- OR Hey...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I delete the first line and the last line in a text file? -- TF Hey, TF. We don’t know if anyone has ever noticed, but Hey, Scripting Guy! tends to meander from time-to-time; there are those occasions when it seemingly takes...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a bunch of text files, one for each of our employees. Included in these text files are phone numbers: work phone, home phone, cell phone, etc. How can I write a script that searches for and extracts the phone numbers from these...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I ensure that a script runs only once on a computer? -- ML Hey, ML. You know, we were going to start off today’s column by saying, “Show us your bobbleheads!” However, we didn’t want to have to explain to Microsoft people...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I get a list of all the upcoming meetings that have been scheduled by a specific person (namely, my manager)? -- GH Hey, GH. Before we tackle this question we’d like to reassure anyone who looked out their window recently...

Hey, Scripting Guy! A few days ago you showed us how to open a bunch of text files and save the data in each file as a record in a database. I have a similar question, except that I want to save each paragraph in a Word document as a database record....

Hey, Scripting Guy! If I have a bunch of duplicate processes, how can I delete all of them except for the oldest one? -- IR Hey, IR. We apologize for the delay in answering this question. Originally we thought it would be cute if we could get Peter...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’d like to create an HTA that, upon loading, can open a text file and then display the contents. However, I’d like a particular keyword in those contents to be highlighted. How can I do that? -- GD Hey, GD. You know, a lot of people...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a folder that has hundreds of text files in it. I’d like to take each of those files and add the contents (as a memo field) to an Access database. How can I do that? -- KB Hey, KB. You know, a few years ago the Scripting...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Given a distinguished name, how can I determine the “topmost” OU? -- HF Hey, HF. You know, as he was driving in to work this morning, the Scripting Guy who writes this column heard an advertisement for a series of adult education...