asked on

How do I unpin an application to the taskbar in windows 7 programatically.

Good evening experts,

On 10/19/2011 I posted the question:

How do I pin an application to the taskbar in windows 7 programatically.

On 10/19/2011 Run5k (Wizard) referred me to a wonderful code snippet from RobSampson (Genius) :

arrFileNames = Array( _
	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\winword.exe" _
	)
	
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objShellApp = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
For Each strFilePath In arrFileNames
	If objFSO.FileExists(strFilePath) = True Then
		Set objFile = objFSO.GetFile(strFilePath)
		Set objFolder = objShellApp.Namespace(objFile.ParentFolder & "\")
		Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName(objFile.Name)
		Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs
		For Each objVerb In colVerbs
			If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Pin to Start Menu" Then objVerb.DoIt
		Next
		WScript.Echo strFilePath & " has been pinned."
	Else
		WScript.Echo "Could not find " & strFilePath
	End If
Next

Open in new window

If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Pin to Start Menu" Then objVerb.DoIt

to this:
                  If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Pin to Taskbar" Then objVerb.DoIt

Open in new window

The solution pins items to the taskbar. I then started to research how to unpin those same items from the taskbar and found the following codr snippet from TsJurgen from Microsoft Answers:

on error resume next
 Const CSIDL_COMMON_PROGRAMS = &H17 
Const CSIDL_PROGRAMS = &H2 
Set oShell = CreateObject( "WScript.Shell" )
 user=oShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%UserName%")
 comp=oShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%APPDATA%")
 WScript.Echo user & " " & comp
 Set objShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application") 
Set objAllUsersProgramsFolder = objShell.NameSpace(CSIDL_COMMON_PROGRAMS) 
strAllUsersProgramsPath = objAllUsersProgramsFolder.Self.Path 
msgbox comp & "Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar"
 Set objFolder = objShell.Namespace(comp & "\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\")
 Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName("Windows PowerShell.lnk") 
Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs 
For Each objVerb in colVerbs 
  
If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Unpin from Taskbar" Then objVerb.DoIt
 
Next
 

Set objFolder = objShell.Namespace(comp & "\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\")
 Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName("Server Manager.lnk") 
Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs 
For Each objVerb in colVerbs 
  
If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Unpin from Taskbar" Then objVerb.DoIt
 
Next

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I did not use that code I simply took the last part where it said "Unpin from Taskbar" and put it in RobSampsons code. Needless to say the results were less than desirable. I would like to used RobSampsons code to do my unpinning, as it is much simpler to understand. However, I would be grateful if someone were to instruct me on running the other code with whatever changes I need to make to unpin items from the windows 7 desktop. I ran the code from TsJurgen and got all kinds of errors. Lets just start from here and see what responses or questions you experts have in reference to my requirments for unpinning items from the windows 7 Desktop.

RobSampson

Hello again Regis,

I have pieced them together, and added strMode for you to specify whether to "Pin" or "Unpin" items.

Regards,

Rob.

arrFileNames = Array( _
	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\winword.exe" _
	)

'strMode can be "Pin" or "Unpin"
strMode = "Unpin"

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objShellApp = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
If LCase(strMode) <> "pin" And LCase(strMode) <> "unpin" Then
	WScript.Echo "Mode is incorrect. Please set to ""pin"" or ""unpin""."
Else
	strMode = LCase(strMode)
	If strMode = "pin" Then
		For Each strFilePath In arrFileNames
			If objFSO.FileExists(strFilePath) = True Then
				Set objFile = objFSO.GetFile(strFilePath)
				Set objFolder = objShellApp.Namespace(objFile.ParentFolder & "\")
				Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName(objFile.Name)
				Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs
				For Each objVerb In colVerbs
					'If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Pin to Start Menu" Then objVerb.DoIt
					If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Pin to Taskbar" Then objVerb.DoIt
				Next
				WScript.Echo strFilePath & " has been pinned."
			Else
				WScript.Echo "Could not find " & strFilePath
			End If
		Next
	ElseIf strMode = "unpin" Then
		For Each strFilePath In arrFileNames
			If objFSO.FileExists(strFilePath) = True Then
				strTaskBar = objShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%APPDATA%") & "\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\"
				blnFound = False
				For Each objFile In objFSO.GetFolder(strTaskBar).Files
					If Right(LCase(objFile.Name), 4) = ".lnk" Then
						Set objLink = objShell.CreateShortcut(objFile.Path)
						If LCase(objLink.TargetPath) = LCase(strFilePath) Then
							blnFound = True
							Set objFolder = objShellApp.Namespace(strTaskBar)
							Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName(objFile.Name)
							Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs
							For Each objVerb In colVerbs
								If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Unpin from Taskbar" Or Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Unpin this program from Taskbar" Then objVerb.DoIt
							Next
							WScript.Echo strFilePath & " has been unpinned."
						End If
					End If
				Next
				If blnFound = False Then WScript.Echo "Could not find a pinned item for " & strFilePath
			Else
				WScript.Echo "Could not find " & strFilePath
			End If
		Next
	End If
End If

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Run5k

Rob, you're on top of things as usual! If you don't mind, I have a follow-up question. Envisioning the possibility of leaving a copy of the VBScript file containing all of your hard work in the Startup folder, how problematic would it be to eliminate the message that appears at the end stating that the item was pinned? I have tested your original code and it doesn't hurt to leave the VBS file in there... no duplicates or any other issues, but it might be nice to stop the redundant message from appearing every time that they login.

BLACK THANOS

ASKER

Run5k,
I simply eliminated the messages and everything still works great. I dont need wscript.echo unless I am troubleshooting.

RobSampson,

I am testing your solution now.

BLACK THANOS

ASKER

RobSampson:,

When I run your code I get the following error

Could not find a pinned item for C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\winword.exe
Exit code: 0 , 0000h

All my workstations or windows 7 64 bit and my office is still 32 bit , so I had to change:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\winword.exe"
to
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\winword.exe"

BLACK THANOS

ASKER

also, can this code be modified to unpin all applications from the taskbar without the benefit of know what is actually pinned?? Should I post another question referencing this ,because it is kind of outside of my original request?

RobSampson

Hi guys,

@Run5k, to eliminate any output messages, you can either comment out the WScript.Echo statements, and include On Error Resume Next at the top, or, if you're running it from a command, you can run
wscript //B c:\scripts\PinItems.vbs

to avoid any graphical output.

@Regis, here's a quick run down of how it goes about unpinning items.

From what I can tell, if you browse to this folder:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar

you will find shortcuts for each item on the taskbar.

The code will open each link (as long as it's a .lnk file) and test the TargetPath property against each file path that you specify in the array.

So, if you could find the .lnk for winword.exe in that folder, right-click it, and select properties, make sure the TargetPath matches the path that you put in the array.

If it's different, give me an example of how it differs, and I'll test it.

Regards,

Rob.

RobSampson

Oh, you know what...I just remembered Office shortcuts are "advertised" shortcuts. I didn't test with one...I'll see what mine does now...

Rob.

RobSampson

Hmmm....indeed, those shortcuts don't have a TargetPath....the file is called Microsoft Office Word 2007.lnk (or 2010 in your case).

I'll have to see what other properties we can do.....

The other option would be to specify the .lnk file name in the array, in which case we could unpin it easily....would be OK to do that?

Rob.

RobSampson

OK, I can't find anything in the metadata of the office file that matches the .lnk file name. The next best thing is to specify the .lnk file name itself for unpinning.

Regards,

Rob.

' Example to pin items - specify the file path
arrFileNames = Array( _
	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 2007\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" _
	)

' Example to unpin items - specify the shortcut file name from C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar
arrFileNames = Array( _
	"Microsoft Office Word 2007.lnk" _
	)

'strMode can be "Pin" or "Unpin"
strMode = "unpin"

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objShellApp = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
If LCase(strMode) <> "pin" And LCase(strMode) <> "unpin" Then
	WScript.Echo "Mode is incorrect. Please set to ""pin"" or ""unpin""."
Else
	strMode = LCase(strMode)
	If strMode = "pin" Then
		For Each strFilePath In arrFileNames
			If objFSO.FileExists(strFilePath) = True Then
				Set objFile = objFSO.GetFile(strFilePath)
				Set objFolder = objShellApp.Namespace(objFile.ParentFolder & "\")
				Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName(objFile.Name)
				Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs
				For Each objVerb In colVerbs
					'If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Pin to Start Menu" Then objVerb.DoIt
					If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Pin to Taskbar" Then objVerb.DoIt
				Next
				WScript.Echo strFilePath & " has been pinned."
			Else
				WScript.Echo "Could not find " & strFilePath
			End If
		Next
	ElseIf strMode = "unpin" Then
		For Each strFilePath In arrFileNames
			strTaskBar = objShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%APPDATA%") & "\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\"
			blnFound = False
			strFileName = ""
			For Each objFile In objFSO.GetFolder(strTaskBar).Files
				If LCase(objFile.Name) = LCase(strFilePath) Then
					blnFound = True
					Set objFolder = objShellApp.Namespace(strTaskBar)
					Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName(objFile.Name)
					Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs
					For Each objVerb In colVerbs
						If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Unpin from Taskbar" Or Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Unpin this program from Taskbar" Then objVerb.DoIt
					Next
					WScript.Echo strFilePath & " has been unpinned."
				End If
			Next
			If blnFound = False Then WScript.Echo "Could not find a pinned item for " & strFilePath
		Next
	End If
End If

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RobSampson

If you want to unpin all items, use "unpin_all" in the array, and this code will remove all of them.

Rob.

' Example to pin items - specify the file path
arrFileNames = Array( _
	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 2007\Office12\WINWORD.EXE" _
	)

' Example to unpin items - specify the shortcut file name from C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar
' You can use "unpin_all" in the array to unpin all items.
arrFileNames = Array( _
	"Microsoft Office Word 2007.lnk" _
	)

'strMode can be "Pin" or "Unpin"
strMode = "unpin"

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objShellApp = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
If LCase(strMode) <> "pin" And LCase(strMode) <> "unpin" Then
	WScript.Echo "Mode is incorrect. Please set to ""pin"" or ""unpin""."
Else
	strMode = LCase(strMode)
	If strMode = "pin" Then
		For Each strFilePath In arrFileNames
			If objFSO.FileExists(strFilePath) = True Then
				Set objFile = objFSO.GetFile(strFilePath)
				Set objFolder = objShellApp.Namespace(objFile.ParentFolder & "\")
				Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName(objFile.Name)
				Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs
				For Each objVerb In colVerbs
					'If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Pin to Start Menu" Then objVerb.DoIt
					If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Pin to Taskbar" Then objVerb.DoIt
				Next
				WScript.Echo strFilePath & " has been pinned."
			Else
				WScript.Echo "Could not find " & strFilePath
			End If
		Next
	ElseIf strMode = "unpin" Then
		For Each strFilePath In arrFileNames
			strTaskBar = objShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%APPDATA%") & "\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar\"
			blnFound = False
			strFileName = ""
			For Each objFile In objFSO.GetFolder(strTaskBar).Files
				If LCase(objFile.Name) = LCase(strFilePath) Or LCase(strFilePath) = "unpin_all" Then
					blnFound = True
					Set objFolder = objShellApp.Namespace(strTaskBar)
					Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName(objFile.Name)
					Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs
					For Each objVerb In colVerbs
						If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Unpin from Taskbar" Or Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Unpin this program from Taskbar" Then objVerb.DoIt
					Next
					WScript.Echo strFilePath & " has been unpinned."
				End If
			Next
			If blnFound = False Then WScript.Echo "Could not find a pinned item for " & strFilePath
		Next
	End If
End If

Open in new window

BLACK THANOS

ASKER

RobSampson:,

You are a scripting God. Thank you for so much detail. I have just awoken so, I will be testing everything you just wrote and get back to you sometime today. Regardless, the points are yours, but I will make sure that I award them to one or more of the potential solutions you have posted

Regards.
RegisHyde

BLACK THANOS

ASKER

Hi Robsampson,

I tried your code above and I still get the dreaded Could not find a pinned item for C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\winword.exe

However, I used this code and it worked like a charm whereas before it did not:

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
If objFSO.FolderExists("C:\Program Files (x86)") Then
    Set objFolder = objFSO.GetFolder("C:\Program Files (x86)")
        
       arrFileNames = Array( _
	"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\winword.exe", _
	"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\EXCEL.exe", _	
	"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\MSACCESS.exe", _
	"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OUTLOOK.exe", _
	"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\POWERPNT.exe", _
	"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\MSPUB.exe", _
	"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OIS.exe")
	
        
       
         

Else

arrFileNames = Array( _
	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\winword.exe", _
	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\EXCEL.exe", _	
	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\MSACCESS.exe", _
	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OUTLOOK.exe", _
	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\POWERPNT.exe", _
	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\MSPUB.exe", _
	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OIS.exe")
	
        
End If




' Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objShellApp = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
For Each strFilePath In arrFileNames
	If objFSO.FileExists(strFilePath) = True Then
		Set objFile = objFSO.GetFile(strFilePath)
		Set objFolder = objShellApp.Namespace(objFile.ParentFolder & "\")
		Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName(objFile.Name)
		Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs
		For Each objVerb In colVerbs
			If Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "") = "Unpin from Taskbar" Then objVerb.DoIt
		Next
' 		WScript.Echo strFilePath & " has been pinned."
	Else
		WScript.Echo "Could not find " & strFilePath
	End If
Next

Open in new window

BLACK THANOS

ASKER

What are your thoughts Robsampson??

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

RobSampson

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BLACK THANOS

ASKER

I hope you never leave the Experts Exchange community, because you are my goto guru, expert, genius, wizard.etc....

RobSampson

No worries Regis. Thanks for the kind words. It is much appreciated. I plan to stick around for a while. I enjoy the challenge!

Thanks for the grade.

Regards,

Rob.

mostym

I don't know if raising a dead post is the best route to take but when I try to use the script I get a WSH error box saying

line: 33
char: 5
error: Object required: 'objVerb'
code: 800A01A8
source: Microsoft VBScript runtime error

RobSampson

Hi mostym, there was an error in that code, no doubt! Thanks for pointing that out. I obviously didn't test it enough!

I have now revised it, and updated the accepted comment. I have also added a "Both" option for strLocation, so you can perform the pin or unpin from both locations in the one run.

Regards,

Rob.

mostym

Thanks Rob for fixing. Is there a way to first unpin everything, then pin?

RobSampson

Not yet, without running it twice. What I might be able to do is change the structure a bit so that you use something like:

arrActions = Array( _
	"unpin", "Both", "unpin_all", _
	"pin", "Start Menu", "C:\Windows\Notepad.exe", _
	"pin", "Taskbar", "C:\Windows\Calc.exe" _
)

Open in new window

so that it goes through those action specifications (three elements per action) and loops the process to do it.

I might be able to get that later this afternoon.

Regards,

Rob.

RobSampson

OK, this is untested at this point, since I have run out of time, but you can see how it goes.

Regards,

Rob,

' Specify the file paths of the file to pin or unpin
' If strMode = "unpin", you can use "unpin_all" in the arrFileNames array to unpin all items from the Taskbar or Start Menu.
' SYNTAX IS <mode>, <location>, <filename> WITH THREE ELEMENTS PER ACTION
arrActions = Array( _
	"unpin", "Both", "unpin_all", _
	"pin", "Start Menu", "C:\Windows\Notepad.exe", _
	"pin", "Taskbar", "C:\Windows\Calc.exe" _
)

For intAction = 0 To (UBound(arrActions) - 2) Step 3

	arrFileNames = Array(arrActions(intAction + 2))
	
	'strMode can be "Pin" or "Unpin"
	strMode = arrActions(intAction)
	
	'strLocation can be "Start Menu" or "Taskbar" or "Both"
	strLocation = arrActions(intAction + 1)
	
	Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
	Set objShellApp = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
	Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
	If LCase(strLocation) = "both" Then
		arrLocations = Array("Start Menu", "Taskbar")
	Else
		arrLocations = Array(strLocation)
	End If
	For Each strLocation In arrLocations
		If LCase(strMode) <> "pin" And LCase(strMode) <> "unpin" Then
			WScript.Echo "Mode is incorrect. Please set to ""pin"" or ""unpin""."
			WScript.Quit
		ElseIf LCase(strLocation) <> "start menu" And LCase(strLocation) <> "taskbar" Then
			WScript.Echo "Location is incorrect. Please set to ""Start Menu"" or ""Taskbar""."
			WScript.Quit
		Else
			strMode = LCase(strMode)
			If strMode = "pin" Then
				strVerb = LCase(strMode & " to " & strLocation)
				strMessage = " has been " & strMode & "ned to the " & strLocation & "."
			ElseIf strMode = "unpin" Then
				strVerb = LCase(strMode & " from " & strLocation)
				strMessage = " has been " & strMode & "ned from the " & strLocation & "."
			End If
			For Each strFilePath In arrFileNames
				If LCase(strFilePath) = "unpin_all" And strMode = "unpin" Then
					strPinLocation = objShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%APPDATA%") & "\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\" & Replace(strLocation, " ", "") & "\"
					For Each objFile In objFSO.GetFolder(strPinLocation).Files
						strFullPath = objFile.Path
						'Set objFile = objFSO.GetFile(objFile.Path)
						Set objFolder = objShellApp.Namespace(objFile.ParentFolder & "\")
						Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName(objFile.Name)
						Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs
						For Each objVerb In colVerbs
							If LCase(Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "")) = strVerb Then
								objVerb.DoIt
								WScript.Echo strFullPath & strMessage
							End If
						Next
					Next
				Else
					If objFSO.FileExists(strFilePath) = True Then
						Set objFile = objFSO.GetFile(strFilePath)
						Set objFolder = objShellApp.Namespace(objFile.ParentFolder & "\")
						Set objFolderItem = objFolder.ParseName(objFile.Name)
						Set colVerbs = objFolderItem.Verbs
						blnOptionFound = False
						For Each objVerb In colVerbs
							If LCase(Replace(objVerb.name, "&", "")) = strVerb Then
								objVerb.DoIt
								blnOptionFound = True
							End If
						Next
						If blnOptionFound = True Then
							WScript.Echo strFilePath & strMessage
						Else
							WScript.Echo "Unable to " & strMode & " " & strFilePath & " from the " & strLocation & ". The verb does not exist."
						End If
					Else
						WScript.Echo "Could not find " & strFilePath
					End If
				End If
			Next
		End If
	Next
Next

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