Remove desktop icons in preparation for a new app with this member-submitted script
Takeaway: TechRepublic asked members to submit their favorite network administration scripts and this is one of the responses. This script will parse through every windows user profile on a machine and delete a specified file from their desktops.
By Dan Parr
TechRepublic recently asked members to submit their favorite Network Administration scripts for possible publication. One of the first to make a submission was Dan Parr. For his effort, Lee earned $100 and the satisfaction of seeing his scripts published on TechRepublic.
Earn $100 for your admin script
Let us pay you for your original scripts so that we can publish them as downloads on TechRepublic and allow your fellow IT professionals to benefit from your scripting savvy. We only ask that you put in the appropriate comments to your scripts so that it's easy to tell what the script is doing and which variables might need to be customized. Send us your original admin scripts and we'll pay you $100 for each one that we publish as a TechRepublic download.
Editor's note: This script is included in the downloadable Zip file for your convenience.
In their own words
Below is a script that I used to remove desktop icons from machines. We had an application that was going offline, in lieu of an alternative. We anticipated some hesitation from the users, but wanted to make sure that they started using the new app before taking it offline. I created this script to remove the old icons so that the users would be forced to move to the new app, but we could leave the old server online until we had ensured that there were no issues with the new app.
It also creates an HTML log file that can be used to view which files were deleted on each machine. We directed this to a network share using the OUTSTORE variable. The outfile is in the format of compname-dd-mm-yyyy.htm.
Listing A
'Remove desktop icon'Writen by: Dan Parr
'this script will parse through every windows user profile on a machine and delete a specified
'file from the desktops. Useful if you have a web based application etc. That goes offline and
'you wan to ensure users stop using it to move to your newer alternative app.
'Setup some variables
Dim Shell, FSO, Profname, subdir
'Setup the script Objects
Set Shell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
'*************************************************
'PROFNAME - FOLDER WHERE PROFILES ARE STORED ON THE MACHINE
WIN2K/XP: C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS
set Profname = fso.getfolder("C:\documents and settings")
'*************************************************
'*************************************************
'SICON - This is the name of the icon/file you want to
remove(google.url, othericon.lnk etc...)
sicon=""
'*************************************************
'*************************************************
'''' Set Outstore to be equal to the network share where you want
'''' each system to dump their ouput log. \\servername\share\
OUTSTORE = ""
'************************************************
Dpart=datepart("d",Date)
Mpart=datepart("m",Date)
Ypart=datepart("yyyy",Date)
Fdate= dpart & "-" & Mpart & "-" & Ypart
' Script Objects required for output
Set WshNetwork = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Network")
Compname = Wshnetwork.Computername
Set objFS = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objNewFile = objFS.CreateTextFile(OUTSTORE & Compname & "-" & Fdate & ".htm")
' last of the variables for output
Delfile = False
objNewFile.WriteLine "<html>"
objNewFile.WriteLine "<head>"
objNewFile.WriteLine "<title>Process Report:" & Compname & "</title>"
objNewFile.WriteLine "</head>"
objNewFile.WriteLine "<body>"
objNewFile.WriteLine "<h1>Process Report <BR>Computer Name: " & Compname & "<BR>Date: " & Now() & _
"</h1>" & vbCrLf
For Each subdir In PROFNAME.SubFolders
Sfldr = subdir.path
Sdesk = Sfldr & "\desktop"
Slink = Sdesk & "\" & sicon
if fso.folderexists(Sdesk) then
If fso.fileexists(Slink) Then
objNewFile.WriteLine "Shortcut Exists at:" & Slink & "<BR>"
objNewFile.WriteLine _
".............................................. <BR>"
objNewFile.WriteLine "<BR>"
fso.deletefile Slink
objNewFile.WriteLine "Shortcut Deleted:" & Slink & "<BR>"
Delfile=True
Else
end if
Else
end if
Next
if Delfile = False then
objNewFile.WriteLine "No Shortcuts Found - No Files Deleted"
End if
Print/View all Posts Comments on this article
Member-submitted script to remove icons
Mark W. Kaelin | 01/20/06
|
Could this be run remotely?
burke.bob@... | 03/13/06
|
White Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads
- Building the Virtualized Enterprise with VMware Infrastructure VMware This paper explains how adopting a virtual infrastructure -- comprised of server, storage, and networking virtualization technologies -- can help your organization build a sustainable competitive ... Download Now
- Building the Virtualized Enterprise with VMware Iinfrastructure VMware VMware virtualization software has been adopted by over 120,000 enterprise ... Download Now
- The True Costs of Virtual Server Solutions VMware Discover ways to streamline and simplify your assessment of the total acquisition costs of a server virtualization environment. Download Now
- VMware Infrastructure: A Guide to Bottom-Line Benefits VMware Frustrated by the high cost of maintaining or building ever-larger data centers? Get the facts you need to formulate your Virtualization Action Plan. Download Now
- The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now
Article Categories
- Security
- Security Solutions, IT Locksmith
- Networking and Communications
- E-mail Administration NetNote, Cisco Routers and Switches
- CIO and IT Management
- Project Management, CIO Issues, Strategies that Scale
- Desktops, Laptops & OS
- Windows 2000 Professional, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Windows XP,
- Data Management
- Oracle, SQL Server
- Servers
- Windows NT, Linux NetNote, Windows Server 2003
- Career Development
- Geek Trivia
- Software/Web Development
- Web Development Zone, Visual Basic, .NET
