/autoclose in Spybot fails if.... + suggestion
So, using this command line parameter:
/autoclose
Closes program after it has scanned or updated.
does not close Spybot if one of two conditions are true:
Condition 1: I will receive a pop-up that xxx number of items were fixed with a simple OK button.
I've read that the /taskbarhide option used with /autoclose will make sure Spybot does close, but that isn't a good option for me as we need to know at a glance that spybot is running and that it isn't stalled on some particular detection... we need to see that progress bar move!
Someone in the Novell Cool Solutions forums mentioned creating a value in the default configuration.ini under [Automation\ProgramStart] as follows: Autoclose=1 which worked for him... I did not see this documented anywhere but I wouldn't doubt it's just an option under Spybot's GUI config. Still, it did not work for me. Of course, this guy was still running with the /taskbarhide switch, so that's probably why it works for him.
So is it an intended function of Spybot to nag us with the "I've fixed stuff!" OK prompt if it removes items while not running completely invisible, even though the /autofix and /autoclose parameters are used? VERY annoying. The point of such a prompt eludes me anyway when the goal is automated scanning and removal.
Have not tested this behavior on beta updates... Will this be fixed in 1.5? Maybe if I beg?
Condition 2: Also, if Spybot cannot remove something and wants to scan on next boot it prompts me with the decision to do so or not... also annoying as it undermines the /autoclose parameter yet again! Perhaps another command-line parameter or setting in the .ini that tells Spybot to just do it and not nag me about it.
Currently I would have to run a loop with a 3rd party utility to constantly test for the existence of the bragging "ok" prompt or the nagging "run me after system restart?" prompt, (perhaps another utility is needed to make sure the window is in focus) and use WSH SENDKEYS to hit enter. Not at all desirable as WSH functionality is sometimes broken on the machine, and I don't like making things more complicated than they need to be.
The other option is to simply terminate Spybot's process if I can detect the existence of the prompt, yet will Spybot have fully written the log file at this point? Would that effect other Spybot functionality? Another method I'd rather not try.
The suggestion beyond /autoclose actually doing what it should, is that in future versions, how about an option to actually see what Spybot is detecting while scanning automatically. It's nice to see what Spybot detects in realtime while the program is manually run; be nice to see that during the automatic scan as well. I admit it's partly sheer boredom to want to view such information, and partly that I'm too lazy to check the logs after the fact in case I am looking for something in particular. Of course, in my script that runs Spybot automatically I could scan the logs for anything in particular and report that to me when Spybot was done, but that brings me back to the original problem of the /autoclose switch not working when Spybot wants to brag about how many items it removes.
Thanks for the considerations!
Oh yes, and as an FYI with the examples and issues above, I use the /autoupdate /autocheck /autofix /autoclose parameters on the command line, and have also verified DontAsk=1 is in the .ini. An idea for the next version could be an /autoeverythingdontbothermeatall switch
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