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Re: What should one read to learn VBScript?

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On Sat, 20 Jan 2018 10:33:00 -0500, Wally W. wrote:

Editing the text below because I copied and pasted "test.vbs" where
the batch file name is "test.bat".

This edit affects none of the contents in either file, or the results.

The header is only the name of the file containing the text below the
line of single dashes.

>On Fri, 19 Jan 2018 23:20:01 -0500, Mayayana wrote:
>
>>"Wally W." <ww84wa@aim.com> wrote
>>
>>| I often use wscript, but cscript can accept command line parameters.
>>|
>>| I often run cscript via a batch file.
>>|
>>| A batch file can also accept command line parameters, which may need
>>| to be done via a shortcut.
>>|
>>| So: It is possible to drop a file onto a batch file (or its shortcut)
>>| to process an input file with cscript.
>>|
>>| That way, there would be no need to respond on all the msgbox popups.
>>|
>>
>>  I really don't get why anyone would want to go
>>to all that trouble, but I guess it's a matter of
>>personal taste. And maybe also a matter of what
>>you're trying to accomplish. Most of what I do is
>>to package some kind of functionality as a convenience
>>for later. It's done if I can do the job next time
>>without typing.
>>
>>  WScript can do plenty with command line, but
>>I try to avoid it as much as I can.
>>
>>
>>  Here's part of something I've been updating recently, to convert
>>HXS files to CHM. The part below is, to me, some of the most
>>tedious code, but it's necessary. I'm using 7-Zip to extract the
>>file content of the HXS files. In brief, a folder of HXS is dropped
>>onto the script, which creates a custom commandline to send
>>to 7-Zip. It then calls a second script, zip7.vbs, and waits for
>>the unpacking to finish by setting the 3rd parameter of
>>WScript.Shell Run to True.
>>  The second script does the same, after building a command
>>line for 7-Zip out of the command string sent in, and calling
>>7-Zip to do the unpacking. Then the main script continues,
>>finishes the conversion, and starts again for the next file.
>>
>>  This allows me to unpack a folder full of HXS files and convert
>>them all to CHM. The only msgbox is at the end, unless something
>>goes wrong. It just pops up and tells me how many files it
>>processed, to let me know it's done.
>>
>>  I could do this by using a number of calls in console.
>>I could call 7-Zip with a command line. Then I could
>>call a script to process the unpacked HXS. Then I could
>>call the help compiler to build a CHM. But I still have to
>>write all that code to actually do the work. So once I've
>>done that, do I want to be able to just drop a folder
>>onto a script, or do I want to type 3 long, tricky console
>>lines for each HXS? Why would I do 99% of the work and
>>then have to do all those tricky incantations every time
>>I use it?
>>
>>  My approach is that if I expect to be doing the same thing
>>repeatedly then it's worth reducing it as much as possible.
>>If it can be reduced to a simple drag-drop that's best.
>>If I had to open a console window that would mean I
>>didn't write the script right. :)
>>
>>Below is the gist of what makes this particular utility work,
>>showing it for a single HXS.
>>
>>sFil = WScript.Arguments(0)
>>'-- sFil = "C:\Windows\desktop\test2\script56.hxs"
>>' received from the dropped file.
>>
>>SevZip = "C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe"
>>'-- path to 7-Zip
>>
>>'-- create a subfolder for unpacking the HXS.
>>TempFol = "C:\Windows\desktop\test2\temp1"
>>
>>' Create a comand line to send to 7-Zip to get an HXS file unpacked.
>>sCom = SevZip & "|" & sFil & "|" & TempFol
>>
>>' Get the path where this script is running
>>ScrPath = WScript.ScriptFullName
>>Pt4 = InStrRev(ScrPath, "\")
>>
>>' make the path to the second script to run 7-Zip
>>ScrPath = Left(ScrPath, Pt4) & "zip7.vbs"
>>
>>' use WScript.Shell to send the command line to that script
>>' and wait for it to return.
>>SH.run Q2 & ScrPath & Q2 &  " " & Q2 & sCom & Q2, , True
>>
>>  '----- code in zip7.vbs that receives the command. ----
>>' I don't actually remember why I made this external, but
>>' it does make it work differently. By using Run to run a
>>' second vbscript I do that work in a separate process.
>>
>>Arg = WScript.arguments(0)
>>A3 = split(Arg, "|")
>>SevZip = A3(0)
>>sFil = A3(1)
>>Tempfol = A3(2)
>> On Error Resume Next
>>Q2 = chr(34)
>>SevZip = Q2 & SevZip & Q2
>>    Ret = SH.Run(SevZip & " x " & Q2 & sFil & Q2 & " -aoa -o" & Q2 & Tempfol 
>>& Q2 & " * -r", 0, True)
>>Set SH = Nothing
>>WScript.quit
>>
>>'------------------
>>From there the parent script processes the HXS content, builds
>>the files needed for a CHM, and then calls the Help Workshop
>>compiler to finish the job:
>>
>>   Ret = SH.Run(Compiler & " " & Q2 & HHPPath & Q2, 0, True)
>>
>>'  "C:\Program Files\HTML Help Workshop\hhc.exe" 
>>"C:\Windows\desktop\test2\temp1\script56.hhp"
>>
>>  There is one catch in Vista+, though: If you
>>run in lackey mode, with file restrictions,
>>then there's no way to elevate with a drag/drop.
>>A console window can be started as admin. 
>>
>
>It isn't necessarily an either-or choice.
>
>Cscript might have been useful in your diagnostics mode when you added
>msgbox lines for your debugging effort.
>
>Inserting wscript.echo statements in the start of your code above and
>running it in cscript via a batch file lets me see all the results in
>one go -- without all the annoying, extra clicking that is required
>when running it in wscript.
>
>I added a gratuitous msgbox statement to show they still work even in
>cscript. It interrupts the flow of information in the console screen,
>but is otherwise harmless to a diagnostics effort.
>
>I placed two files in the root of my ramdisk:
>
>==========
>test.vbs
>--------
>sFil = WScript.Arguments(0)
>'-- sFil = "C:\Windows\desktop\test2\script56.hxs"
>' received from the dropped file.
>
>wscript.echo "File name from drag and drop: " & sFil
>
>SevZip = "C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe"
>'-- path to 7-Zip
>
>msgbox "But I really need a msgbox popup here."
>
>'-- create a subfolder for unpacking the HXS.
>TempFol = "C:\Windows\desktop\test2\temp1"
>
>' Create a comand line to send to 7-Zip to get an HXS file unpacked.
>sCom = SevZip & "|" & sFil & "|" & TempFol
>
>wscript.echo "Created command line: " & sCom
>
>' Get the path where this script is running
>ScrPath = WScript.ScriptFullName
>Pt4 = InStrRev(ScrPath, "\")
>
>' make the path to the second script to run 7-Zip
>ScrPath = Left(ScrPath, Pt4) & "zip7.vbs"
>
>wscript.echo "Path to run second script: " & ScrPath
>==========
>

Editing the copy-and-paste error below where the file name (that is
not part of the file contents) should have been "test.bat"

>==========
>test.bat
>--------
>cscript test.vbs %1
>pause
>==========
>
>Placing quotes around the %1 in the batch file were not helpful for
>some reason.
>
>In this case, no shortcut to the batch file was needed.
>
>I dragged and dropped a file onto the batch file in a simulated
>diagnostics effort.
>
>The results from the wscript.echo statements are in one screen instead
>of having to respond to three msgbox popups:
>=========
>Z:\>cscript test.vbs "Z:\Drag and drop this.txt"
>Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.8
>Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
>
>File name from drag and drop: Z:\Drag and drop this.txt
>Created command line: C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe|Z:\Drag and drop
>this.txt|C:
>\Windows\desktop\test2\temp1
>Path to run second script: Z:\zip7.vbs
>
>Z:\>pause
>Press any key to continue . . .
>=========
>
>The console screen can be closed either by responding to the PAUSE
>statement or clicking the close box.
>
>I prefer giving only one response to the diagnostics effort instead of
>three, and having all the diagnostic information available in a
>simultaneous display.
>
>If all is well, the 'wscript.echo' statements can be removed, and the
>GUI program will behave as intended.

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Thread

What should one read to learn VBScript? Peter Percival <peterxpercival@hotmail.com> - 2018-01-17 12:55 +0000
  Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? "Mayayana" <mayayana@invalid.nospam> - 2018-01-17 10:25 -0500
    Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? "Mayayana" <mayayana@invalid.nospam> - 2018-01-17 21:50 -0500
    Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Wally W. <ww84wa@aim.com> - 2018-01-17 22:49 -0500
    Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Peter Percival <peterxpercival@hotmail.com> - 2018-01-18 12:42 +0000
    Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Peter Percival <peterxpercival@hotmail.com> - 2018-01-19 21:28 +0000
      Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Peter Percival <peterxpercival@hotmail.com> - 2018-01-19 21:59 +0000
        Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? "Mayayana" <mayayana@invalid.nospam> - 2018-01-19 18:06 -0500
          Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Peter Percival <peterxpercival@hotmail.com> - 2018-01-20 14:15 +0000
      Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? "Mayayana" <mayayana@invalid.nospam> - 2018-01-19 17:06 -0500
        Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Peter Percival <peterxpercival@hotmail.com> - 2018-01-20 14:20 +0000
          Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? "Mayayana" <mayayana@invalid.nospam> - 2018-01-20 09:40 -0500
      Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Wally W. <ww84wa@aim.com> - 2018-01-19 17:20 -0500
        Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? "Mayayana" <mayayana@invalid.nospam> - 2018-01-19 17:52 -0500
    Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Sohel Alam <alam.sohel1990@gmail.com> - 2018-05-14 17:19 -0700
  Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Wally W. <ww84wa@aim.com> - 2018-01-17 22:44 -0500
    Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Peter Percival <peterxpercival@hotmail.com> - 2018-01-18 12:40 +0000
    Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? "Mayayana" <mayayana@invalid.nospam> - 2018-01-18 09:27 -0500
      Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Special Access <nonyabidnezz@hotmail.com> - 2018-01-18 21:57 -0500
      Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Wally W. <ww84wa@aim.com> - 2018-01-19 20:53 -0500
        Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? "Mayayana" <mayayana@invalid.nospam> - 2018-01-19 23:20 -0500
          Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Wally W. <ww84wa@aim.com> - 2018-01-20 10:33 -0500
            Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? Wally W. <ww84wa@aim.com> - 2018-01-20 10:44 -0500
            Re: What should one read to learn VBScript? "Mayayana" <mayayana@invalid.nospam> - 2018-01-20 13:53 -0500

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