This new process eliminates the middle step of waiting for an email with a download link and therefore eliminating the problem of lost emails or emails getting trapped in spam filters.

Technorati Tags: Books, tfm

Have a look at their first installment here:

http://blogs.technet.com/heyscriptingguy/archive/2010/03/01/hey-scripting-guy-march-1-2010.aspx

Make sure to give Ed Wilson a shout if you like it and if there are any specific items you would like to see covered.

Technorati Tags: community edition, Microsoft, powershell, PrimalForms, Scripting Guys

Don’t know what iPowerShell is? iPowerShell is an easy to use reference tool for users of Microsoft’s PowerShell scripting language for use on the iPhone or iPod Touch. It contains full descriptions of each and every core PowerShell Version 2 cmdlet, their syntax, parameters and examples of proper usage. It also contains the complete set of “about item” help topics as well as provider and alias help.

iPowerShell includes a quick search function that allows the user to type in partial search terms which results in a pared-down list of PowerShell cmdlets that include the term in their name. For instance, typing in “item” returns “Clear-Item”, “Clear-ItemPropery”, “Copy-Item”, etc. A Cancel button resets the search list to the full list. iPowerShell also includes an alphabetical index bar which takes the user at a touch to the cmdlets that start with any specific letter.

iPowerShell v.2 is all new. Below is a list of the major changes to the product.

1. The user interface has been completely rewritten to use a Tab Bar interface separating out cmdlets, aliases, providers and about help.

2. Added the ability to include 3rd party cmdlet libraries and have included VMware PowerCLI cmdlets with more vendors to come!

3. Added the ability to turn individual cmdlet libraries on and off to help de-clutter user interface.

4. Changed cmdlet, alias, provider and about help detail information to display in an HTML view.

5. Added internal linking of “Related Links” in cmdlets detail information so that you can just tap on a related link and see detailed information for that item.

6. Includes internal web browser so tapping on an external web link will not cause a context shift out of application to Safari.

7. 3rd party vendor cmdlets display a unique icon for easy location.

8. Alias list displays both the alias and the expanded command in the list.

9. HTML displays all allow for pinch zoom and unzoom.

10. All lists and detailed displays can be viewed in both portrait and landscape mode.

And BEST OF ALL, its FREE!!!

Technorati Tags: iPhone, iPod, powershell, SAPIEN, scripting, Windows PowerShell

As it turns out, a large percentage of our users are up-to-date with the latest service build. The rest of them, about 40%, are hopelessly behind and still run the build they initially downloaded.

When we ask why they don’t run the automatic update check, the answer is inevitably something akin to: “I don’t like running all types of update things in my system tray”.

Now, we can completely understand that, neither do we. All these processes that run on a normal machine just to check every once in a blue moon if there is an update seems to be just a waste of memory. Displaying an icon in the system tray for that purpose seems even less called for. Do we really need an icon for something that happens maybe once a month?

The update checking procedure that Apple employs, just as an example, is less intrusive but ineffective. The check only runs on reboot and my laptop only reboots if really required, about once every 8 to 12 weeks. Otherwise it just goes to and from standby. As you can imagine, that check doesn’t run very often.

So how do PrimalScript and other SAPIEN products do it?

Every time the product starts, it looks at the setting (daily, weekly, monthly, never), compares today’s date to the date of the last check and IF that calls for checking, only then a process called “Check4Updates.exe” is launched.

That process checks on our website if any of the installed SAPIEN products have a newer version or build and displays a message if it finds anything. Otherwise it will just silently go away.

So you see, no waste of memory or CPU cycles, no tray icon wasting screen real estate.

There is no reason to switch that off and not check. Go to Help -> Automatically check for updates and set it to at least monthly.

Technorati Tags: Check4Updates, PrimalScript, updates

PrimalScript 2009 has always included a script packager that allowed you to wrap a variety of script types into 32 bit executables.

With today’s service release (5.0.627) you also get the option to build 64 bit executables out of the same script.

If there are any differences between your 32 and 64 bit environments you will, of course, need to adapt your script accordingly.

Building a 64 bit package is as simple as checking the “Target 64 bit systems” check box and you are ready to roll out your script.

If you prefer to package your VBScript/JScript files quickly with the push of a button, VBS2EXE has a new command line switch,
-64, which you can set in Tools-Options-Languages as a default per language.

The 64 bit package option is available for every supported host, whether you use VBScript, JScript, HTA, or PowerShell in a Windows or command line version.

This update is part of the normal monthly service update and free for all registered PrimalScript 2009 users.

So head over to my.sapien.com and download the latest version.

Technorati Tags: 64 bit, HTA, JScript, Packager, powershell, PrimalScript, VBScript

The package’s script host provides a convenient string variable named $CommandLine. This variable contains the complete argument string that is passed to the package. To illustrate how the $CommandLine variable is used, a script package named “mypackage.exe” will be executed  with the following arguments:

mypackage.exe –Parameter1 Value1 –Parameter2 Value2

The resulting string value of $CommandLine is as follows:

$CommandLine: “–Parameter1” “Value1” “–Parameter2” “Value2”

As you can see all the parameter / values are in a single line and each surrounded by quotes.

Accessing the Argument Parameters

The simplest example of command line argument use is when a parameter is passed and there is no associated value. In order to determine if the argument is present, a simple search of the string will suffice.

For example:

In this example we only care that “/?” is present; therefore, we only need to search the $CommandLine string for “/?” parameter.

if($CommandLine.Contains("""/?""")) {     Write-Host "Found Parameter" }

In other instances a value pair may be needed. The first example above illustrates the value pair.

mypackage.exe –Parameter1 Value1 –Parameter2 Value2

In this case, the information will need to be parsed from the command line string which requires a more complex approach then a simple search. To help facilitate this, a function called Parse-Commandline was created which will parse the $CommandLine string values from the quotes and place them into a StringCollection.

Using the following command line will yield these results:

Results:

$Parameter[0] = –Parameter $Parameter[1] = Value1 $Parameter[2] = –Parameter2 $Parameter[3] = Value2

The parameters can be compared by simply checking each element of the collection. It can be taken even further by creating a function called Convert-ArgumentsToDictionary which will convert the value pairs into a Dictionary (Hashtable).  Convert-ArgumentsToDictionary takes two parameters: The first is the parsed StringCollection and the second is a character that denotes a parameter. In the argument string above, the ‘-‘ character denotes a parameter.

function Convert-ArgumentsToDictionary {     Param([System.Collections.Specialized.StringCollection] $Params, [char] $ParamIndicator)     $Dictionary = New-Object System.Collections.Specialized.StringDictionary     for($index = 0; $index -lt $Params.Count; $index++)     {         [string]$param = $Params[$index]         #Clear the values         $key = ""         $value = ""         if($param.StartsWith($ParamIndicator))         {             #Remove the indicator             $key = $param.Remove(0,1)             if($index  + 1 -lt $Params.Count)             {                 #Check if the next Argument is a parameter                 [string]$param = $Params[$index + 1]                 if($param.StartsWith($ParamIndicator) -ne $true )                 {                     #If it isn’t a parameter then set it as the value                     $value = $param                     $index++                 }             }             $Dictionary[$key] = $value         }#else skip     }     return $Dictionary }

Once the parsed arguments are converted to a Dictionary, simply check for the parameter name and it will return the value.

The following script utilizes the functions described above:

#Verify that the $CommandLine variable exists if($CommandLine -ne $null -and $CommandLine -ne "") {     $Arguments = Parse-Commandline $CommandLine     #Convert the Arguments. Use – as the Argument Indicator     $Dictionary= Convert-ArgumentsToHashtable $Arguments ‘-’     #Output the original command line string     "Command Line: {0}`r`n" -f $CommandLine | Write-Output     #Output the Dictionary in a formatted table     $Dictionary | Format-Table @{label="Key";Expression={$_.Key}},@{label="Value";Expression={$_.Value}} | Out-String | Write-Output } else {     #Not running in a packager or no command line arguments passed     Write-Output "There are no command line arguments to parse." }

The script verifies the $CommandLine variable is not null because it only exists in the package’s Script Host. Then the function are used to parse the $CommandLine variable and convert it to a Dictionary. Once the Dictionary is generated, the contents are formatted and displayed.

The results are as follows:

***Run Powershell*** Command Line: "-Parameter1" "Value1" "-Parameter2" "Value2" Key                                     Value                                  —                                     —–                                  Parameter2                              Value2                                 Parameter1                              Value1                                 ***Exiting Powershell***

You should now have a better understanding on how do use command line arguments with your packaged scripts. Feel free to use and customize these functions to make accessing  the command line arguments quick and easy.

Technorati Tags: commandline, Packager, PrimalForms, PrimalScript 2009

Every now and then you need to put a script as its own documentation somewhere. Either on a blog for others to see or on some internal web site for documentation.

PrimalPad has been updated to include that functionality.
Simply click File – Export to HTML… and it will save your script as colored HTML.

The version you  need to have for this is 1.0.16

Technorati Tags: html, PrimalPad, PrimalTools, SAPIEN, syntax coloring

Technorati Tags: powershell, PrimalScript, PrimalScript 2009, SAPIEN, User Group

It has become more and more obvious that this is unjust towards the many professionals and teachers in the field who promote and use SAPIEN software without becoming a Microsoft MVP or MCT. So we are no longer providing these NFR copies just because you are a Microsoft MVP or MCT.

So if you use and show any SAPIEN product in a classroom situation, send us the curriculum or a class listing and ask us what we can do for you. You don’t have to be an MCT, if you teach using SAPIEN products we can enable you to do more. Contact Margaret Pratt (margaret at sapien.com) directly with your information.

If you are a Microsoft MVP you still may qualify for a free NFR copy. Let us know what you do, where you use our software and where you blog, write or talk about it.

Last but not least, in order to recognize the outstanding individuals who tirelessly help us improve and support our products we are creating the SAPIEN MVP and the SAPIEN Teaching Partner program.

We will announce the first individuals who will be named SAPIEN MVP shortly here on this blog.

To participate in the SAPIEN Teaching Partner program, please contact Margaret Pratt (margaret at sapien.com) directly or call 707-252-8700 Ext 117.

Technorati Tags: MCT, MVP, SAPIEN, training

If you previously purchased the IPO version of this eBook, simply go to my.sapien.com, login, and then re-download the ebook. You will get the finished version downloaded to your machine.

Technorati Tags: Books, powershell, SAPIEN Press, SAPIENPress, scripting, Windows PowerShell