Exit script after "While" loop

[scanie]

I've written a small script that should close a window that automatically pops up at logon. But I can't get it to exit after the window has been closed.

Can anyone see what's wrong with it?

$Title = "BGInfo"
While WinExists($Title)
   If WinExists($Title) Then
      WinActivate($Title)
      Send("{ESC}")
      Sleep(100)
   Else
      Exitloop
   EndIf
WEnd

Edited May 24, 2012 by scanie

[hannes08]

$Title = "BGInfo"
While WinExists($Title)
   If WinExists($Title) Then
      WinActivate($Title)
      Send("{ESC}")
      Sleep(100)
      Exitloop
   EndIf
WEnd

or alternatively:

bginfo /nolicprompt

Edited May 24, 2012 by hannes08

[scanie]

$Title = "BGInfo"
While WinExists($Title)
   If WinExists($Title) Then
      WinActivate($Title)
      Send("{ESC}")
      Sleep(100)
      Exitloop
   EndIf
WEnd

or alternatively:

bginfo /nolicprompt

Ok, so I don't need the 'else'?

I know about the switches for bginfo, although if you do the /taskbar switch it pops up automatically in logon, that's why I need autoit, to close that for me.

EDIT: Just tried your script and it worked as intended when I double clicked the file. But if another program gets in front BGInfo at logon it doesn't do anything.

Edited May 24, 2012 by scanie

[hannes08]

The 'else' will never be true - right?

You can also substitute the ExitLoop with an Exit statement.

[scanie]

The 'else' will never be true - right?

You can also substitute the ExitLoop with an Exit statement.

True, I'm too tired for this..

I just can't understand what the problem is. All I want is to launch two programs at logon - Bginfo and an autoit script that closes the BGinfo popup.

I have managed to create 3-4 different scripts that all work, except that if another program gets in front of Bginfo it doesn't work at logon. But if I run the script manually after logon WITH Bginfo in the background it brings the window to front and then closes it..

Edited May 24, 2012 by scanie

[BrewManNH]

What exactly are you attempting to do with BGInfo that isn't working the way you want it to? I understand there's a popup window you're getting when you run it, which by the way doesn't happen for me if I use bginfo /taskbar. But what exactly is it doing that you don't want it to do?

[kaotkbliss]

I'll try to explain the best I can

in this script

$Title = "BGInfo"
While WinExists($Title)
    If WinExists($Title) Then
       WinActivate($Title)
       Send("{ESC}")
       Sleep(100)
    Else
       Exitloop
    EndIf
WEnd

if the popup is not there yet when autoit runs, it will hit the else condition (because the win does not exist) and exit. So when it does pop up, autoit is already done and can't close it.

for the 2nd part (it doesn't work if another window is on top of it)

you may try control sending the esc to the window instead of just send, or you could use WinSetOnTop before the activate and send.

Edited May 24, 2012 by kaotkbliss

[scanie]

What exactly are you attempting to do with BGInfo that isn't working the way you want it to? I understand there's a popup window you're getting when you run it, which by the way doesn't happen for me if I use bginfo /taskbar. But what exactly is it doing that you don't want it to do?

I'm using /taskbar /silent /timer:0 /nolicprompt. I have to put it in taskbar because our users are complaining about Win7 themes and backgrounds, they want to personalize their machines and they think that BGInfo on the wallpaper is interfering. If i launch BGInfo with these switches from the cmd prompt everything works OK, it ends up in the taskbar just as I want. But if I put it in the Startup folder it launches the popup automatically at logon.. That's why I created a little exe-file with autoit which is launched after BGInfo.

It works as long as anything else doesn't get in the popup's way.

I'll try to explain the best I can

in this script

$Title = "BGInfo"
While WinExists($Title)
    If WinExists($Title) Then
       WinActivate($Title)
       Send("{ESC}")
       Sleep(100)
    Else
       Exitloop
    EndIf
WEnd

if the popup is not there yet when autoit runs, it will hit the else condition (because the win does not exist) and exit. So when it does pop up, autoit is already done and can't close it.

for the 2nd part (it doesn't work if another window is on top of it)

you may try control sending the esc to the window instead of just send, or you could use WinSetOnTop before the activate and send.

The script works fine if anything is on top of it, at least when I do everything manually. I tested by putting several windows on top of the BGInfo window and then executed the script. It brought BGInfo to front and closed it. But if I do the same thing automatically with just two lines of batch code at logon, it doesn't work.

Thanks for the explanation btw!

[BrewManNH]

You either need a Sleep in there before the While loop, to give the BGInfo window time to open or use a WinWait with a timeout, before it to make sure the window is there when the script runs, if you run it right after running the program, the window may not exist yet, so the script ends.

[scanie]

You either need a Sleep in there before the While loop, to give the BGInfo window time to open or use a WinWait with a timeout, before it to make sure the window is there when the script runs, if you run it right after running the program, the window may not exist yet, so the script ends.

Yeah ok, I added a 5 second sleep before the While loop. But I still think that it should be possible to have the script running with a loop until it finds the BGInfo window, and then it closes it and exits the script. That's what I thought my Sleep(100) did, made the script run every second until it finds BGInfo.

But the sleep before the While loop seems to work, but I don't like hard coded sleeps..

Thanks for the help everyone! You all have received a "like".

Edited May 25, 2012 by scanie

[BrewManNH]

Instead of the Sleep, you could use the WinWait function to wait until the window exists, with a time out it will eventually stop waiting for the window, in case it doesn't exist, and then continue on with the script.

[Decipher]

This is just another way of doing what BrewManNH suggested.

Global $Title = "BGInfo"
AdlibRegister("CloseBGInfo")
While 1
   Sleep(1000)
WEnd
Func CloseBGInfo()
   If WinExists($Title) Then
   WinActivate($Title)
   Send("{ESC}")
   If WinExists($Title) <> 1 Then Exit ;Replace Exit with AdlibUnRegister("CloseBGInfo") to continue executing the script.
   EndIf
EndFunc

Edited May 25, 2012 by Decipher

[AoRaToS]

why don't you use your .exe to launch BGInfo using cmd with the switches?

[scanie]

I'm still not satisfied with my results. I have tried the different suggestions in this thread.

I followed AoRaTos advice to launch BGInfo inside the .exe file. It works fine if I manually launch the .exe but when it starts automatically via Autostart it doesn't work. I think it's because other applications pop up at logon as well.

I have tried to put a sleep in the beginning of the script to make BGInfo launch after all the other stuff but it's not consistant. I need it to work all the time because the users are primarily doctors and nurses and they don't want to be bothered with unnecessary stuff.

These are the two scripts that both work when I manually launch the .exe:

Sleep(5000)
Run(@ComSpec & " /c " & "C:\BGInfo\Bginfo.lnk", @TempDir, @SW_HIDE)
Global $Title = "BGInfo"
AdlibRegister("CloseBGInfo")
While 1
Sleep(500)
WEnd
Func CloseBGInfo()
If WinExists($Title) Then
WinActivate($Title)
Send("{ESC}")
Exit
EndIf
EndFunc

and

Sleep(10000)
Run(@ComSpec & " /c " & "C:\BGInfo\Bginfo.lnk", @TempDir, @SW_HIDE)


$Title = "BGInfo"
Sleep(500)
While WinExists($Title)
If WinExists($Title) Then
WinActivate($Title)
Send("{ESC}")
Sleep(100)
Exitloop
EndIf
WEnd

It seems to me that the WinActivate command doesn't work.

Does anyone have some input or tips?

[BrewManNH]

Instead of using WinActivate and sending Escape, try using ProcessClose("bginfo.exe") and see if that works.

[scanie]

Instead of using WinActivate and sending Escape, try using ProcessClose("bginfo.exe") and see if that works.

Yes, that works. I have tried it. But then the app closes for good, I want it to stay in the system tray.

Good suggestion though!

[BrewManNH]

Why do you want it to stay running? BGinfo merely sets the desktop background image to whatever you've set it to display, once it's done that it has no further functionality. Also hitting escape when the window is open on my system closes it and the program stops running. I see nothing in the system tray even when it's running. What is in your shortcut that keeps it open, and what is it doing that you need it to stay running for?

[scanie]

Why do you want it to stay running? BGinfo merely sets the desktop background image to whatever you've set it to display, once it's done that it has no further functionality. Also hitting escape when the window is open on my system closes it and the program stops running. I see nothing in the system tray even when it's running. What is in your shortcut that keeps it open, and what is it doing that you need it to stay running for?

The organization that hires me doesn't want BGInfo on the wallpaper. They want in the taskbar. BGInfo supports this but it only works as intended on XP. On XP the application starts minimized to the taskbar automatically. On Win7 it starts in a window AND in the taskbar, if you close the window it stays in the taskbar but if you kill the process you close both the window and the icon in the taskbar.

C:BGInfoBginfo.exe C:BGInfotaskbar_settings.bgi /taskbar /timer:0 /nolicprompt

[John]

Sleep(10000)
Run(@ComSpec & " /c " & "C:\BGInfo\Bginfo.lnk", @TempDir, @SW_HIDE)


$Title = "BGInfo"
Sleep(500)
While WinExists($Title)
If WinExists($Title) Then
WinActivate($Title)
Send("{ESC}")
Sleep(100)
Exitloop
EndIf
WEnd

The loop will not even start with WinExists(). Instead use WinWaitActive().

Run(@ComSpec & " /c " & "C:\BGInfo\Bginfo.lnk", @TempDir, @SW_HIDE)
$Title = "BGInfo"
WinWait($Title, "", 60)
WinActivate($Title)
WinWaitActive("title", "", 10)
Send("{ESC}")

Autoit will do all the looping internally.

[Mechaflash]

Yes, that works. I have tried it. But then the app closes for good, I want it to stay in the system tray.

Good suggestion though!

WinClose() ? Should be the same as hitting ESC or the window X

Edited June 29, 2012 by mechaflash213