XP Pro and Start-Up Scripting

[CompBaron]

I originally had this posted in a forum on XP, but was recommended to move it to a general software topic. So here it is:

I've been fronted with an idea by my supervisor to have a computer in our lab have a list of the jobs that need to be done for that day pop open on the computer's start up, or Windows start up. Now, I know Windows XP Pro comes with Windows Script Host; is this the best scripting program to use? Is there a way to script a command to open a certain file when the computer is logged into and if so, how?

I'm really new to scripting so please forgive me if I ask a lot of questions along the way. Thanks!

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by CompBaron I originally had this posted in a forum on XP, but was recommended to move it to a general software topic. So here it is: I've been fronted with an idea by my supervisor to have a computer in our lab have a list of the jobs that need to be done for that day pop open on the computer's start up, or Windows start up. Now, I know Windows XP Pro comes with Windows Script Host; is this the best scripting program to use? Is there a way to script a command to open a certain file when the computer is logged into and if so, how? I'm really new to scripting so please forgive me if I ask a lot of questions along the way. Thanks!

Why not use a PIM like Outlook and have it run on startup? You can put stuff into the To-Do list with a due date, and when the due date comes around, Outlook will pop up a reminder on startup. Just put Outlook into the Startup group in the Start Menu.

If you do want to stick to the text-file route, try putting a shortcut with the following in the Target field into the Startup group:

notepad {filename with complete path}

[CompBaron]

I would prefer to stick with the text message that pops up on start up mainly because some of our student workers do not pay a whole lot of attention to normal Windows programs. So the idea was to catch them off guard and tell them what needs to be done each day by a certain time. I'll pass the idea about Outlook by my supervisor.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by CompBaron So the idea was to catch them off guard and tell them what needs to be done each day by a certain time. I'll pass the idea about Outlook by my supervisor.

If you want to really catch them off-guard, change the Outlook reminder sound to something really jarring (a siren or the sound of breaking glass should do it). That way, when the reminder pops up, they'll jump as well as seeing the reminder.

[CompBaron]

Thanks, I'll try that!