Scripting Blog [archived]

Formerly known as the "Hey, Scripting Guy!" blog

Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Replace Incorrect Dates in My File Names?

(image) Hey, Scripting Guy! have a folder that has a whole bunch of files in it. Many of those files have a file name that includes an incorrect date; for example, the file might be named FGA Site Visit 2-14-07 204.jpg when it should really be named FGA Site Visit 2-14-08 204.jpg. (That is, it suggests the visit occurred in 2007 rather than ...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Set a Reminder on All My Office Outlook Appointments?

(image) Hey, Scripting Guy! My manager does not like appointment reminders; therefore every meeting request she sends is without reminders.  I like reminders and I try to remember to turn them on, but sometimes I forget; that means that if I'm not on top of my schedule, I can miss a meeting. How can I write a script that will go ...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Mark the First Occurrence of a Number in an Office Excel Spreadsheet?

(image) Hey, Scripting Guy! I’m trying to determine – and mark – the first occurrence of a number in an Office Excel worksheet. However, I can’t figure out how to go about doing this. Can you help?-- BH (image) (image) (image) Hey, BH. Before we launch into today’s column we have an announcement to make: the ...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Enable Users to Change File Extensions Using the SendTo Command?

(image) Hey, Scripting Guy! Here’s what I would like to do. I would like to put a script in the SendTo folder that would enable a user to easily change the file extension for a file. (Typically our users hide the file extensions, which makes it difficult for them to change those extensions when they need to.) However, I haven’t ...

Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Extract Three-Digit Numbers From a String?

(image) Hey, Scripting Guy! I’m trying to use regular expressions to extract three-digit numbers that are enclosed by pipe characters; they embedded in string values like this: |159|468|572|843|. However, I can’t figure out the syntax that will get this to work. Can you help me?-- RS (image) (image) (image) Hey, RS. Before we ...