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The addition of the mouse and the Graphical User Interface made the computer accessible to many more people than would have been possible otherwise. Still, "pointing and clicking" can be tedious when performing routine or repetitive tasks. Just as people learn to use menu shortcuts (the Alt key) to save time, savvy users and administrators learn to write batch files and scripts to avoid having to type the same commands over and over. Scripts save time, increase accuracy, and serve as documentation to boot. Windows 7 and Windows Vista come with scripting, batch file, and command line tools that can make a power user or administrator's life easier - if she or he knows what they are and how to use them. However, a general lack of information and awareness prevent their widespread use. Most current Windows users have no idea how powerful and effective these tools can be. The new scripting languages are a mystery to most Windows users. And, in Windows 7, most command line tools aren't even discussed in the Windows Help system. Microsoft has released a completely new scripting and command line environment called the Windows PowerShell, but few users are aware of its existence, let alone its power and potential.
Introduction 1
I Scripting with Windows Script Host
1 Windows Script Host 9
What Is a Windows Script? 9
The “Script” Part 9
The “Windows” Part 10
The “Host” Part 11
How Is This Different from Writing Batch Files? 13
Scripting Languages 13
VBScript 14
JScript 14
Perl 15
Python 15
Open Object REXX 15
Ruby 15
Choosing a Language 16
A Simple Script 16
Types of Script Files 19
JSE and VBE: Encoded Scripts 20
Windows Script Files (WSF) 21
Windows Script Components (WSC) 23
WSH Settings 23
Creating Your First Script File 24
Making and Securing a Script Folder 24
Creating a Script 26
Script Editing Tools 27
How Windows Runs Scripts 28
Wscript and Cscript 28
Ways to Run a Script 29
Passing Information to Scripts 31
Saving the Results from Scripts 32
Wscript and Cscript Command Options 33
Running Your Own Scripts 36
Adding Scripts to the Path 37
Running Scripts with a Shortcut Icon 38
Making a Script Shortcut 39
Running Scripts from Batch Files 39
Running Scripts Automatically 40
Security Concerns 40
Trust Policy and Script Signing 42
Debugging Scripts 42
Where to Get More Information 47
2 VBScript Tutorial 49
Introduction to VBScript 49
Variables 50
Constants 51
Named Constants 52
Operators and Expressions 53
Automatic Conversion 57
Flow Control 57
The If…Then Statement 58
The Select Case Statement 61
The Do While Loop 63
Terminating a Loop with Exit Do 65
Counting with the For…Next Statement 66
Processing Collections and Arrays with For…Each 67
VBScript Functions 68
Calling Functions and Subroutines 69
Documentation and Syntax 70
String-Manipulation Functions 71
Date and Time Functions 74
Interacting with the User 79
The MsgBox( ) Function 79
The InputBox( ) Function 82
Printing Simple Text Messages with Wscript.Echo 84
Advanced VBScript Topics 85
Error Handling 86
Procedures: Functions and Subroutines 87
Arrays 89
Variable Scope 91
Where to Go from Here 92
3 Scripting and Objects 93
Introduction to Objects 93
Classes and Instances 94
Containers and Collections 95
Object Naming 97
Using Objects with VBScript 98
Automation and Document Files 99
The Difference Between Properties and Methods 100
Nested Objects 101
Releasing Objects 102
Working with Collections 102
Using Objects with JScript 104
Case Sensitivity 104
Working with Collections 104
Using Objects with ActivePerl 106
Running Perl Scripts in WSH 106
The Perl Object Interface 107
Working with Collections 108
Using Objects with ActivePython 109
Working with Collections 110
Using the WScript Object 111
Retrieving Command-Line Arguments 113
Locating and Using Unusual Objects 115
4 File and Registry Access 123
Getting Real Work Done 123
Manipulating Files and Folders 124
Scripting.FileSystemObject 124
Working with File and Pathnames 130
The Scripting.Drive Object 135
The Scripting.Folder Object 139
The Scripting.File Object 144
Reading and Writing Files 149
The TextStream Object 150
Reading Text from Files 152
Writing Text to Files 154
Working with Stdin and Stdout 159
Reading Binary Files 163
Reading and Writing
Some
Reading an
Creating an
Manipulating Programs and Shortcuts 181
The WScript.Shell Object 182
Running Programs 186
Creating and Modifying Shortcuts 193
Working with the Environment 196
Extracting Environment Information 198
Managing Environment Settings 199
Working with the Registry 201
Examining Registry Keys and Values 202
Saving Information in the Registry 203
5 Network and Printer Objects 207
Managing Network and Printer Connections 207
Retrieving Network User Information 212
Managing Drive Mappings 214
Listing Drive Mappings with EnumNetworkDrives 214
Adding Drive Mappings 218
Deleting Drive Mappings 219
Setting Up Mappings in a Script 220
Managing Network Printer Connections 221
Displaying Printer Information 222
Connecting to Network Printers 223
Redirecting DOS Session Printers 225
Deleting Printer Connections 226
Setting the Default Printer 228
Printing from Scripts 229
6 Messaging and Faxing Objects 231
Sending Email from Scripts with CDO 231
The CDO Object Model 232
The CDO.Message Object 235
Working with Fields 242
Fields for the CDO.Message Object 244
The CDO BodyParts Collection 246
The CDO BodyPart Object 247
The ADO Stream Object 250
The CDO.Configuration Object 250
Sending a Message with CDO 256
Constructing the Message 257
Adding Attachments 261
Including Images with an HTML Message 262
Specifying the Recipients and Subject 263
Specifying the Delivery Server 263
Sending the Message 265
Putting It All Together 265
Faxing from Scripts 271
Sending a Fax with a Script 274
Getting More Information About Faxing 277
7 Windows Management Instrumentation 279
Introduction to Windows Management Instrumentation 279
WMI Functions 280
Namespaces 281
Managing Windows Remotely 283
Making WMI Connections 287
WMI Object Hierarchy 288
Connecting with the WbemScripting.SWbemLocator Object 291
Connecting with a Moniker 292
Connecting to the Local Computer 294
Security and Authentication 294
Specifying Security Options 299
WMI Collections and Queries 301
SWbemServices 302
WQL Queries 303
SWbemObject 306
SWbemMethodSet and SWbemPropertySet 307
Scriptomatic 310
WMI Examples 312
Collecting System Information 312
Managing Printers 313
Monitoring Windows Service Packs and Hotfixes 313
Managing Services and Tasks 315
For More Information 317
8 Active Directory Scripting Interface 319
Managing the User Directory 319
Uses of the Active Directory Scripting Interface 320
Limitations of ADSI with Windows Script Host 321
ADSI Concepts 322
Multiple Inheritance 324
Creating ADSI Objects 325
Directory Security 328
Determining the Difference Between Containers and Leaves 330
ADSI Objects for the WinNT: Provider 332
IADs 333
IADsCollection and IADsContainer 336
Working with ADSI Collections 339
IADsComputer and IADsComputerOperations 340
IADsDomain 342
IADsFileService and IADsFileServiceOperations 345
IADsFileShare 347
IADsGroup 349
IADsMembers 350
IADsNamespaces 351
IADsPrintJob and IADsPrintJobOperations 351
IADsPrintQueue and IADsPrintQueueOperations 354
IADsService and IADsServiceOperations 357
IADsSession 361
IADsUser 362
IIS and Exchange 364
Managing Active Directory 364
X.500 and LDAP Terminology 364
Active Directory Objects 368
RootDSE 368
IADsO and IADsOU 369
Developing ADSI Scripts 370
EzAD Scriptomatic 372
For More Information 373
9 Deploying Scripts for Computer and Network Management 375
Using Scripts in the Real World 375
Designing Scripts for Other Users 376
Using WSF Files 377
WSF File Format Reference 379
Providing Online Help with WSF Files 384
Processing Command-Line Arguments 386
Enclosing More Than One Script 390
Putting It All Together 390
Deploying Scripts on a Network 394
Creating Simple Installation Programs with IExpress 395
Creating IExpress Install Scripts or Batch Files 398
Dealing with User Account Control 400
Providing an Uninstall Option 402
Writing Scripts to Manage Other Computers 403
Remote Scripting 405
Replicating Scripts to Multiple Computers 406
Scripting Security Issues 408
Script Signing 409
The Script Encoder 415
Setting Up Logon Scripts 416
User Profile Logon Scripts 416
Scripts for Logon, Logoff, and Other Events on Windows 7 and Vista 418
Group Policy Logon, Logoff, Startup, and Shutdown Scripts 418
Scheduling Scripts to Run Automatically 421
Writing Unattended Scripts 421
Sending Messages to the Event Log 423
Scheduling Scripts with the Task Scheduler 428
II The Command Line Environment
10 The CMD Command-Line 433
The Command Prompt 433
CMD Versus COMMAND 434
Running CMD 435
Opening a Command Prompt Window with Administrator
Privileges 436
CMD Options 437
Disabling Command Extensions 439
Command-Line Processing 439
Stopping Runaway Programs 440
Console Program Input and Output 441
Using the Console Window 442
I/O Redirection and Pipes 443
Copy and Paste in Command Prompt Windows 447
Command Editing and the History List 448
Name Completion 450
Enabling Directory Name Completion 451
Multiple Commands on One Line 452
Grouping Commands with Parentheses 453
Arguments, Commas, and Quotes 454
Escaping Special Characters 454
Configuring the CMD Program 455
AutoRun 455
Environment Variable Substitution 456
The Search Path 456
Predefined and Virtual Environment Variables 459
Setting Default Environment Variables 461
Built-in Commands 462
Extended Commands 475
Listing Files with the Dir Command 476
Setting Variables with the Set Command 480
Conditional Processing with the if Command 482
Scanning for Files with the for Command 483
Getting More Information 488
11 Batch Files for Fun and Profit 491
Why Batch Files? 491
Creating and Using Batch Files 492
Batch File Programming 494
Displaying Information in Batch Files 495
Argument Substitution 496
Argument Editing 498
Conditional Processing with If 499
The Basic If Command 499
Checking for Files and Folders 500
Checking the Success of a Program 500
Performing Several Commands After If 501
Extended Testing 503
Processing Multiple Arguments 503
Working with Environment Variables 506
Environment Variable Editing 507
Processing Multiple Items with the for Command 508
Using Multiple Commands in a for Loop 510
Delayed Expansion 511
Using Batch File Subroutines 513
Prompting for Input 514
Useful Batch File Techniques 515
Processing Command-Line Options 515
Managing Network Mappings 518
Checking for Correct Arguments 519
Keeping Log Files 519
12 The MS-DOS Environment Under Windows 521
MS-DOS Programs on Windows 521
The Virtual DOS Machine 522
MS-DOS and COMMAND.COM 524
Configuring the MS-DOS Environment 525
Window and Memory Options 526
CONFIG.NT 532
AUTOEXEC.NT 535
MS-DOS Environment Variables 536
MS-DOS and Networking 536
Printing from MS-DOS 537
Print Redirection 538
Print Screen 538
Configuring Serial Communications with MS-DOS 539
Using Special-Purpose Devices for MS-DOS 539
Managing MS-DOS Programs 540
When Things Go Awry 540
13 Command-Line Utilities 543
Windows Command-Line Programs 543
The Essential Command Line 544
GUI Shortcuts 545
General-Purpose Shell Programs 547
findstr 547
more 552
tree 553
xcopy 554
File-Management Tools 557
attrib 557
cacls 559
Management Power Tools 563
driverquery 564
runas 565
tasklist 565
taskkill 568
sc 569
Networking Utilities 571
ipconfig 571
net 574
netstat 584
nslookup 586
ping 589
tracert 591
Getting More Utilities 592
III Introduction to Windows PowerShell
14 Windows PowerShell 593
Introduction to Windows PowerShell 593
An Object-Oriented Command Shell 593
Based on the .NET Framework 596
An Extensible Environment 597
Obtaining Windows PowerShell 598
The PowerShell Environment 600
The PowerShell Command Prompt 601
Command-Line Editing 602
Copying and Pasting 603
Pausing Output and Stopping a Runaway Program 604
Command-Line Syntax 604
Cmdlets and Objects and Scripts, Oh My! 607
Getting Help 610
Prompting to Complete Commands 612
Aliases 612
How to Get a Listing of Aliases 612
How to Define a New Alias 613
Navigating Directories and Other Locations 613
PowerShell Security 615
PowerShell Scripts and User Account Control 615
Script Execution Policy 616
PowerShell Profiles 617
15 PowerShell Programming 621
The Windows PowerShell Programming Language 621
Windows PowerShell Syntax 622
Comments 622
Variables and Types 623
Literal Values 625
Object Methods and Properties 626
Object Constructors 627
String Interpolation 628
Special Characters 629
Here-Strings 629
Releasing Variables 630
Predefined Variables 630
Arrays 632
Constants 637
Expressions 638
Comparisons with Arrays 640
String Operators 643
The & (Execute) Operator 646
Operator Precedence 646
Assignment Operators 647
Statement Values 648
Casts 649
Passing by Reference 650
Hash Tables 650
Flow of Control 653
if 653
while 654
do…while and do…until 654
for 655
foreach 656
switch 657
break 660
continue 661
Program Blocks 661
Exception Handling 662
trap 662
try/catch/finally 663
throw 664
Defining Functions 664
Function Parameters 665
Function Scope 668
The Dot-Source Operator 668
Variable Scope 669
Pipeline Functions and Filters 671
Splatting 672
Using the .NET API 673
Calling Static Member Functions 673
Working with Strings 674
Working with Dates and Times 676
Converting Values 680
Mathematical Functions 680
16 Using PowerShell 683
Real-World PowerShell 683
Command-Line Techniques 685
Generating Objects 685
Filtering 686
Taking Actions 689
Formatting Cmdlet Output 690
The -f Operator 690
Working with Files and Folders 691
Seeing Whether a File Exists 697
Reading Text from Files 697
Writing Text to Files 698
Identifying Files by Size 698
Creating Useful Scripts 699
Comment Your Work! 700
Command-Line Processing 700
Writing Modules 701
Exception Handling as an Exit Strategy 702
Using Hash Tables 703
The PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment 704
Starting the PowerShell ISE 705
Configuring the ISE 706
Creating and Editing Scripts 707
Running Scripts in the ISE 708
Setting Breakpoints and Single-Stepping 709
Interactively Examining and Changing Variables 710
Conditional Breakpoints 711
Remote and Background PowerShell 712
Where to Go from Here 712
IV Appendices
A VBScript Reference 713
B CMD and Batch File Language Reference 725
C Command Line Program Reference 735
D Index of Patterns and Sample Scripts 747
E Automation Object Reference 1 (Online)
F WSF and WSC File Format Reference 1 (Online)
G Creating Your Own Scriptable Objects 1 (Online)
Overview
The addition of the mouse and the Graphical User Interface made the computer accessible to many more people than would have been possible otherwise. Still, "pointing and clicking" can be tedious when performing routine or repetitive tasks. Just as people learn to use menu shortcuts (the Alt key) to save time, savvy users and administrators learn to write batch files and scripts to avoid having to type the same commands over and over. Scripts save time, increase accuracy, and serve as documentation to boot. ...