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Set Up Instant Working Environments with Batch Files
Posted by Adam Pash at 5:00 AM on December 25, 2007
Weblog Inspect My Gadget explains how to use batch files to create a quick working environment—launching every document and application you need to get straight to work—using a Windows stalwart, the batch script. The post is actually very similar to my quick launch workspaces, which I use to get my workspace from zero to productive in just a few keystrokes, but provides a few different examples to demonstrate other ways you might get more from your workspace batch scripts. For more on how you can use batch scripts to be productive, check out how we used batch scripts to take Launchy beyond application launching.
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FLEB
Posted 12:11 PM 24/12/07
This reminds me of what I used to do on my parents' Windows 3.11 system when I was younger. Swap out the config files, swap out the Group files, and run win. Hack-job multi-user Windows. IIRC, the batch file would still be running when you quit Windows, so you could swap it all back when you exited.
FLEB
SilberDrachi
Posted 1:37 PM 24/12/07
Got to say batch files are some of the most fun and useful file-types out there. In high school our tech guys would always try to throw up firewalls and proxys to try and stop the students from going to email,myspace,game sites. at every turn we would always find a way to break though the protections, at the very end they had locked down all the text editors, run commands, and regedits, but batch files were able to bypass it all... before we graduated they came to us and said there would be no repercussions if we admitted to tampering with the system if only we told them how we did it... still don't think they found a way to stop the problem though....
SilberDrachi
AndyFromTucson
Posted 4:07 AM 25/12/07
I use an AutoHotKey script to set my computer up to dive into work every morning. It connects me to two different remote networks, maps a drive on one remote network, launches 2 instances of Firefox with multiple tabs each with the web pages I use most often, launches my Google calendar in yet another Firefox window, starts up Altap Salamander file manager, starts up my homegrown Todo List application, opens my time tracking text file, and then finally launches Thunderbird.
I could probably have done the exact same thing using a Windows batch file but I like AutoHotKey for complicated scripts.
AndyFromTucson
tomjrace
Posted 9:31 PM 25/12/07
for my environments at work, I have a folder in startup with my a very easily hacked up script from Bill James (thanks Bill James!, whoever you are - (billsway.com))
It goes with something like this copied and pasted a few times, change the first 2 lines of code for the delay time and program, save as delayEnv.vbs (or anythingYouWant.vbs) and put a shortcut on the desktop (or your launchy utilities!). I found this when looking for something with a delayed startup because I want my FireFox first (not work approved software!) but this works just like batch files, but cleaner (no prompt), I also use batch to invisible exe apps to make it invisible when necessary to use a batch file. My work PC is very slow, so this is just what I needed, A ton better, and actually faster than a huge pile in my startup folder. keep in mind that any .EXE or .lnk in \windows or \system32 does not need the full path
'---script starts here, anything after' is comment
SecondsToDelay = "5"
ProgramToRun = "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" 'may need full path
Wscript.Sleep(SecondsToDelay * 1000)
Prog = Chr(34) & ProgramToRun & Chr(34)
CreateObject("WScript.Shell").Run(Prog)
'---script ends here
tomjrace
mmhan
Posted 3:03 AM 30/12/07
That's a cool tip, I'll be sure to use that.
mmhan