- Scriptable Shell Objects
- Shell Versions
- Instantiating Shell Objects
- Late Binding
- HTML OBJECT Element
- Shell Object
- Security
- Folder Objects
- How to run .sh or Shell Script file in Windows 10
- How to run .sh or Shell Script file in Windows 10
- 1] Execute Shell Script file using WSL
- 2] Execute Shell Script using Ubuntu on Windows 10
- Related Posts
- Windows Subsystem for Linux has no installed distributions
- Failed to Fork error with Ubuntu on Windows 10
- WslRegisterDistribution failed with error 0x8007019e and 0x8000000d – WSL
- [email protected]
- Primary Sidebar
- Scriptable Shell Objects
- Shell Versions
- Instantiating Shell Objects
- Late Binding
- HTML OBJECT Element
- Shell Object
- Security
- Folder Objects
Scriptable Shell Objects
The Windows Shell provides a powerful set of automation objects that enable you to program the Shell with Microsoft Visual Basic and scripting languages such as Microsoft JScript (compatible with ECMA 262 language specification) and Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript). You can use these objects to access many of the Shell’s features and dialog boxes. For example, you can access the file system, launch programs, and change system settings.
This section introduces the scriptable Shell objects.
- Shell Versions
- Instantiating Shell Objects
- Late Binding
- HTML OBJECT Element
- Shell Object
- Security
- Folder Objects
Shell Versions
Many of the Shell objects became available in version 4.71 of the Shell. Others are available in version 5.00 and later. Version 5.00 became available with WindowsВ 2000. The following table lists each Shell object under the version of the Shell in which the object became available.
| Version 4.71 | Version 5.00 |
|---|---|
| Folder | DIDiskQuotaUser |
| FolderItemVerb | DiskQuotaControl |
| FolderItemVerbs | Folder2 |
| Shell | FolderItem |
| ShellFolderView | FolderItems |
| ShellUIHelper | FolderItems2 |
| ShellWindows | IShellDispatch2 |
| WebViewFolderContents | IShellLinkDual2 |
| ShellFolderItem | |
| ShellFolderViewOC | |
| ShellLinkObject |
Instantiating Shell Objects
To instantiate the Shell objects in Visual Basic applications with early binding, add references to the following libraries in your project:
- Microsoft Internet Controls (SHDocVw)
- Microsoft Shell Controls and Automation (Shell32)
Late Binding
You can also instantiate many of the Shell objects with late binding. This approach works in Visual Basic applications and in script. The following example shows how to instantiate the Shell object in JScript.
The following example shows how to instantiate the Folder object in VBScript.
In the preceding example, sDir is the path to the Folder object. Note that the ShellSpecialFolderConstants enumeration values are not available in script.
The ProgID for each of the Shell objects is shown in the following table.
| Object | ProgID |
|---|---|
| DIDiskQuotaUser | Microsoft.DiskQuota.1 |
| DiskQuotaControl | Cannot late bind |
| Folder | shell.Shell_Application.NameSpace(«. «) |
| Folder2 | shell.Shell_Application.NameSpace(«. «) |
| FolderItem | shell.Shell_Application.NameSpace(«. «).Self or Folder.Items.Item or Folder.ParseName |
| FolderItems | Folder.Items |
| FolderItems2 | Folder.Items |
| FolderItemVerb | Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Self.Verbs.Item() |
| FolderItemVerbs | FolderItem.Verbs or Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Self.Verbs |
| IShellDispatch2 | shell.Shell_Application |
| IShellLinkDual2 | Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Self.GetLink or Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Items().GetLink |
| Shell | shell.Shell_Application |
| ShellFolderItem | Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Self or Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Items() |
| ShellFolderView | Cannot late bind |
| ShellFolderViewOC | Cannot late bind |
| ShellLinkObject | Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Self.GetLink or Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Items().GetLink |
| ShellUIHelper | Cannot late bind |
| ShellWindows | shell.Shell_Windows or ShellWindows._NewEnum |
| WebViewFolderContents | Cannot late bind |
HTML OBJECT Element
You can also use the OBJECT element to instantiate Shell objects on an HTML page. To do this, set the OBJECT element’s ID attribute to the variable name you will use in your scripts, and identify the object using its registered number (CLASSID). The following HTML creates an instance of the ShellFolderItem object using the OBJECT element.
The following table lists each Shell object and its respective CLASSID.
| DIDiskQuotaUser | 7988B571-EC89-11cf-9C00-00AA00A14F56 |
| DiskQuotaControl | 7988B571-EC89-11cf-9C00-00AA00A14F56 |
| Folder | BBCBDE60-C3FF-11CE-8350-444553540000 |
| Folder2 | f0d2d8ef-3890-11d2-bf8b-00c04fb93661 |
| FolderItem | 744129E0-CBE5-11CE-8350-444553540000 |
| FolderItems | 744129E0-CBE5-11CE-8350-444553540000 |
| FolderItems2 | C94F0AD0-F363-11d2-A327-00C04F8EEC7F |
| FolderItemVerb | 08EC3E00-50B0-11CF-960C-0080C7F4EE85 |
| FolderItemVerbs | 1F8352C0-50B0-11CF-960C-0080C7F4EE85 |
| IShellDispatch2 | A4C6892C-3BA9-11d2-9DEA-00C04FB16162 |
| IShellLinkDual2 | 317EE249-F12E-11d2-B1E4-00C04F8EEB3E |
| Shell | 13709620-C279-11CE-A49E-444553540000 |
| ShellFolderItem | 2fe352ea-fd1f-11d2-b1f4-00c04f8eeb3e |
| ShellFolderView | 62112AA1-EBE4-11cf-A5FB-0020AFE7292D |
| ShellFolderViewOC | 4a3df050-23bd-11d2-939f-00a0c91eedba |
| ShellLinkObject | 11219420-1768-11d1-95BE-00609797EA4F |
| ShellUIHelper | 64AB4BB7-111E-11D1-8F79-00C04FC2FBE1 |
| ShellWindows | 9BA05972-F6A8-11CF-A442-00A0C90A8F39 |
| WebViewFolderContents | 1820FED0-473E-11D0-A96C-00C04FD705A2 |
Shell Object
The Shell object represents the objects in the Shell. You can use the methods exposed by the Shell object to:
- Open, explore, and browse for folders.
- Minimize, restore, cascade, or tile open windows.
- Launch Control Panel applications.
- Display system dialog boxes.
Users are perhaps most familiar with the commands they access from the Start menu and the taskbar’s shortcut menu. The taskbar’s shortcut menu appears when users right-click the taskbar. The following HTML Application (HTA) produces a start page with buttons that implement many of the Shell object’s methods. Some of these methods implement features on the Start menu and the taskbar’s shortcut menu.
Security
As an application, an HTA runs under a different security model than a webpage. To interact with a webpage that implements the functionality of the Shell objects, users must enable the Initialize and script ActiveX Controls not marked as safe option for the security zone in which they are viewing the page.
Folder Objects
The Folder object represents a Shell folder. You can use the methods exposed by the Folder object to:
- Get information about a folder.
- Create subfolders.
- Copy and move file objects into the folder.
The FolderItem object represents an item in a Shell folder. Its properties enable you to retrieve information about the item. You can use the methods exposed by this object to run an item’s verbs, or to retrieve information about an item’s FolderItemVerbs object.
The FolderItems object represents a collection of items in a Shell folder. Its methods and properties enable you to retrieve information about the collection.
The following Visual Basic example shows the relationship between several of the folder objects and how they can be used together. When the user clicks the command button called cmdGetPath, the program displays a dialog box that enables the user to select a folder from My Computer, where ssfDRIVES is the ShellSpecialFolderConstants enumeration value for My Computer. When the user chooses a folder, the folder’s path is displayed in the text box called txtPath.
In VBScript, this function is slightly different because the ShellSpecialFolderConstants enumeration values are not available in script. The following example shows the VBScript equivalent of the previous example.
In the following JScript example, which is a direct translation of the preceding VBScript example, note how the empty parentheses ‘()’ are used to invoke the Items and Item methods.
How to run .sh or Shell Script file in Windows 10
Shell Scripts or .SH files are like batch files of Windows which can be executed in Linux or Unix. It is possible to run .sh or Shell Script file in Windows 10 using Windows Subsystem for Linux. In this post, we will show you how to run a Shell Script file in Windows 10.
How to run .sh or Shell Script file in Windows 10
Bash is a Unix shell and command language which can run Shell Script files. You do not need to install Ubuntu or any other Linux Distros unless your scripts need the support of the real Linux kernel. We will share both the methods.
- Execute Shell Script file using WSL
- Execute Shell Script using Ubuntu on Windows 10
1] Execute Shell Script file using WSL
Install WSL or Windows Subsystem for Linux
Go to Settings > Update & Security > For Developers. Check the Developer Mode radio button. And search for “Windows Features”, choose “Turn Windows features on or off”.
Scroll to find WSL, check the box, and then install it. Once done, one has to reboot to finish installing the requested changes. Press Restart now. BASH will be available in the Command Prompt and PowerShell.
Execute Shell Script Files
- Open Command Prompt and navigate to the folder where the script file is available.
- Type Bash script-filename.sh and hit the enter key.
- It will execute the script, and depending on the file, you should see an output.
On a Linux platform, you usually use SH, but here you need to use BASH. That said, BASH in Windows has its limitations, so if you want to execute in a Linux environment, you need to install Ubuntu or anything similar.
2] Execute Shell Script using Ubuntu on Windows 10
Make sure you have Ubuntu or any other Linux distros installed. Ubuntu will mount or make all your Windows directories available under /mnt. So the C drive is available at /mnt/C. So if the desktop will be available at /mnt/c/users/ /desktop.
Now follow these steps
- Type Bash in run prompt, and it will launch the distro prompt.
- Navigate to the folder using “cd” command to the folder where the scripts are available.
- Type “sh script.sh” and hit enter.
It will execute the script, and if they have a dependency on any of core Linux features.
Since Linux is now available in Windows, you need not use any third party applications like Cygwin. WSL should be enough for most of the scenarios to help you run a shell script in Windows 10.
Date: July 15, 2019 Tags: WSL
Related Posts
Windows Subsystem for Linux has no installed distributions
Failed to Fork error with Ubuntu on Windows 10
WslRegisterDistribution failed with error 0x8007019e and 0x8000000d – WSL
[email protected]
Ashish is a veteran Windows, and Xbox user who excels in writing tips, tricks, and features on it to improve your day to day experience with your devices.
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Scriptable Shell Objects
The Windows Shell provides a powerful set of automation objects that enable you to program the Shell with Microsoft Visual Basic and scripting languages such as Microsoft JScript (compatible with ECMA 262 language specification) and Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript). You can use these objects to access many of the Shell’s features and dialog boxes. For example, you can access the file system, launch programs, and change system settings.
This section introduces the scriptable Shell objects.
Shell Versions
Many of the Shell objects became available in version 4.71 of the Shell. Others are available in version 5.00 and later. Version 5.00 became available with WindowsВ 2000. The following table lists each Shell object under the version of the Shell in which the object became available.
| Version 4.71 | Version 5.00 |
|---|---|
| Folder | DIDiskQuotaUser |
| FolderItemVerb | DiskQuotaControl |
| FolderItemVerbs | Folder2 |
| Shell | FolderItem |
| ShellFolderView | FolderItems |
| ShellUIHelper | FolderItems2 |
| ShellWindows | IShellDispatch2 |
| WebViewFolderContents | IShellLinkDual2 |
| ShellFolderItem | |
| ShellFolderViewOC | |
| ShellLinkObject |
Instantiating Shell Objects
To instantiate the Shell objects in Visual Basic applications with early binding, add references to the following libraries in your project:
- Microsoft Internet Controls (SHDocVw)
- Microsoft Shell Controls and Automation (Shell32)
Late Binding
You can also instantiate many of the Shell objects with late binding. This approach works in Visual Basic applications and in script. The following example shows how to instantiate the Shell object in JScript.
The following example shows how to instantiate the Folder object in VBScript.
In the preceding example, sDir is the path to the Folder object. Note that the ShellSpecialFolderConstants enumeration values are not available in script.
The ProgID for each of the Shell objects is shown in the following table.
| Object | ProgID |
|---|---|
| DIDiskQuotaUser | Microsoft.DiskQuota.1 |
| DiskQuotaControl | Cannot late bind |
| Folder | shell.Shell_Application.NameSpace(«. «) |
| Folder2 | shell.Shell_Application.NameSpace(«. «) |
| FolderItem | shell.Shell_Application.NameSpace(«. «).Self or Folder.Items.Item or Folder.ParseName |
| FolderItems | Folder.Items |
| FolderItems2 | Folder.Items |
| FolderItemVerb | Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Self.Verbs.Item() |
| FolderItemVerbs | FolderItem.Verbs or Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Self.Verbs |
| IShellDispatch2 | shell.Shell_Application |
| IShellLinkDual2 | Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Self.GetLink or Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Items().GetLink |
| Shell | shell.Shell_Application |
| ShellFolderItem | Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Self or Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Items() |
| ShellFolderView | Cannot late bind |
| ShellFolderViewOC | Cannot late bind |
| ShellLinkObject | Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Self.GetLink or Shell.NameSpace(«. «).Items().GetLink |
| ShellUIHelper | Cannot late bind |
| ShellWindows | shell.Shell_Windows or ShellWindows._NewEnum |
| WebViewFolderContents | Cannot late bind |
HTML OBJECT Element
You can also use the OBJECT element to instantiate Shell objects on an HTML page. To do this, set the OBJECT element’s ID attribute to the variable name you will use in your scripts, and identify the object using its registered number (CLASSID). The following HTML creates an instance of the ShellFolderItem object using the OBJECT element.
The following table lists each Shell object and its respective CLASSID.
| DIDiskQuotaUser | 7988B571-EC89-11cf-9C00-00AA00A14F56 |
| DiskQuotaControl | 7988B571-EC89-11cf-9C00-00AA00A14F56 |
| Folder | BBCBDE60-C3FF-11CE-8350-444553540000 |
| Folder2 | f0d2d8ef-3890-11d2-bf8b-00c04fb93661 |
| FolderItem | 744129E0-CBE5-11CE-8350-444553540000 |
| FolderItems | 744129E0-CBE5-11CE-8350-444553540000 |
| FolderItems2 | C94F0AD0-F363-11d2-A327-00C04F8EEC7F |
| FolderItemVerb | 08EC3E00-50B0-11CF-960C-0080C7F4EE85 |
| FolderItemVerbs | 1F8352C0-50B0-11CF-960C-0080C7F4EE85 |
| IShellDispatch2 | A4C6892C-3BA9-11d2-9DEA-00C04FB16162 |
| IShellLinkDual2 | 317EE249-F12E-11d2-B1E4-00C04F8EEB3E |
| Shell | 13709620-C279-11CE-A49E-444553540000 |
| ShellFolderItem | 2fe352ea-fd1f-11d2-b1f4-00c04f8eeb3e |
| ShellFolderView | 62112AA1-EBE4-11cf-A5FB-0020AFE7292D |
| ShellFolderViewOC | 4a3df050-23bd-11d2-939f-00a0c91eedba |
| ShellLinkObject | 11219420-1768-11d1-95BE-00609797EA4F |
| ShellUIHelper | 64AB4BB7-111E-11D1-8F79-00C04FC2FBE1 |
| ShellWindows | 9BA05972-F6A8-11CF-A442-00A0C90A8F39 |
| WebViewFolderContents | 1820FED0-473E-11D0-A96C-00C04FD705A2 |
Shell Object
The Shell object represents the objects in the Shell. You can use the methods exposed by the Shell object to:
- Open, explore, and browse for folders.
- Minimize, restore, cascade, or tile open windows.
- Launch Control Panel applications.
- Display system dialog boxes.
Users are perhaps most familiar with the commands they access from the Start menu and the taskbar’s shortcut menu. The taskbar’s shortcut menu appears when users right-click the taskbar. The following HTML Application (HTA) produces a start page with buttons that implement many of the Shell object’s methods. Some of these methods implement features on the Start menu and the taskbar’s shortcut menu.
Security
As an application, an HTA runs under a different security model than a webpage. To interact with a webpage that implements the functionality of the Shell objects, users must enable the Initialize and script ActiveX Controls not marked as safe option for the security zone in which they are viewing the page.
Folder Objects
The Folder object represents a Shell folder. You can use the methods exposed by the Folder object to:
- Get information about a folder.
- Create subfolders.
- Copy and move file objects into the folder.
The FolderItem object represents an item in a Shell folder. Its properties enable you to retrieve information about the item. You can use the methods exposed by this object to run an item’s verbs, or to retrieve information about an item’s FolderItemVerbs object.
The FolderItems object represents a collection of items in a Shell folder. Its methods and properties enable you to retrieve information about the collection.
The following Visual Basic example shows the relationship between several of the folder objects and how they can be used together. When the user clicks the command button called cmdGetPath, the program displays a dialog box that enables the user to select a folder from My Computer, where ssfDRIVES is the ShellSpecialFolderConstants enumeration value for My Computer. When the user chooses a folder, the folder’s path is displayed in the text box called txtPath.
In VBScript, this function is slightly different because the ShellSpecialFolderConstants enumeration values are not available in script. The following example shows the VBScript equivalent of the previous example.
In the following JScript example, which is a direct translation of the preceding VBScript example, note how the empty parentheses ‘()’ are used to invoke the Items and Item methods.
