Scripting Blog

A place to learn about PowerShell and share stories of automation

How Can I Start an Application From an HTA?

Hey, Scripting Guy! Is there an alternative to the Wscript.Shell command for HTAs? I need to run an application and specify the file to open.-- DL Hey, DL. Yes, we do know of an alternative to the Wscript.Shell command that will work in HTAs, and we’ll show you that in a minute. Before we do that, however, we should note that you actually...

How Can I Determine an Attribute’s Data Type and Whether It is Single- or Multi-Valued?

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I query the Active Directory schema for an attribute’s data type and whether it is single-valued or multi-valued?-- MS Hey, MS. You know, this turned out to be one of those questions that drive us crazy: after all, it seemed like it would be so easy to answer. As you’ve probably already figured out, however, ...

How Can I Determine Which Drives are Mapped to Network Shares?

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I determine which drives on a computer are mapped to network shares?-- CP Hey, CP. OK, you better sit down, because what we’re about to say will shock you: if you want to determine which drives on a computer are mapped to network shares, don’t use the Win32_MappedLogicalDisk class. Oh, look: you spilled ...

How Can I Determine if an OU is Blocking Group Policy Inheritance?

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I determine if an OU has the Group Policy property Block Policy Inheritance box checked?-- PP Hey, PP. You know, sometimes you wait all your life for a situation to arise, and then it never arises. For example, one of the Scripting Guys happens to know all nine verses to the song My Darlin’ Clementine. All his ...

How Can I Delete a Backup File Created on the Previous Day?

Hey, Scripting Guy! Each day we have a program that creates a file with a name similar to this: backup_20050607.bak. How can I delete the previous day’s file?-- JC Hey, JC. Hmmm, a script that goes out and automatically deletes whatever happened the day before. Boy, could we have used a script like that a few weeks ago! Yes, we know. But ...