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NAME

       registry - Manipulate the Windows registry

SYNOPSIS

       package require registry 1.1

       registry option keyName ?arg arg ...?
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DESCRIPTION

       The  registry  package  provides  a general set of operations for manipulating the Windows
       registry.  The package  implements  the  registry  Tcl  command.   This  command  is  only
       supported on the Windows platform.  Warning: this command should be used with caution as a
       corrupted registry can leave your system in an unusable state.

       KeyName is the name of a registry key.  Registry keys must be one of the following forms:

              \\hostname\rootname\keypath

              rootname\keypath

              rootname

       Hostname specifies the name of any valid Windows host  that  exports  its  registry.   The
       rootname  component  must  be  one  of  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_USERS, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT,
       HKEY_CURRENT_USER,  HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG,  HKEY_PERFORMANCE_DATA,  or  HKEY_DYN_DATA.   The
       keypath can be one or more registry key names separated by backslash (\) characters.

       Option  indicates  what  to  do  with  the registry key name.  Any unique abbreviation for
       option is acceptable.  The valid options are:

       registry broadcast keyName ?-timeout milliseconds?
              Sends a broadcast message to the system and running  programs  to  notify  them  of
              certain  updates.  This is necessary to propagate changes to key registry keys like
              Environment.  The timeout specifies the amount of time, in  milliseconds,  to  wait
              for  applications  to  respond to the broadcast message.  It defaults to 3000.  The
              following example demonstrates how to add a path  to  the  global  Environment  and
              notify  applications  of  the change without requiring a logoff/logon step (assumes
              admin privileges):

                     set regPath [join {
                         HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
                         SYSTEM
                         CurrentControlSet
                         Control
                         {Session Manager}
                         Environment
                     } "\\"]
                     set curPath [registry get $regPath "Path"]
                     registry set $regPath "Path" "$curPath;$addPath"
                     registry broadcast "Environment"

       registry delete keyName ?valueName?
              If the optional valueName argument is present, the specified  value  under  keyName
              will  be  deleted  from  the  registry.   If the optional valueName is omitted, the
              specified key and any subkeys or values beneath it in the registry  hierarchy  will
              be  deleted.   If  the key could not be deleted then an error is generated.  If the
              key did not exist, the command has no effect.

       registry get keyName valueName
              Returns the data associated with the value valueName under  the  key  keyName.   If
              either  the  key or the value does not exist, then an error is generated.  For more
              details on the format of the returned data, see SUPPORTED TYPES, below.

       registry keys keyName ?pattern?
              If pattern is not specified, returns a list of names of all the subkeys of keyName.
              If  pattern is specified, only those names matching pattern are returned.  Matching
              is determined using the same rules as for string match.  If the  specified  keyName
              does not exist, then an error is generated.

       registry set keyName ?valueName data ?type??
              If  valueName  is  not  specified,  creates  the key keyName if it does not already
              exist.  If valueName is specified, creates the key keyName and value  valueName  if
              necessary.   The  contents  of valueName are set to data with the type indicated by
              type.  If type is not specified, the type sz is assumed.  For more details  on  the
              data and type arguments, see SUPPORTED TYPES below.

       registry type keyName valueName
              Returns  the  type of the value valueName in the key keyName.  For more information
              on the possible types, see SUPPORTED TYPES, below.

       registry values keyName ?pattern?
              If pattern is not specified, returns a list of names of all the values of  keyName.
              If  pattern is specified, only those names matching pattern are returned.  Matching
              is determined using the same rules as for string match.

SUPPORTED TYPES

       Each value under a key in the registry contains some data of a particular type in a  type-
       specific   representation.    The   registry   command   converts  between  this  internal
       representation and one that can be manipulated by Tcl scripts.  In most cases, the data is
       simply  returned  as  a Tcl string.  The type indicates the intended use for the data, but
       does not actually change the representation.  For some types, the registry command returns
       the  data  in  a  different form to make it easier to manipulate.  The following types are
       recognized by the registry command:

       binary           The  registry  value  contains  arbitrary  binary  data.   The  data   is
                        represented exactly in Tcl, including any embedded nulls.

       none             The  registry  value contains arbitrary binary data with no defined type.
                        The data is represented exactly in Tcl, including any embedded nulls.

       sz               The registry value  contains  a  null-terminated  string.   The  data  is
                        represented in Tcl as a string.

       expand_sz        The  registry  value  contains  a  null-terminated  string  that contains
                        unexpanded references to environment  variables  in  the  normal  Windows
                        style  (for  example,  “%PATH%”).   The  data  is represented in Tcl as a
                        string.

       dword            The registry value contains a little-endian 32-bit number.  The  data  is
                        represented in Tcl as a decimal string.

       dword_big_endian The  registry  value  contains  a  big-endian 32-bit number.  The data is
                        represented in Tcl as a decimal string.

       link             The registry value contains a symbolic link.   The  data  is  represented
                        exactly in Tcl, including any embedded nulls.

       multi_sz         The  registry  value  contains  an array of null-terminated strings.  The
                        data is represented in Tcl as a list of strings.

       resource_list    The registry value contains a device-driver resource list.  The  data  is
                        represented exactly in Tcl, including any embedded nulls.

       In  addition  to  the  symbolically named types listed above, unknown types are identified
       using a 32-bit  integer  that  corresponds  to  the  type  code  returned  by  the  system
       interfaces.   In this case, the data is represented exactly in Tcl, including any embedded
       nulls.

PORTABILITY ISSUES

       The registry command is only available on Windows.

EXAMPLE

       Print out how double-clicking on a Tcl script file will invoke a Tcl interpreter:

              package require registry
              set ext .tcl

              # Read the type name
              set type [registry get HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\$ext {}]
              # Work out where to look for the command
              set path HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\$type\\Shell\\Open\\command
              # Read the command!
              set command [registry get $path {}]

              puts "$ext opens with $command"

KEYWORDS

       registry