Showing archive results for 2006

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I read just the last line of a text file?-- BM Hey, BM. You know, if you’ve ever wondered how Hey, Scripting Guy! differs from other daily columns (like, say, Dear Abby), well, here’s one way. Suppose someone writes Dear Abby and says this: Dear Abby:My life is all messed up and I need to do something about it. How ca...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I determine whether or not a computer is running Windows Server 2003 and, if so, whether Service Pack 1 is installed?-- TW Hey, TW. You know, we Scripting Guys always get a kick out of questions like this. Not because there’s anything wrong with the question, mind you. It’s just that many of the people we work with wo...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I right-align a single column in a Word table?-- RC Hey, RC. You know, one of the phrases no one ever wants to hear is “This isn’t as bad as it looks.” After all, that’s what your business partner says when you discover he’s been using the company payroll to buy lottery tickets. “This isn’t as bad as it looks,” is the...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I re-launch Internet Explorer if no other instances are running?-- MT Hey, MT. Thanks for the question. You know, nowadays everyone picks on poor little Internet Explorer (even though the vast majority of Windows users still use Internet Explorer). But now we have a question from someone who wants to make sure that In...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How can I disable a service?-- DS Hey, DS. You know, the Scripting Guys seem to have stumbled upon a great idea. In our last column, we showed people how to disable the LMHosts file. Today, we’re going to show everyone how to disable a service. If we continue down this path, we’ll soon have shown you how to disable everything...