This repo has grown bloated and curly, with too many other side projects growing in it, outside of its original scope. It has been changed to a Template Repository, so that new repos can be created from it with the same files structure, without being cloned or forked and carrying over all its messy history.
It will be parted out and the sub-components, issues, and readme documentation will be migrated to their own repositores.
- (Complete)
Migrate TimeFunc PowerShell module to separate repoâ–ş TimeFunctions - (Complete)
Migrate Documentation automation scripts to separate repoâ–ş Diagram-Automation - (Complete)
Migrate Chocolatey and Boxstarter automatic software install helpersâ–ş Windows-Fresh-Install-Helper-scripts - Migrate Task Tracker PowerShell module to merge with StackWorkflow module
- (Complete)
Migrate PowerShell demo / practice / hello world module/scripts to separate repoâ–ş PowerShell-template
The following is the original documentation below:
Common tasks that can be accomplished by *.bat files on Windows systems.
These features a lot of structure, organization, and emphasis on functions, or calling other scripts to do the rest.
All code or functions gained from other sources are referenced in place where used with links.
- Refactor in Progress
- Batch Functions, Templates, Tools, and Scripts
- Table of Contents:
- How to use:
- Work In Progress:
- How to contribute:
Need to write an 'automation.bat' script to fix a recurring problem or add some new functionality to a Windows system? Does the script need to be longer than 10 lines, or use more complicated functionality? Use functions-template.bat to get started quickly!
Copy functions-template.bat to the place you need it, delete the stuff you don't need, starting with everything in :Parameters and :Main and prune everything you don't need in :ExternalFunctions and :DefineFunctions. Use existing functions to accelerate development in :Main and store parameters in :Parameters.
With AutoHotKey installed (a language that allows you to automate sending keystrokes and mouse clicks), this script allows you to paste text into locked fields that otherwise block clipboard pasting.
CompareTo-Parent.bat (located in the Tools folder) is a great for merging text documents utilizing KDiff3. There are 2 ways to use this tool:
- Drag-n-Drop compatible:
- Drag-and-drop the first file onto
CompareTo-Parent.bat, and a cmd window will pop-up asking for the second file. - Drag-and-drop the second file onto the cmd window that just appeared.
- Press enter.
- Drag-and-drop the first file onto
- Edit the file using your favorite text/script/IDE editor, and scroll down to the
:Parameterstag. There are 2 main parameters that need to be modified:_FILE_A(will always be the first file to be updated)_FILE_B
Tips:
- Hold
Shift + Right Clickon a file, and "Copy as path" will appear in the right-click menu. (Windows Vista and higher)- Use the
%UserProfile%automatic variable to fill in for "%SystemDrive%\Users\{username}" E.g. "%UserProfile%\Documents\My File.txt" = "C:\Users\<Username>\Documents\My File.txt"
Use it to merge code or lists you may have edited on a flash drive at another computer, back with your source destination.
E.g. If you created a flash drive "toolbox" with a collection of automation scripts like this, but ended up modifying them in order to fix some bugs, you'll probably want to update the source storage location with your new bugfixes. Use CompareTo-Parent.bat to do exactly that, or for frequent updates make a copy of the script and set the Parameters to the two files that need to be maintained as the same.
Boxstarter Helper script
Boxstarter is the perfect tool to set up a fresh-out-of-the-box computer with software and OS tweaks, customized to your exact needs. Great for deploying a fleet of computers quickly & automatically; or to help restore your computer after a serious hardware/software crash that requires re-installing the OS & restoring data files from a backup. To backup the installed software on your PC, all that's needed is a copy of your Boxstarter script on the backup drive.
Tools like Update-Java.bat and Install-AllWindowsUpdates.bat are simple examples of Boxstarter's power with their 2-line scripts, which are Update-Java.txt and Install-AllWindowsUpdates.txt respectively.
For a more detailed example, BoxstarterInstall-NetworkingUtilities.bat contains a list of software & utilities great for setting up a Networking Technician's on-site work laptop. This way, if the laptop is connected to an infected network, afterwards it can be completely wiped with a fresh install of Windows, have all of the software re-installed via the Boxstarter script, then data files can be restored via backup drive. Regular wiping also helps protect a client's network from any zero-day infections still unknown to you, possibly gained from being a well-traveled laptop.
A full backup & restoration plan should also include the configuration of applications that were just installed by the Boxstarter script, such as importing bookmarks, setting themes, adding email accounts, etc.; and OS customizations that cannot be performed by Boxstarter, such as customizing the Taskbar, Start Menu, Desktop, etc. For a full Windows Backup & Restoration plan example, see the Backup and Restore folder.
All 4 of these scripts are Boxstarter helper scripts; they are practically identical. The only difference is the parameters at the very top of the scripts have been changed: (Use Tools/CompareTo-Parent.bat to see for yourself!)
- BoxstarterInstall-template.bat
- BoxstarterInstall-NetworkingUtilities.bat
- Install-AllWindowsUpdates.bat
- Update-Java.bat
To create your own, make a copy of BoxstarterInstall-template.bat and rename it to fit your project. Edit the file using your favorite text/script/IDE editor, and scroll down to the :Parameters tag. There are 2 main parameters that need to be modified:
- Source of the Boxstarter script to run. Choose either:
- Github-hosted Gist script
- Path to a locally-accessible .txt script. By default, if you name your your new project script BoxstarterInstall-MyNewProject.bat then
%~dpn0.txtwill point to a file named BoxstarterInstall-MyNewProject.txt stored in the same folder. - A comma-seperated list of Chocolatey packages, e.g.
adobereader,firefox,googlechrome
- A multi-line variable for the Instructions text. Batch script cannot handle mult-line string variables, so it much be appended to a temporary
_INSTRUCTIONS_FILE.
Use Kdiff3 to merge the changes between 2 (text) files or folders. Supports drag-and-drop of files one-at-a-time.
Used to troubleshoot batch files that close immediately on error, by keeping last errors open in command prompt for review. Supports drag-and-drop.
Recommended tool to install Chocolatey. Install-Chocolatey.bat and Install-XPChocolatey.bat need some work.
Can be used to install Chocolatey on Windows XP. Only used once, so it is recommended to double-check each step & review before running.
Displays a text banner across command prompt. Up to 14 characters for Windows 8 and below command prompt width, or up to 21 characters for Windows 10 command prompt width, or PowerShell prompt width on any Windows version.
Compatible characters:
- 0-9
- Hyphen "-"
- Period "."
- Comma ","
- At "@"
- A-Z (Caps only)
- Space " "
Add or subtract dates
Why make a WAIT boring, when you can make it fun? Show some flair the next time you need to add make the user 'wait' for something, or just for flair.
Uses Boxstarter and Chocolatey to automatically install a suite of software packages, in this case networking utilities for a technician's laptop.
See BoxstarterInstall-NetworkingUtilities.txt for full list of commands.
Uses Boxstarter and Chocolatey to automatically install a suite of software packages. Define software packages using Boxstarter script and Chocolatey commands, or simply a comma-separated list of chocolatey packages. Boxstarter scripts can be either a .txt file (preferably with the same name as the script), or uploaded to gist.github.com and referenced via Raw URL.
A framework for creating organized batch scripts. Also serves as a repository for all internal and external functions, and examples of using them.
Index of external functions:
- choco.exe "%_CHOCO_INSTALLED%"
- PSCP.EXE "%_PSCP_EXE%"
- kdiff3.exe "%_KDIFF_EXE%"
- gswin64c.exe (Ghostscript) "%_GSWIN64C_INSTALLED%"
- CompareTo-Parent.bat "%_COMPARE_FUNC%"
- Banner.cmd "%_BANNER_FUNC%"
- fossil.exe "%_FOSSIL_EXE%"
Index of Main:
- Phase 1: Evaluate Parameters
- Phase 2: Test :GetIfPathIsDriveRoot
- Phase 3: Test :GetWindowsVersion
- Phase 4: Test Banner.cmd (external function)
- Phase 5: Test :GetTerminalWidth
- Phase 6: Test :CheckLink
- Phase 7: Test :GetDate, :ConvertTimeToSeconds, and :ConvertSecondsToTime
- Phase 8: Test :InitLog and :InitLogOriginal
- Phase 9: Test :CreateShortcut, :CreateSymbolicLink, and :CreateSymbolicDirLink
Index of functions:
- :SampleFunction
- :DisplayHelp
- :Wait
- :ElevateMe
- :GetAdmin *
- :Download *
- :PSDownload *
- :AddToPATH
- :RemoveFromPATH *
- :GetTerminalWidth *
- :StrLen *
- :GenerateBlankSpace *
- :FormatTextLine *
- :CheckLink
- :GetWindowsVersion
- :GetIfPathIsDriveRoot
- :CreateShortcut *
- :CreateSymbolicLink *
- :CreateSymbolicDirLink *
- :GetDate
- :ConvertTimeToSeconds
- :ConvertSecondsToTime
- :InitLogOriginal
- :InitLog
- :SplashLogoKdiff
- :SplashLogoMerge
- :SplashLogoMergeComplete
* = needs further testing.
Uses Boxstarter script to download & install all Windows updates. Persistent through reboots. Recommend closing all applications before running.
Uses Boxstarter to update Java Runtime Environment.
There are 2 different Run-As-Administrator functions in use. #1 uses a cacls.exe method to check for permissions. #2 uses a FSUTIL method to check. Both use UAC.ShellExecute command called from a .vbs script to elevate.
#1 BatchGotAdmin International-Fix Code does not forward any parameters to the elevated script. Always elevates a script when the :RunAsAdministrator block is the first code execution added to the top.
- functions > RunAsAdministrator > BatchGotAdmin International-Fix Code.bat
- Tools > Get-Chocolatey.bat
- Tools > Install-Chocolatey.bat
- Tools > Install-XPChocolatey.bat
- BoxstarterInstall-NetworkingUtilities.bat
- BoxstarterInstall-template.bat
- Install-AllWindowsUpdates.bat
- Update-Java.bat
#2 SS64 Run with elevated permissions script (ElevateMe.vbs) can accept parameters and pass them along to the elevated script. Includes structure to prompt user for elevation, automatically elevate always, or skip elevation always.
- functions > RunAsAdministrator > SS64 Run with elevated permissions (ElevateMe.vbs).bat
- Tools > CompareTo-Parent.bat
- Tools > Debug-TroubleshootBatchFile.bat
- functions-template.bat
functions-template.batneeds some functions tested, highlighted by an asterisk*Get-Chocolatey.batandInstall-Chocolatey.batneed to be unified.Install-XPChocolatey.batneeds some work & more testing, if anybody is willing to put in the work. This will likely just become legacy code, unless anybody really needs chocolatey on Windows XP to deploy a fleet of XP machines.BoxstarterInstall-template.batcan be modified to have the reboot prompt overridden to yes or no via variable.BoxstarterInstall-template.batcan be modified to accept command-line arguments, so other scripts can call it to install chocolatey packages.- Run As Administrator function > BatchGotAdmin International-Fix Code can be modified to pass parameters.
Most .txt file notes and short .bat files come from a single use case. They are planned to be updated, tested, and organized under the common theme started in functions-template.bat as the next use case arises. That way each function evolves through necessity.
- Remote Access folder
- Backup and Restore folder
- File in Use folder
- Transferring Files folder
- System Clean-up folder (virus removal & system tune-up utilities)
- MS Exchange folder
- MS Outlook folder
- Find-and-Replace function for all files within a folder and subdirectories. Batch and PowerShell versions
All contributions are welcome. This section will be updated further, but currently standard GitHub policies like Pull Requests and Issues are the way to do it.