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If you package your script with PrimalScript's or PrimalForm's packager you have the option of including a manifest. This manifest can be used to make your executable file prompt for elevation when executed. It's easy to spot the difference between an application that will prompt for elevation and one that does not by looking at the icon: Now, imagine the surprise if you get a shield on your icon and an elevation prompt when you run a file you packaged without a manifest. As you can see from the image below it's all in the name: I simply took the…   More »

When you create a new file in PrimalScript you have several options: 1. Click on the File New button in the toolbar 2. Click the little arrow next to it to create a specific type of file 3. Select File – New… and choose a specific type form the menu 4. Press Ctrl+N to create a new empty file Number 1 and 4 usually pop up the following dialog when used the first time: If you click yes you can select a default template. Now, we all know, in the midst of a hectic work day if some pesky dialog…   More »

The latest build of PrimalScript 2011 has a new little toy built in. If you run a script from within PrimalScript, it will time the execution and print the elapsed time after the script has finished in the output window. While this isn't exactly a profiler of any kind, it can be helpful to evaluate the time it takes to accomplish come common tasks. For example, let's look at concatenating strings. Almost every example script we see from users adds strings up to form reports, log files, CSV files and so forth. It's also not language specific, as we see…   More »

We have received a couple requests in the last few days to explain the security implications of using our Remote Script Execution Engine (RSEE). The RSEE service must be installed on a target machine and uses a configurable tcp/ip port to listen for incoming script execution requests from a PrimalScript instance. Another port is used to transport the output back to the requester. All traffic to and from RSEE is encrypted. This is no high level of encryption, it uses a very simple and fast algorithm that is sufficient in most cases. RSEE has no built-in authentication, as the assumption…   More »

We are sending our CEO and CTO on tour! SAPIEN Technologies will be visiting a number of user groups within the US to meet and discuss ideas, present new exciting products and to get feedback from you, our customers and users. Of course we  will also sponsor those meetings with cool prizes and whatever goodies the airlines let us take along.   So if you belong to any VBScript, PowerShell or general System/Network Administrators users group, this is your chance to reserve a spot for your group to have one of the founders of SAPIEN speak at and sponsor one…   More »

This week, Alex Riedel and SAPIEN alumus Don Jones will sit down (virtually speaking) at a roundtable discussion on the PowerScripting Podcast. They will be joined by PowerShell architect Jeffrey Snover, and PowerShell MVP Kirk Munro. Scheduled topics include: A Thousand Things 1% Better What's most important for a posh newbie to learn? Script vs. Shell Coolest use of PowerShell that you've seen--and what's to come. What third-party software is missing? Is PowerShell useful for <insert concept here>? You can catch the show live on UStream at 9:00PM EST. There is a lively chat room that is actively involved…   More »

I wanted to make sure everybody knew about another site in the ScriptingAnswers.com family. We have another area we refer to as our Essentials site. Here we gather tips, best practices, sample scripts and more. Coverage includes not only PowerShell but VBScript as well. This is also where you'll find conference slide decks and demo scripts. The site is arranged by categories and you'll likely find something in multiple categories. You may also like to subscribe to the sites RSS feed. So if you haven't dropped by, I hope you'll pay a quick visit to http://www.scriptinganswers.com/essentials/ and find something of…   More »

 "Boz" sent this one in, and it's a doozy. I have two places for you to look: First is at http://www.scriptinganswers.com/essentials/index.php/2008/02/21/how-do-i-sign-a-windows-powershell-script/, which describes the process I used to sign a script for a new self-paced training video that should be out in March 2008.  The other is in Microsoft TechNet Magazine, where I wrote an article about this. Visit http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/default.aspx and look for the March 2008 issue when it's available.  The short answer: Buy (or acquire) a Class III code-signing certificate of the Microsoft Authenticode variety, and use the Set-AuthenticodeSignature cmdlet to sign your script. Not too difficult, although getting your certificate…   More »

This is a REALLY common question, and if you have any experience with VBScript, or Perl, or some similar scripting language, you'll go down completely the wrong path. The thing to remember is that PowerShell already knows how to format tables! You just have to give it your data in a way it understands, so it can make a table out of it. So what does PowerShell's Format-Table cmdlet know how to work with? Objects. So the trick is to format whatever data you're working with as an object. In other words, let's say you have four variables that contain…   More »

 Ah, this is what everyone really wishes for, isn't it? Which, as you might have guessed from that intro, the answer is "no." See, PowerShell requires bits of the .NET Framework in order to run. Not the whole thing, you understand, just pieces - a fairly small subset, in fact. Unfortunately, you don't get the Framework in pieces, you get the whole wodge in one big piece. That whole wodge was more moving parts than the Server Core folks wanted to have to deal with, since the entire Framework has its own dependencies on underlying bits of Windows - bits…   More »