batch file?

[FastLearner]

Hi all. I have somewhat of a strange question regarding Windoze XP Home, and I hope I'm posting in the correct thread. I have a friend with a dial-up connection at his home (ok, it's my boss, not my friend, but what's the difference?), and he asked me if he could perform the following either from within Windows or maybe with a third-party application:

He would like to (automatically) be able to:

run a program (by double clicking an icon on his desktop, for example) that:

1) connects to the internet
2) opens three or four different websites (prob. with IE 6)
3) saves the websites' contents so he can read them offline (in .html format)
4) disconnects from the internet

Normally, I would have at least a small inkling of how to perform a task with Windoze, but this one's got me totally stumped. I was thinking that maybe a batch (.bat) file may accomplish this, but I have no idea how to go about writing the few lines it would take. Or maybe it's somehow possible to set this up from within IE? If neither of those two would work, anyone know of a program he could buy that would allow him to do this?

Any help would be appreciated (brownie points from the boss are always a plus!). Thanks.

[Rick]

Making the connection and opening a few browser windows can be done with a batch or script file.
By placing the command line to start the connection. ( Same command used by a desktop link )
and the correct command line switch(s)
It's the saving web pages that will be a bit of a pain..

You may want to look at some of the bot or web page download programs for off line viewing of web page content.. ( Pcmag had a few a couple years ago)

You would tell it what pages to get and when.
Then have it close and disconnect from the web.

It can/may even be done with some of the file download programs.
Just add it to the windows scheduler .
Add the web [page address to the download list
Then set the program to hang up when finished.

[FastLearner]

Thanks for the help Rick.
Would the "Offline Explorer" satisfy all the requirements in your opinion, or is this one of those "bot" programs that aren't allowed on this site, for example?
http://www.metaproducts.com/mp/mpProducts_Detail.asp?id=1

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

[Paul Komski]

Apart from closing the connection, what you want to achieve can be done just using IE. The relevant pages should be saved as favorites ensuring that they are chosen to be saved as "Make available offline". Then choose the customise button, run the wizard and choose a time each day for the synchronisation to take place AND choose the option to dial-up in order to do this if the computer is not on-line at that time.

As long as the dial-up connection is set to disconnect after a set period of inactivity it should automatically disconnect as a separate process.

[FastLearner]

Thanks very much, Paul and Rick. I'm going to print out this thread and show it to my boss. Should definitely earn me some brownie points...:)

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Just keep us posted on the particular hue of brown your nose takes on.. :D :D

http://www.ixtreme.com/pictures/fullsize/rudolfthebrownnose.jpg