Batch file timestamp creation

I've been looking for a good way to generate timestamps in batch files. I created this sample (Windows XP/2000 only) based on a comment posted about an article appearing in Windows IT Pro magazine.

Windoze power toys

There are some useful Windoze XP upgrades in Microsoft's Power Toys.  The Alt-Tab Replacement, Tweak UI, and Power Calculator seem like the most useful utilities.  Hopefully they don't bog down the system.  I'll post comments (or a follow-up) if I run into any problems.

Windows XP environment variables

I just found out that Windows XP stores environment variables in the registry under the key “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Environment”.  This means that variables can be changed from a batch file by calling regedit.

That’s useful because a batch file runs in it’s own virtual space.  If you use a command like “SET MYVAR=MYVALUE”, the environment variable will disappear when the batch file’s console window is closed.  Regedit solves the problem.

There is a caveat, however…it appears that the environment vars do not take effect until the operating system is explicitly notified that the environment vars have changed.  Rebooting should work, but is obviously inconvenient.  If I ever get a chance to experiment with this, I’ll post more at that time.

Tom’s Hardware Windoze enhancements

[Previously posted to my Blogger blog]

Found a nice Tom’s Hardware article ”Pepping Up Windows” which recommends several free/open source utilities for improving your Windoze work environment.  My favorite utility is Ditto, which maintains a database of all items that you copy to the clipboard.