April, 2008

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a text file composed of many different lines; each line has a number of fields, with the fields separated from one another by a tab character. I need to sort this text file based on the value of one of these fields. How can...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’m trying to write a script that can extract all the values found between a set of double quote marks. I know how to read the text file, and I know how to output any information that I find. However, I can’t figure out how to extract...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’m using Windows PowerShell to determine the record count (i.e., the number of lines) in a text file I just created. If the file has 2 lines, no problem; my script reports back a value of 2. If the file only has 1 line, however, I...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Is there any way I can install a font using VBScript? -- RS Hey, RS. As a general rule, the Scripting Guy who writes this column steers clear of popular culture. (Actually, it’s not just a general rule; popular culture has a restraining...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I am trying to write a script that requests multiple pieces of information from a user; I then want to call a batch file, using each piece of information as a separate command-line argument. Unfortunately, though, I can’t get this...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’ve come up with a way to imitate handwriting in a document, but I need some help. Because real handwriting is characterized by variability, I had the idea of using four slightly-different fonts, taken from my actual handwriting,...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I schedule a meeting to occur every day, Monday through Friday, for two weeks? -- GB Hey, GB. As it turns out, the Scripting Guy who writes this column has not moved to some place where it doesn’t snow in April . That’s...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I monitor a folder for the creation of new subfolders? I know that new files can be detected (via WMI events) but the same syntax doesn't detect new folders. -- WS Hey, WS. Before we get started today can we ask you a quick...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I need to parse through a text file and extract the information contained within square brackets. So far, however, I haven’t been able to figure out how to do this; that’s because the data isn’t stored on separate lines in the file...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I need to read in data from a text file and store each line as a separate item in an array. However, the data in each line must also be stored as an array; in other words, I need an array made up of other arrays. I tried creating a...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a bunch of folders that had names like this: BAD_20080411; in other words, the characters BAD_ followed by the date. These folders can be on any drive on my computer. How can I write a script that will locate all these folders...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Is it possible to determine the owner of a file using Windows PowerShell? -- GF Hey, GF. Well, today is April 15 th , which, in the US, can mean only one thing: it’s time to celebrate the birthday of Italian mathematician Pietro...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I import a fixed-width data file into Microsoft Excel? -- RS Hey, RS. This column is being written on a Friday morning, and so far it’s been a very weird morning at that. For one thing, it’s not raining and – if you look...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I am trying to use Windows PowerShell to look at files on my computer; what I want to do is get back a history (that is, the last time a document was accessed) for all the Microsoft Office files in a folder and its subfolders. However...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I delete the duplicate entries in a tab-delimited file? -- ST Hey, ST. Before we start, is anyone out there familiar with the book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure ? Not Quite...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I need a script that can read a file and, based on the contents, insert some additional lines of text into that file. Can you help me with that? -- JS Hey, JS. We’re sure that most of you have heard by now that Microsoft has made...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Do you have a script that will enable me to enumerate all the values in a registry key? -- DG Hey, DG. You know, this past weekend the Scripting Guy who writes this column went out to buy doughnuts, a process that took much longer...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Let me first say that your stuff is great. Really helpful scripts mixed with great humor; you guys are pissa's (Australian slang for “funny”). I have a script that needs to open a file and check to see if two lines of text are in that...

Hey, Scripting Guy! Is there any way to determine the currency symbol that’s in use on a computer? -- IR Hey, IR. Before we get started today we wanted to mention that the Scripting Son picked up his second win in as many pitching starts the other...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I have a column of data in Microsoft Excel that is formatted as MYYYY (12008 = January 2008) and MMYYYY (122007 = December 2007). I need to split these values into month and year, but I can’t figure out how to do that. Any suggestions...

Hey, Scripting Guy! I’m trying to write a script that does something with all the email messages in my Outlook Inbox. However, I need to sort those messages by the date they were received, and I can’t figure out how to do that. Can you help? -- SL ...

Hey, Scripting Guy! In our company we hardcode everyone’s computer to use our intranet site as their Internet Explorer home page. All our users use laptop computers, however, and when they take the machines home with them and try to surf the Web they...