Scripting Windows 7 with WSH : Programming the WshShell Object (part 2)

Working with Shortcuts

The Windows Script Host enables your scripts to create and modify shortcut files. When writing scripts for other users, you might want to take advantage of this capability to display shortcuts for new network shares, Internet sites, instruction files, and so on.

Creating a Shortcut

To create a shortcut, use the CreateShortcut method:

WshShell.CreateShortcut(strPathname)

The following example creates and saves a shortcut on a user’s desktop:

Set WshShell = objWScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set objShortcut = objWshShell.CreateShortcut("C:\Users\Paul\Desktop\test.lnk")
objShortcut.Save

					  

Programming the WshShortcut Object

The CreateShortcut method returns a WshShortcut object. You can use this object to manipulate various properties and methods associated with shortcut files.

This object contains the following properties:

• Arguments— Returns or sets a string that specifies the arguments used when launching the shortcut. For example, suppose that the shortcut’s target is the following:

  C:\Windows\Notepad.exe C:\Users\Paul\Documents\todolist.txt

  In other words, this shortcut launches Notepad and loads the Boot.ini file. In this case, the Arguments property would return the following string:

  C:\Users\Paul\Documents\todolist.txt

• Description— Returns or sets a string description of the shortcut.

• FullName— Returns the full path and filename of the shortcut’s target. This will be the same as the strPathname value used in the CreateShortcut method.

• Hotkey— Returns or sets the hotkey associated with the shortcut. To set this value, use the following syntax:

  WshShortcut.Hotkey = strHotKey

  WshShortcut	The WshShortcut object.
  strHotKey	A string value of the form Modifier+Keyname, where Modifier is any combination of Alt, Ctrl, and Shift, and Keyname is one of A through Z or 0 through 12.

  
  

  For example, the following statement sets the hotkey to Ctrl+Alt+7:

  objShortcut.Hotkey = "Ctrl+Alt+7"

• IconLocation— Returns or sets the icon used to display the shortcut. To set this value, use the following syntax:

  WshShortcut.IconLocation = strIconLocation

  WshShortcut	The WshShortcut object.
  strIconLocation	A string value of the form Path, Index, where Path is the full pathname of the icon file and Index is the position of the icon within the file (where the first icon is 0).

  
  

  Here’s an example:

  objShortcut.IconLocation = "C:\Windows\System32\Shell32.dll,21"

• TargetPath— Returns or sets the path of the shortcut’s target.

• WindowStyle— Returns or sets the window style used by the shortcut’s target. Use the same values outlined earlier for the Run method’s intWindowStyle argument.

• WorkingDirectory— Returns or sets the path of the shortcut’s working directory.

The WshShortcut object also supports two methods:

• Save— Saves the shortcut file to disk.

• Resolve— Uses the shortcut’s TargetPath property to look up the target file. Here’s the syntax:

  WshShortcut.Resolve = intFlag

  WshShortcut	The WshShortcut object.
  intFlag	Determines what happens of the target file is not found:
  	intFlag	What Happens
  	1	Nothing
  	2	Windows continues to search subfolders for the target file
  	4	Updates the TargetPath property if the target file is found in a new location

  
  

Listing 3 shows a complete example of a script that creates a shortcut.

Listing 3. Script That Creates a Shortcut File

Set objWshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
'
' Create the shortcut
'
Set objShortcut = objWshShell.CreateShortcut(strUserProfile & _
                  "\Desktop\Edit To Do List.lnk")
'
' Set some shortcut properties and then save it
'
With objShortcut
    .TargetPath = "C:\Windows\Notepad.exe"
    .Arguments = "C:\Users\Paul\Documents\todolist.txt"
    .WorkingDirectory = "C:\Users\Paul\Desktop"
    .Description = "Opens ToDoList.txt in Notepad"
    .Hotkey = "Ctrl+Alt+7"
    .IconLocation = "C:\Windows\System32\Shell32.dll,21"
    .WindowStyle = 3
    .Save
End With

Working with Registry Entries

You’ve seen throughout this book that the Registry is one the most crucial data structures in Windows. However, the Registry isn’t a tool that only Windows yields. Most 32-bit applications make use of the Registry as a place to store setup options, customization values the user selected, and much more. Interestingly, your scripts can get in on the act, too. Not only can your scripts read the current value of any Registry setting, but they can also use the Registry as a storage area. This enables you to keep track of user settings, recently used files, and any other configuration data that you’d like to save between sessions. This section shows you how to use the WshShell object to manipulate the Registry from within your scripts.

Reading Settings from the Registry

To read any value from the Registry, use the WshShell object’s RegRead method:

WshShell.RegRead(strName)

The script in Listing 4 displays the name of the registered owner of this copy of Windows 7.

Listing 4. Script That Reads the RegisteredOwner Setting from the Registry

Set objWshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
strSetting = "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\RegisteredOwner"
strRegisteredUser = objWshShell.RegRead(strSetting)
WScript.Echo strRegisteredUser

					  

Storing Settings in the Registry

To store a setting in the Registry, use the WshShell object’s RegWrite method:

WshShell.RegWrite strName, anyValue [, strType]

The following statements create a new key named ScriptSettings in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER root:

Set objWshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
objWshShell.RegWrite "HKCU\ScriptSettings\", ""

The following statements create a new value named NumberOfReboots in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ScriptSettings key, and set this value to 1:

Set objWshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
objWshShell.RegWrite "HKCU\ScriptSettings\NumberOfReboots", 1, "REG_DWORD"

Deleting Settings from the Registry

If you no longer need to track a particular key or value setting, use the RegDelete method to remove the setting from the Registry:

WshShell.RegDelete(strName)

To delete the NumberOfReboots value used in the previous example, you would use the following statements:

Set objWshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
objWshShell.RegDelete "HKCU\ScriptSettings\NumberOfReboots"

Working with Environment Variables

Windows 7 keeps track of a number of environment variables that hold data such as the location of the Windows folder, the location of the temporary files folder, the command path, the primary drive, and much more. Why would you need such data? One example would be for accessing files or folders within the main Windows folder. Rather than guessing that this folder is C:\Windows, it is much easier to just query the %SystemRoot% environment variable. Similarly, if you have a script that accesses files in a user’s My Documents folder, hard-coding the username in the file path is inconvenient because it means creating custom scripts for every possible user. Instead, it is much easier to create just a single script that references the %UserProfile% environment variable. This section shows you how to read environment variable data within your scripts.

The defined environment variables are stored in the Environment collection, which is a property of the WshShell object. Windows 7 environment variables are stored in the "Process" environment, so you reference this collection as follows:

WshShell.Environment("Process")

Listing 5 shows a script that runs through this collection, adds each variable to a string, and then displays the string.

Listing 5. Script That Displays the System’s Environment Variables

Set objWshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
'
' Run through the environment variables
'
strVariables = ""
For Each objEnvVar In objWshShell.Environment("Process")
    strVariables = strVariables & objEnvVar & Chr(13)
Next
WScript.Echo strVariables

Figure 3 shows the dialog box that appears. (Your mileage may vary.)

If you want to use the value of a particular environment variable, use the following syntax:

WshShell.Environment("Process")("strName")

Listing 6 shows a revised version of the script from Listing 3 to create a shortcut. In this version, the Environment collection is used to return the value of the %UserProfile% variable, which is used to contrast the path to the current user’s Desktop folder.

Listing 6. Script That Creates a Shortcut File Using Environment Variables

'
' Get the %UserProfile% and %SystemRoot% environment variables
'
strUserProfile = objWshShell.Environment("Process")("UserProfile")
strSystemRoot = objWshShell.Environment("Process")("SystemRoot")
'
' Create the shortcut
'
Set objShortcut = objWshShell.CreateShortcut(strUserProfile & _
                  "\Desktop\Edit To Do List.lnk")
'
' Set some shortcut properties and then save it
'
With objShortcut
    .TargetPath = strSystemRoot & "\Notepad.exe"
    .Arguments = strUserProfile & "\Documents\todolist.txt"
    .WorkingDirectory = strUserProfile & "\Desktop"
    .Description = "Opens ToDoList.txt in Notepad"
    .Hotkey = "Ctrl+Alt+7"
    .IconLocation = strSystemRoot & "\System32\Shell32.dll,21"
    .WindowStyle = 3
    .Save
End With