Rem - 25 Oct 2000

Do you have a scripting-related question or problem? You can send your question or problem to [email protected].

I'm an experienced Windows NT 4.0 administrator with little programming experience. Although I can create simple batch files, I want to learn Windows Script Host (WSH) and VBScript so that I can become more productive. Do you know of any instructor-led classes that I can take, or are books the only way to learn scripting technologies? If books are my only option, can you suggest one for an experienced NT administrator but a beginning programmer?

I'm not aware of any Microsoft Certified Technical Education Center (CTEC) or private training providers that currently offer public, instructor-led, hands-on classes. However, two training opportunities—a conference and an online training program—appear to be under development.

The Windows Script community is exploring the possibility of organizing a conference that highlights scripting in the Windows 2000 and NT platform, with an emphasis on systems administration tasks. A survey to assess the interest in this conference is under way. If you're interested in attending or participating in such a conference, I encourage you to complete the brief online survey at http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?cnttl082h8yfhym97d8k389p.

SmartForce, The e-Learning Company, is in the planning stage of developing online training courses about WSH and VBScript. For information about these online courses, visit the SmartForce Web site at http://www.smartforce.com/corp/marketing/corporate/content/solutions/smartcourses/catalog/curicula/win2000b.htm.

Because the conference and online training program are only in the planning stages, your current options are books and online resources. I recommend reviewing the table of contents in each of the following books to determine which one focuses on the areas you're most interested in:

If you're most interested in VBScript, VBScript in a Nutshell is a good starting point and a great reference. If you're most interested in WSH, Microsoft Windows Script Host 2.0 Developer's Guide is a good starting point.

Don't overlook the "Understanding VBScript" series in the Win32 Scripting Journal (June 1999 to present) and the documentation and tutorials available for download and online viewing on the Microsoft Windows Script Technologies Web site (http://msdn.microsoft.com/scripting/). Microsoft recently revised and updated all its script-related documentation with the release of Windows Script (WS) 5.5. My experience is that the documentation is much improved over earlier versions.

I've searched but found nothing about how to use Microsoft Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) scripts to manage Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition (WTS) user settings. Can you use ADSI to set the Allow logon to terminal server check box attribute?

Unfortunately, ADSI doesn't currently expose WTS user settings. Nor am I aware of a third-party component that exposes these settings. As a result, the only option is to use the Win32 API.