The book you need to succeed! Vbscript, jscript

234
 Part 
II
 
Windows VBScript and JScript
JScript
readkey.js
var ws = WScript.CreateObject (“WScript.Shell”)
v=ws.RegRead(“HKLM\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Services\\WINS\\Parameters\\
DbFileNm”)
WScript.Echo(v)
The 
RegRead
 method only supports the standard data types: 
REG_SZ
, 
REG_EXPAND_SZ
, 
REG_
MULTI_SZ
, 
REG_DWORD
, and 
REG_BINARY
. If the value contains another data type, the method 
returns 
DISP_E_TYPEMISMATCH
.
Writing registry keys and values
Creating keys and writing registry values is a bit different than reading key values. To write keys 
and value entries to the registry, use the 
RegWrite
 method of the 
WshShell
 object. This method 
expects to be passed the key name as well as the value you want to set. You can also set an optional 
parameter that specifies the value type. If you don’t set the type parameter, the value is set as a 
string of type 
REG_SZ
. If you set the value type, the type must be one of the following: 
REG_SZ
, 
REG_EXPAND_SZ
, 
REG_DWORD
, or 
REG_BINARY
. 
Some value types are converted automatically to the appropriate format. With 
REG_SZ
 and 
REG_
EXPAND_SZ
, 
RegWrite
 automatically converts values to strings. With 
REG_DWORD
, values are con-
verted to integers in hexadecimal format. However, 
REG_BINARY
 must be set as integers. If you set 
an incorrect data type or an incorrect value, 
RegWrite
 returns 
E_INVALIDARG
.
You can use 
RegWrite
 to update existing registry keys and values as well as to create new keys and 
values. If the path ends with a slash (or double slash for JScript), the entry is written as a key. Otherwise, 
the entry is written as a value entry. Listing 12-2 changes the value entry for the 
DbFileNm
 key and 
then confirms the change by reading the new value.
LISTING 12-2
Modifying an Existing Key
VBScript
modkey.vbs
Dim Path
Path = “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WINS\Parameters\”
Set ws = WScript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)  
o=ws.RegWrite(Path & “DbFileNm”, “%windir%\system32\wins.mdb”, “REG_EXPAND_SZ”)
v=ws.RegRead(Path & “DbFileNm”)
WScript.Echo v
LISTING 12-1 
(continued)
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235
 
Working with the Windows Registry and Event Logs 
12
JScript
modkey.js
var Path
Path = “HKLM\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Services\\WINS\\Parameters\\”
var ws = WScript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)  
o=ws.RegWrite(Path + “DbFileNm”,”%windir%\\system32\\wins.mdb”, 
  “REG_EXPAND_SZ”)
v=ws.RegRead(Path + “DbFileNm”)
WScript.Echo(v)
If you change the settings of a Windows service, you will need to restart the service 
before the changes take effect. If the service won’t start after you’ve made changes, you 
should change the key values back to their original settings.
Creating new keys
When you create new keys, you don’t have to worry about creating the tree structure that may be 
associated with the key. The registry automatically creates additional folders as necessary.
Usually, you’ll want to add new keys to the 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
 root key. For example, you can 
create a new key for Windows scripts called 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\WSHBible
 and then add values 
to it. Because these values are stored in the current user’s profile, they are persistent and aren’t 
destroyed when the user logs out. This makes it possible to retain values across multiple user 
sessions.
Listing 12-3 shows an example of creating registry keys and assigning values to the keys. The key 
created is 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\WSHBible
. The values associated with the key are named 
Author
 
and 
Comments
.
LISTING 12-3
Creating Registry Keys and Values
VBScript
Createregkey.vbs
Set ws = WScript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)
val = ws.RegWrite(“HKCU\WSHBible\Author”,”William Stanek”)
val = ws.RegWrite(“HKCU\WSHBible\Comments”,”Covers Windows Script Host”)
JScript
createregkey.js
var ws = WScript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)
val = ws.RegWrite(“HKCU\\WSHBible\\Author”,”William Stanek”)
val = ws.RegWrite(“HKCU\\WSHBible\\Comments”,”Covers Windows Script Host”)
TIP
TIP
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236
 Part 
II
 
Windows VBScript and JScript
Deleting registry keys and values
You delete registry keys using the 
RegDelete
 method of the 
WshShell
 object. The only argument 
for the method is the full path for the key or the value you want to delete. When you delete a key, the 
path should end with a slash, like this: 
HKCU\WSHBible\
. When you delete a key value, the slash 
isn’t necessary. For example, you can delete the 
Author
 value using 
HKCU\WSHBible\Author
 as 
the argument to 
RegDelete
.
Listing 12-4 shows an example of how you can delete the 
Author
 and 
Comment
 values created in 
the previous section. The example doesn’t delete the 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\WSHBible
 key.
LISTING 12-4
Deleting Registry Values
VBScript
deleteregkey.vbs
Set ws = WScript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)
val = ws.RegDelete(“HKCU\WSHBible\Author”)
val = ws.RegDelete(“HKCU\WSHBible\Comments”)
JScript
deleteregkey.js
var ws = WScript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)
val = ws.RegDelete(“HKCU\\WSHBible\\Author”)
val = ws.RegDelete(“HKCU\\WSHBible\\Comments”)
If you want to delete the 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\WSHBible
 key, you change the listing as follows:
VBScript
Set ws = WScript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)
val = ws.RegDel(“HKCU\WSHBible\”)
JScript
var ws = WScript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”) 
val = ws.RegDel(“HKCU\\WSHBible\\”)
When you delete a key, you permanently delete all of the values associated with the key 
as well.
Reconfiguring network services through the registry
To better understand how the registry controls system and network settings, let’s take a detailed look 
at how you can manage WINS and DHCP through the Windows Registry.
NOTE
NOTE
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