Create and save filenames based upon today's date

[helpdsk]

Armstrong, I am sure I will have another question on another script sometime in the near future and I am sure you will get your chance to help me then, but this time the guys were able to take care of me in your absence.

As far as your CD Burning script idea...

First of all, I use a piece of Software called Second Copy 2000 to do all my unattended backups and CD Burning when I am not at my computer. All I need to do is put in a new CD and it is done when I get back to the computer. When I happen to be there during a backup, Second Copy uses so little of my System Resources when it runs that I always need to double-check my backups just to make sure they did get done.

Another reason I like Second Copy 2000 is because it has won the People's Choice Award for Best Overall Utility for the past three years in a row. So if you feel like it, why don't you give it a try?

Of course, a person also needs a packet-writing software and I use a special piece of software called WriteCD-RW Pro which can be found at



http://www.softarch.com/
.



When you use regular packet-writing software like Ahead InCD or Roxio DirectCD, they do not tell you that when you delete a file from a CD-RW, you just delete the pointer to the file and not the actual file itself. Thus, the more files you delete from a CD-RW the more filled it gets.

WriteCD-RW Pro uses a new technology called Mount Rainier which you will be hearing about more and more as we get nearer to the next version of Windows. That's because the Mount Rainier technology is scheduled to be built into the OS, but that won't be for a few more months.

Mount Rainier allows you to delete the actual file from a CD-RW, as well as the pointer to the file. It also features increased error correction similar to a hard drive. In the case of a bad CD-RW, a file cannot be copied over a defect as with other CD burning software. For now, the only drawback is you need WriteCD-RW Pro and a Mount Rainier compatible CD-RW drive. Fortunately, these drives are priced competitively with "normal" drives.

I read so many computer magazine articles that I forget where I read them, but I believe that a recent issue of PC World (or one of those mainstream magazines) has a list of the 10 top CD-RW drives on the market, and many of them are said to be Mount Rainier "compatible". But I would call the manufacturer first to check before you buy, because the technology is still new and a specific drive may not be "compatible" yet, just "ready" if you know what I mean. (A specific drive may require a ROM upgrade that may or may not be available just yet. If the tech or the salesman doesn't know what you are talking about, you might want to try another company.)

The one I use and have been recommending is the Mitsumi CR-480ATE CD-RW, but that one is getting old and may not be available for much longer.

Like a new friend of mine said recently "My, I do ramble on, don't I?"

So anyways, Armstrong, the answer to your CD Burning question is "I got it covered."

Make it a great day!

Edward

[Ernest]

Hi Helpdsk,

MidStr:
That's what the MSched Help said ("RTFM - can save your life" as my Mom always told me )
MidStr>string,start,length,result

MidStr>the_year,3,2,the_year
-----------------------------------
the_year = the input variable/string
3 = start reading from 3rd position of the variable/string
2 = number of characters to read
the_year = define output variable/string


defining variables

Day>the_day
Month>the_month
Year>the_year
MidStr>the_year,3,2,the_year

Yes, that's possible/correct. Personaly I try to set all variables in the beginning of a script. Preventing me from using them twice by mistake & it's easier for maintenance cause you don't have to search throughout the whole script if you've to change something.

GetDate>Issue
As I assume the date used by the GetDate>Function is assigned to the date set in the regional settings of your PC!?
Have a try by changing it to a different format
But if you don't wanna change it forever to any alien style format (e.g. German) , it's maybe possible to do that "on the fly" by editing the registry settings with the MSched RegistryWriteKey>Function and to reset it if the session will be closed.

Ernest

[armsys]

Hello Edward,

CD Burning
Thanks for your resourceful discourse on CD burning. In Particular, I find your recommandation of Second Copy 2000 very interesting. I'll spend more time to study Software Architects' website site. Currently I use EasyCD from Adaptec and is evaluating WinBackup from LIUtilities (http://www.liutilities.com/products/winbackup/) in Sweden.

CD Burning may be a lot more complicated as we have to cope with the following events:
1. Defective CD/DVD;
2. CD/DVD is (almost) full;
3. Verification fails, and many more.

Nonetheless, Macor Scheduler can help superbly reduce all manual keystrokes.

Helix Producer Basic 9
It is a well-known spyware. Don't install it on your mission-critcal PC connecting to the internet. Their ultimate goal is to sell consumer profiles they gather thru their so-call freeware. It's hardly free at all! Personally, I'm sincerely saddened by their loss of leadership in the internent multimedia technology, which is now taken over by Microsoft in terms of performance and user interface.

Keep on sharing our scripting experiences.

[Ernest]

Hi Helpdsk,
I had a look at your request ...

Is there a way to cause the GetDate>date command as I have it written in my script to either use mmddyy format or cause it to produce a date like January 3, 2003?

... it looks like this Coast to Coast - 1/3/2003 and I would prefer one of the two ways I mentioned above.

Yes indeed, the date format of GetDate> is based on the settings at Start/Setting/Control Panel/Regional Setting (Date/Short Date Style). So as proposed, a change of these settings would have an impact on the GetDate>command output.

Something like this could help you:

Code: Select all

VBSTART
Function MName
MDigit = Month (Now)
MName = MonthName (MDigit)
End Function

Function DayName
WDay = Weekday (Now)
DayName = WeekdayName (WDay)
End Function

VBEND

VBEval>DayName,dayname
VBEval>MName,MLong

Day>FileDay
Let>FileDay=%FileDay%/1
Year>FileYear

MessageModal>%MLong% %FileDay%, %FileYear%%CRLF%Today is %dayname%

Rgds,
Ernest

[armsys]

Hi Ernest,

In your most recent post, what's the purpose for appending /1 at the end of the following stmt?

Let>FileDay=%FileDay%/1

Thanks.

[Guest]

Thanks Ernest for your explanation of MidStr>the_year,3,2,the_year and the GetDate>Function !

Armstrong,

Before I go and make you mad at me later on in this post, I am going to ask you a few questions.

Have you come to any additional conclusions regarding automatic burning to CD-R/RW/DVD other than those below?

1. Defective CD/DVD
After days of researching the Internet, and since I am waiting for a virtual winner in the DVD Wars, I currently only use Taiyo Yuden CD-R's to back up my important data, no matter what else is on sale. I also only use TDK CD-RW's for the same reasons. I haven't had a bad disc since I started using these two brands. Do you have any insider knowledge of any better brands?

2. CD/DVD is (almost) full
Haven't decided what to do about this one, besides manually checking it daily. Maybe I will find some software in my travels that will help me keep an eye on the remaining space left on my CD-RW. This should be possible, since WriteCD-RW Pro makes a CD-RW look like a giant floppy drive to the system. I suppose I will have a verification failure, as in number 3, when I have a full CD.

Any more thoughts on automatic burning? Let me know what you think about the Software Architects implementation of Mount Rainier after you get done reading their website.

Since I make my living here in Saint Paul helping clients with their data protection and Internet Security needs, I was absolutely astonished when you mentioned that my new toy, Helix Producer Basic 9, was, in your opinion, "a well-known spyware". You went on to state that I should not "install it on my mission-critical PC connecting to the internet". You further stated that "Their ultimate goal is to sell consumer profiles they gather thru their so-call freeware. It's hardly free at all!" I assume you are talking about RealNetworks.com goal when you talk about "their goal."

Well, I am always ready for a lively sypware discussion, as long as we both agree to stick to the issue hand, have the welfare of each other our top priority, and not attack each other personally.

So, that being said, let me be the first to throw the gauntlet down.

Let me start by saying it's my business to keep my eyes and ears open regarding any new developments in the fast-moving computing field, and decide if any of these new developments could be of any value to my clients. Since it's my livelihood, I constantly place myself in "research mode" and I spend as much time as I can making myself aware of as much media information as I can get my hands on, including cable television, computer magazines, ezines, newsletters, and email listserves. Of course, I also browse the web constantly, which is how I came to learn about Macro Scheduler. Luckily, I enjoy what I do so much that it is not work for me, or else I would have burned myself out years ago.

Even though I hadn't heard anything about Helix Producer Basic 9 in my normal research, when you said you thought it was spyware, I decided to do some Internet research on it to see what I could find out about it.

I religiously use software from Lavasoft called Ad-Aware 5.83 Plus, so I wasn't immediately alarmed that I had inadvertantly installed some sort of spyware on my computer. I am sure you have heard of, and perhaps even use, the free version of Ad-Aware. A fifteen minute search on Google.com will reveal that Ad-Aware is one of the leading detectors of spyware that is currently available. Anyways, the Plus version of Ad-Aware, which is available for a paltry $15 US, has a feature that runs in the backround that will not allow you to install any known spyware, even if you try.

Besides the backround monitor, which I always have running, I decided to use Ad-Aware to perform a complete scan of all the files on my system. All it found was 8 spyware cookies and one Alexa.

Wouldn't you think that if Helix Producer Basic 9 was a "well-known spyware," it would show up in such a scan? Well, it didn't.

After I finished the Ad-Aware scan, I browsed over to


http://www.spychecker.com/
.


to see if "Helix Producer Basic 9" or even just "Helix" was a well-known spyware. With an index of almost a thousand software titles, you would think that any "well-known spyware" would come up, wouldn't you?

Helix Producer is the recording software, and RealOne is the player software for RealNetwork's proprietary .rm and the older RealAudio .ra media clips, so I typed in "RealOne Player Basic 2", "RealOne" and and even "RealNetworks". If any of those were "well-known" spyware, don't you think that they would also appear in a list of almost a thousand software titles?

Since Ad-Aware and Spychecker do not consider either Helix Producer Basic 9 or RealOne Player Basic 2 to be spyware, I have a few questions for you.

What information do you have that led you to believe that Helix Producer Basic 9 was/is a spyware application? I am always willing to learn something new.

At this point I will grant you that the configuration of the RealOne Player, is set by default to send out a lot of browsing information about you that you might want to have kept secret, but it looks like you can just turn off those "features" , by simply deselecting them, which is what I did. You can't do that with any other kind of spyware that I know about. I also hate the pop-up screens that you get when you browse around with RealOne Player. But, if you recall, all I want it for is to listen to Coast to Coast, so I am not going to be doing any browsing anyways.

And there don't seem to be any such "features" in Helix Producer Basic 9.

I have Zone Alarm Pro 3.5 and I could just take away RealOne Player's access to the Internet to just listen to the clips that I record with Helix Producer Basic 9. Would that make you feel any better?

For the moment, let's assume that one or the other of these two softwares are indeed spyware. I am going to start up Helix Producer to make a recording for about 5 hours per day 5 days per week, same URL, same time every day, then I am going to turn it off and not use it anymore for the rest of the week. It is not going to be running all the time like some of the other spyware is designed to do. I will probably install it on a different computer, separate from my main computer so that I can get the best recording, so I won't be browsing the Internet while it is running.

Do I really care if RealNetworks finds out that I listen to/record the same old boring 5 hour show, 5 days per week, same URL, same time every day? I do not see how they are going to get any kind of profile about me from that little bit of information. Can you see any drawbacks to my way of thinking?

I am anxiously awaiting your rebuttal. But please be kind.

Make it a great day!

Edward

[armsys]

Edward,

First of all, thank you for your recommendation of Write CD/DVD Pro. In essence, it treats a CD-RW drive as a regular hard drive greatly simplifying files addtion/deletion.

Don't get me wrong! I was a great aficionado of RealPlayer. It's the feud between Microsoft and Helix/RealOne/RealPlayer/Real-net.

A long time ago it attracted my attention when my notebook did nothing but both CPU and broardband usage reamained unusally high. That's how I began to quest the cause. Three files, namely, RealSched.exe, RealTray.exe, Realmon.exe, exhibited unusual behavior--they could be automatically reinstalled if manually deleted. It was a long story, anyway. After successful removal of these Real files and entries in Windows Registry, the CPU usage indicates about 99% idle when, for example, I just read a webpage. Overall my Windows XP performance is dramatically improved. Am I a user of RealPlayer (paid version)? Yes, if only if I am disconnected from the internet.

Of course, I know in great details about Ad-ware, one of the leading adware removal software on the internet. Their latest reference file was dated Sep 24, 2002. It's somewhat obsolete. Beware, there are several pieces of fake Ad-ware widely circulated on the internet. In fact, they are virusware (see: http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.ph ... 946fd8b1f6.)

To ensure you download an authentic Ad-Ware 5, visit their German website: http://lavasoft.de/.

Alas, the selection and inclusion of adware list is highly political and sensitive. Some adware is excluded for fear of potential litigation. It ins't exact science. Wall Streat Journal published an article about Ad-Ware authored by Miles Stephanie (http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.ph ... ab5af4b261).

Do I trust Ad-Ware? Absolutely.

P.S. I visited Minneapolis/St Paul for a week two years ago. In particular, I was impressed by the Omnitheater (near Sciene Museum of Minnesota).

[Ernest]

Hi Armstrong,
i've tried to get rid of the leading 0 which I've got as the Day>Output (01/03/2003)

So i've divided ("/") the day-variable with 1 --> 03/1 = 3

Before: January 03, 2003
Afterw: January 3, 2003

Bye folks,
Ernest

[Bob Hansen]

Interesting reading about the CD burn options and the spyware controversies, but these seem to be way off line of the Macro Scheduler scripting issues.

I was going to suggest that perhaps you continue this in private email or open up a separate topic. This topic was originally using dates in file names.

But I have decided not to make that request. I guess we should just let the information flow. There is always something new to be learned.

I also have been using the registered version of Ad-Aware and would recommend its usage to others.

Thanks for the info. Guilty for adding my two cents worth.

[armsys]

Ernest,

Thanks for teaching me your amazing programming technique.

Bob,

You're absolutely right.

[helpdsk]

And I promise I will try not to let it happen again.

I was thinking that very thing whilst I was in the midst of my ramblings. Many thanks to all for allowing me the opportunity to get up on my digital soapbox once again and not all ganging up on me by chastising me sooner.

Bob, can you take a look at the personal message I sent you and respond when you get an opportunity? Feel free to copy the group if you like, as I do not consider anything in my original request to you to be something that needs to be kept a secret. I will leave it up to you to make the decision as to whether or not you think your original response back to me was personal.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Edward

[Bob Hansen]

Hi Edward.

No problem with making any of this public. It is my preference to always do that so that we can all share from each other.

As I noted in our email, I thought that you already had some good suggestions, but here is my contribution anyway.

Included here is how I modified the sample code that you sent to me. Unfortunately, I did not save your original code for inclusion here.

I only worked on the sections dealing with the dates and the Stop period. I created a few variables at the beginning to allow you to make simple changes in the future. Note the line for your 5Hour, 5Min wait. It can now be done using a calculated value StopSecs. (My calculaton comes out to 18300 vs. 18420). Just change the User Variables to change the delay.

I added a Message Box to show the results and a End label to exit. I am curious about the 5 second delays you have with the ALT key combinations. That really seems long. I have also found it helpful to build in a delay, but it is more like 0.5 vs. 5.0

Sorry about all the labels, but work habits are hard to break, I like seeing visible codes sections.

Hope this helps you. Good luck.......

//=====================================
//This is section by Bob Hansen, 1/5/2003

Label>UserVariables
//=========== ========================
//Change values in this section only.
Let>titlebase=Coast to Coast AM > > >
Let>filenamebase=S:\Coast\CC_
Let>StopHours=5
Let>StopMins=5
Label>EndUserVariables
//=========== ========================

Label>CalcStopSeconds
//=========== ========================
Let>StopHSecs=%StopHours%*3600
Let>StopMSecs=%StopMins%*60
Let>StopSecs=%StopHSecs%+%StopMSecs%

//Use Wait>%StopSeconds% in later programming line.

Label>EndCalcStopSeconds
//=========== ========================

Label>GetDateValues
//=========== ========================
//This allows for different system date formats.
Month>MM
Day>DD
Year>YYYY

Label>CheckMonth
Length>%MM%,len
If>%len%=2,CheckDay
Let>MM=0%MM%

Label>CheckDay
Length>%DD%,len
If>%len%=2,CheckYear
Let>DD=0%DD%

Label>CheckYear
Length>%YYYY%,len
If>%len%=4,DatesDone
//Next line is only for 21st century dates
Let>YYYY=20%YYYY%
//Next line is for 2 digit year values
MidStr>%YYYY%,3,2,YY
//Now have full values for MM, DD, YYYY, and for YY
Label>DatesDone
//=========== ========================

Label>MakeNames
//=========== ========================
Let>title=%titlebase%%MM%-%DD%-%YYYY%
Let>filename=%filenamebase%%MM%_%DD%_%YYYY%.rm
Label>NamesDone
//=========== ========================

Label>ShowResults
//Display results of programming
MessageModal>Title is %title% %CRLF%%CRLF%Filename is %filename%%CRLF%%CRLF%Macro will stop in %StopSecs% seconds.
Goto>End

//This is end of section by Bob Hansen, 1/5/2003
//=====================================

//This section continues Edward's original code =========

Wait>5
Press ALT
Send>f
Wait>5
Send>f
Release ALT
Send>filename
Wait>5
Press Enter
Wait>5
Press Enter
Wait>5
Press ALT
Send>s
Wait>5
Send>c
Wait>5
Release ALT
Send>title
Wait>5

//Close Odd Window With No Visible Buttons
WindowAction>3,Clip Information - Untitled 1

//Start Encoding Process
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Wait>5
Press Enter

//This Encoding Process Will Automatically Stop After 5 Hours and 5 Minutes
//Press TAB
//Wait>18420
//Press Enter

Label>End

[helpdsk]

Yes, Bob, I have been getting some very good advice from all of you at the Macro Scheduler Forum. Pity I can only pick and choose from all the wonderful posts even though I do not want to offend anyone.

I don't want to change the Registry, even temporarily, 5 times per week, 20 times per month, 240 times per year, just to run a fun little program. That sounds like it is tempting fate just a little too much, doncha think?

Below you will find my original code just for the record.

I can figure out the number of seconds I want my script to run later, so I am not going to worry about that right now.

Because Macro Scheduler is so darn fast, I have been using 5 second wait times just so I can see what is being done by the script to my programs. I am sure I will shorten all or most of these when I am more confident everything is working as I intend.

I really enjoy seeing all the notes that you made in your script. Maybe I will change my new and improved script to record other Internet streams on different days, and the extra detail you provided should make it pretty easy, I hope. So thanks for all the extra effort.

If I use this script, or any other script you help me with, for my clients or friends or whatever, do you want me to give you credit and give out your real email address or website or something? (Always want to give credit where credit is due.) Or did you just enter your name in the script so that the people at this Forum would know the difference between your script and my script in the post? Or do you even care about who gets the credit after you post? I might use it in the Community Education classes that I teach, or publish it for other fans to use on the Coast to Coast site, or whatever else I happen to think of.

Also, I do not want to get off-topic again for very long, but I do need to ask you again about your script for keeping only 5 files of something. For example, daily .log files, or .txt files created with today's dates in a specific directory, for programs like Norton AntiVirus or Zone Alarm Pro. For December 31, 2002, here is the format for

Norton AntiVirus 12312002.Log

and here is the format for

Zone Alarm Pro ZALog2002.12.31.txt

Can you send me a sample script that you would use that I could adapt to my needs? Does it need to have any kind of path or do you just run it in the given directory? You can send that answer to my personal box if you want.

Make it a great day!

Edward

Here is the original script that I sent you to look at

The leading front slashes // denote lines that I was using immediately after your last suggestions to me in your last personal post.

//Select Destination
Wait>5
GetDate>date
Let>title=Coast to Coast AM > > >
ConCat>title,date
Month>MM
Day>DD
Year>YYYY
//Month>the_month
//Day>the_day
//Year>the_year
MidStr>%YYYY%,3,4,%YYYY%
//MidStr>%the_year%,3,2,%the_year%
Let>filename=S:\Coast\CC_
Let>extension=.rm
ConCat>filename,%MM%-
ConCat>filename,%DD%-
ConCat>filename,%YYYY%
//ConCat>filename,%the_month%-
//ConCat>filename,%the_day%-
//ConCat>filename,%the_year%
ConCat>filename,extension
Wait>5
Press ALT
Send>f
Wait>5
Send>f
Release ALT
Send>filename
Wait>5
Press Enter
Wait>5
Press Enter
Wait>5
Press ALT
Send>s
Wait>5
Send>c
Wait>5
Release ALT
Send>title
Wait>5

//Close Odd Window With No Visible Buttons
WindowAction>3,Clip Information - Untitled 1

//Start Encoding Process
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Press TAB
Wait>5
Press Enter

//This Encoding Process Will Automatically Stop After 5 Hours and 5 Minutes
//Press TAB
//Wait>18420
//Press Enter

[Bob Hansen]

I had just added an archive script to the forum before I read your last reply. It is under a new topic: Renaming archive files for N days (or something close to that).

I do this for a business, so credit is always appreciated, thanks for asking. But anything submitted here is for the general Macro Scheduler public. I will check my profile to make sure that the information is up to date if you want to use it.

I guess I should take the time to make a more professional signature also. Thanks for the reminder.



=============================
Robert M. Hansen
Sensible Solutions Inc.
215 South Broadway, Unit 308
Salem, NH 03079
Phone: 603-898-8223
Fax: 603-893-3890
http://www.sensiblesolutions.org

[helpdsk]

Bob,

I added your script to my script and tried to run it. Unfortunately, it stopped as soon as it started working on your part of the script. Then it slowed down my machine and made noises like it was thinking. After that, it almost locked up my Windows 2000 machine and then closed Macro Scheduler.

Is there a way to open Macro Scheduler just long enough for it to do its job and then have it close itself? That would be cool if I could do that. How do I start then stop macro sheduler?

But anyways, I don't know enough about Macro Scheduler to troubleshoot your great script, so can you help me out? I know it will be hard for you to do this since you don't actually have the program, but please bear with me.

Make it a great day!

Edward