Windows 3.1 used to have the ability to record macros, a capability that never made it to later versions. There are a lot of things batch files can’t do. But I spotted a reference to AutoIt on Digg, and that looks useful.Basically it will script keystrokes and mouse movements, as well as giving you BASIC-like program logic. It’s not something you need often, but when you need it, you’ll need it badly.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.
Someone will probably be commenting that we used it to speed the deployment of a unified messaging client. It turns out to be pretty handy for streamlining installations of software, among other things. AutoIT, run from a vb script, made all of the "click next" stuff just go away, and completed something like 95% of the installs without any issues.
Beat me to it.