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Make Windows Work for You

WinBatch lets you create batch programs to automate almost any Windows task.

By Lincoln Spector, PCWorld   

Want to automate Windows? Fat chance, right? The operating system doesn't come well prepared for launching multiple programs, copying certain files on certain days, or requiring that the system ask permission before closing your applications. And the tools that are available aren't as effective as they could be. True, there's the old DOS batch-file language, but that doesn't translate very well in the world of Windows.

Wilson WindowWare's WinBatch ($99.95) attempts to fill the gap, offering a sophisticated batch language called WIL that improves on the old DOS version. You can manipulate windows, control peripherals (CD-ROM drives, for example), create menu commands that automatically perform tasks (document faxing and the like), and make hot keys that do such things as insert the time and date or names you frequently use. You can create much more complicated batch programs as well.

Once built, WinBatch programs are very useful--you could conceivably automate every task you commonly perform in Windows. But before you can use WinBatch, you'll have to climb a steep learning curve. First off, don't expect your knowledge of the DOS batch language (if you have any) to do you any good. Where you once typed Copy *.ini c:\temp, you must now type FileCopy("*.ini", "c:\temp", @true). It took me 15 minutes to figure out that the command to launch Notepad was not "notepad," but run("notepad","").

You can seek assistance, but the online Help feature won't get you very far. You won't find a description of the FileCopy command there, for instance. The only way to look up a command is in the printed manual (which, by the way, has no index).

But WinBatch does have components designed to simplify programming. The WinBatch package now ships with WinBatch Studio, an integrated development environment where you can type and edit your code, debug it, and run it. (You can also run a batch file by double-clicking it, of course.) The package includes tools for drawing dialog boxes, adding items to the Windows Explorer right-click menus, and putting macros on the taskbar menu.

Information systems managers can port all of WinBatch's functionality to their networks with WinBatch+Compiler ($495). The compiler turns batch files into executable programs that can be freely distributed--to standardize Windows automation throughout a company intranet, for example. The compiler also lets you create clickable icons that initiate entire administrative tasks, such as connecting to a server, retrieving information, and then logging off.

If you're not a programmer or IS manager, you can expect to spend some time screaming in aggravation while you learn WinBatch. But if you have the time and patience to master the programming language, you'll be equipped with a powerful automation tool.

PC World Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector writes and performs computer humor. His column Gigglebytes appears in 13 publications in four countries.