June, 2007

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I clear the contents of a text file? -- JJ Hey, JJ. Well, today is Monday, June 11 th , and the Scripting Guys are finally back from a week in Orlando . After all that time spent lounging around in luxury hotels, eating...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I saw your article on adding page numbers to the footer of a Word document . However, I need my page numbers to be in the format "Page X of Y," where X is the current page number and Y is the total number of pages. How can I do that...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’ve seen Word documents where the file name appears in the footer. Except that this file name is dynamic: if the name of the document changes then the footer changes, too. How can I add that kind of a footer using a script? -- ZK...

Hey, Scripting Guy! When I create a new Excel spreadsheet, I’d like to color every other row in that spreadsheet. How can I do that? -- TM Hey, TM. We know a lot of you have been wondering, “Gee, what’s the matter with the Scripting Guy who writes...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I delete a row in an Excel spreadsheet if there is a specific value in column A of that row? -- OI Hey, OI. Before we get rolling on today’s column, have we mentioned that time is beginning to run out on the Scripting Guys...

Hey, Scripting Guy! We backed up a whole bunch of files in a folder; when these files were backed up the word "old" was inserted as part of the file extension (e.g., Filename.exe became Filename. old exe). How can I restore these files to their original...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’m running Word 2007, but most of my colleagues are still running Word 2003. Is there a way I can use a script to change the default file type when saving documents in Word? I’d prefer that, by default, documents are saved in Word...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I create a shortcut where the target path is an executable file that uses parameters (for example, something.exe -t –s )? -- MC Hey, MC. A week or so ago we mentioned that we were going to make some changes to Hey, Scripting...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I open a window to a UNC location? You've given many examples that involve opening a web page. I have been unable to get a similar result trying to get a script to open \\server\share. -- CY Hey, CY. You know, during the...

Hey, Scripting Guy! We have a lot of users who let unread email messages pile up in their Outlook Inboxes; after awhile, that causes their Inboxes to fill up. How can I write a script users could run that would delete any unread messages that are more...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a file that has the name BackupFile-06122007.txt, where the 06122007 represents yesterday’s date (June 12, 2007). Each morning I would like to run a script that changes the name of that file so that it uses today’s date: BackupFile...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I create a folder for each user in my domain? I’d like the folder name to consist of the user’s first initial and their last name (for example, KMyer). -- GN Hey, GN. You know, this has been an interesting week for the Scripting...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a huge document that features occasional lines printed in red. How can I extract just the lines that are printed in red? -- GH Hey, GH. To begin with, the Scripting Guy who writes this column would like to say just one thing...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I remap network drives so they point to the IP address of the remote computer rather than the computer name? -- YM Hey, YM. You know, yesterday we started off this column by saying, “Never mind,” referring to the fact that...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I write a script that prompts the user for a computer name, then goes out and deletes that computer account from Active Directory? -- PH Hey, PH. As a general rule, technical writers never experience writer’s block. Why...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I get a list of all the .PDF files (only the file names; I don’t want the file path or file extension) in a folder and its subfolders, and then put that list into a text file? -- PS Hey, PS. You know, PS, this is actually...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I copy selected columns from a CSV file to an Excel file? -- MdP Hey, MdP. One thing that people always worry about (and rightly so) is that one of these days the Scripting Guys will do something that tears a hole in the...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I add the letter s to the end of a specified field for each record in an Access database? -- A Hey, A. It’s day 2 of TechEd 2007 and the Scripting Guys are still sitting here in the CMP Media booth (that’s booth No. 1301...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I randomly select an email from an Outlook mail folder? -- TV Hey, TV. You know, for a brief moment last night the Scripting Guy who writes this column thought he had achieved every father’s dream. The Scripting Dad and...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I delete all the users whose name starts with GER/ad_ from the local Administrators group on a computer? -- ID Hey, ID. It’s a Friday as the Scripting Guy who writes this column writes this column. Usually Fridays are a...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I insert commas at specified locations in each line in a text file? -- MM Hey, MM. Seeing as how Father’s Day has just come and gone we couldn’t talk about inserting commas into text files without first relating a heartwarming...