RegRead Method

Switch View :

ScriptFree

Windows Script Host

RegRead Method

Returns the value of a key or value-name from the registry.


                      object.RegRead(strName)

Arguments

object: WshShell object.
strName: String value indicating the key or value-name whose value you want.

Remarks

The RegRead method returns values of the following five types.

Type	Description	In the Form of
REG_SZ	A string	A string
REG_DWORD	A number	An integer
REG_BINARY	A binary value	A VBArray of integers
REG_EXPAND_SZ	An expandable string (e.g., "%windir%\\calc.exe")	A string
REG_MULTI_SZ	An array of strings	A VBArray of strings

You can specify a key-name by ending strName with a final backslash. Do not include a final backslash to specify a value-name. A value entry has three parts: its name, its data type, and its value. When you specify a key-name (as opposed to a value-name), RegRead returns the default value. To read a key's default value, specify the name of the key itself. Fully qualified key-names and value-names begin with a root key. You may use abbreviated versions of root key names with the RegRead method. The five possible root keys are listed in the following table.

Root key Name	Abbreviation
HKEY_CURRENT_USER	HKCU
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE	HKLM
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT	HKCR
HKEY_USERS	HKEY_USERS
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG	HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG

Example

The following code creates a key and two values, reads them, and deletes them.

VBScript

Dim WshShell, bKey
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

WshShell.RegWrite "HKCU\Software\ACME\FortuneTeller\", 1, "REG_BINARY"
WshShell.RegWrite "HKCU\Software\ACME\FortuneTeller\MindReader", "Goocher!", "REG_SZ"

bKey = WshShell.RegRead("HKCU\Software\ACME\FortuneTeller\")
WScript.Echo WshShell.RegRead("HKCU\Software\ACME\FortuneTeller\MindReader")

WshShell.RegDelete "HKCU\Software\ACME\FortuneTeller\MindReader"
WshShell.RegDelete "HKCU\Software\ACME\FortuneTeller\"
WshShell.RegDelete "HKCU\Software\ACME\"

JScript

var WshShell = WScript.CreateObject ("WScript.Shell");

WshShell.RegWrite ("HKCU\\Software\\ACME\\FortuneTeller\\", 1, "REG_BINARY");
WshShell.RegWrite ("HKCU\\Software\\ACME\\FortuneTeller\\MindReader", "Goocher!", "REG_SZ");

var bKey =    WshShell.RegRead ("HKCU\\Software\\ACME\\FortuneTeller\\");
WScript.Echo (WshShell.RegRead ("HKCU\\Software\\ACME\\FortuneTeller\\MindReader"));

WshShell.RegDelete ("HKCU\\Software\\ACME\\FortuneTeller\\MindReader");
WshShell.RegDelete ("HKCU\\Software\\ACME\\FortuneTeller\\");
WshShell.RegDelete ("HKCU\\Software\\ACME\\");

Applies To:

WshShell Object

Reference

RegDelete Method

RegWrite Method

Community Content

Victor S from Sogeti

RE: Names with backslashes

You've probably figured it out by now, but thought I'd leave a response for anyone else who comes across this. WScript's Reg methods do not support backslashes in key or value names. Instead, you can use WMI's StdRegProv. For more information, see Microsoft KB 281309.

WitekM

Names with backslashes

Could anyone let me know how to read a value HKLM\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\SERIALCOMM\Device\Serial0, where the value-name is "\Device\Serial0" using jscript. Cheers.