List of all installed applications (XP)?
Hi all,
I'm trying to generate a (exhaustive) list of all the applications that are
installed on a user's machine. I've written some code that reads the
registry ('App Paths'):
code
appKey = win32api.RegOpenKeyEx(win32con.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE,
'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths', 0, win32con.KEY_READ)
sklist = win32api.RegEnumKeyEx(appKey)
for skey in sklist:
print skey[0]
try:
wPath = win32api.RegQueryValue(appKey, skey[0])
print '' + wPath
except pywintypes.error,details:
print '### Error [pywintypes.error]: ' + details[2]
win32api.RegCloseKey(appKey)
/code
This works, but I was wondering wether that is the best way to go about
this? Can I be sure it lists *all* the applications? What does it mean when
a pywintypes.error is thrown (code 13, 'Invalid data')?
Thanks,
g
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RE: List of all installed applications (XP)?
[Guy Lateur]
| I'm trying to generate a (exhaustive) list of all the
| applications that are
| installed on a user's machine. I've written some code that reads the
| registry ('App Paths'):
[.. snip code ..]
| Can I be sure it lists *all* the applications?
What -- from your point of view -- is an application? I can pretty
much guarantee that by no means does every app install an AppPath: it's
merely a convenience. Neither does every app have an Add/Remove Program
entry. (And some things have entries which aren't apps). And where do
you draw the line between some arbitrary executable and an app?
Just asking, because I don't think you can do anything exhaustive
until you know the scope you're trying to exhaust.
TJG
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Re: List of all installed applications (XP)?
| What -- from your point of view -- is an application? Good question. Let me try to elaborate: I would like to know if people in our company (building techniques) are using non-licensed software (eg Photoshop, Office, AutoCad). So I guess by 'application' I mean commercial software packages like those. Is it safe to assume those apps get listed in AppPath? I don't think my users are cunning enough to mess with the registry, so I guess we're talking about the 'standard' installation. | Neither does every app have an Add/Remove Program | entry. (And some things have entries which aren't apps). Just out of curiosity: can one read the info/list one gets in Add/Remove Programs? It's not a problem I get results that aren't actually apps, but it is important I get all apps. Thanks, g -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
RE: List of all installed applications (XP)?
[Guy Lateur] | | | [TJG] | | What -- from your point of view -- is an application? | | Good question. Let me try to elaborate: I would like to know | if people in | our company (building techniques) are using non-licensed software (eg | Photoshop, Office, AutoCad). So I guess by 'application' I | mean commercial software packages like those. Hmmm. While I understand your requirement, it's not as thought there's some easily-discernible charactersistics of commercial software packages which should have licenses but which don't unless you're prepared to compile a list and to add to it over time. | Is it safe to assume those apps get listed in AppPath? I wouldn't have said so: AppPaths is basically useful if you want to be able to go Start Run blah.exe without having to hunt through Program Files etc. Since many apps simply set up a Start Menu shortcut, there's no need for this. | Just out of curiosity: can one read the info/list one gets in | Add/Remove | Programs? It's not a problem I get results that aren't | actually apps, but it | is important I get all apps. I honestly don't know: I imagine Googling around will give some hits (for the question in general and for Add/Remove in particular): it can hardly be an unheard of issue. If someone's solved it in one way, it's almost certainly possible to translate that to Python (or to use their tool, if it's accessible). I have an idea it's held in the registry, but I'm not sure. You could try running up regedit and searching for likely strings. By the sound of it, you're almost better off compiling a list of .exe from machines and building up a blacklist from those. TJG This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Star. The service is powered by MessageLabs. For more information on a proactive anti-virus service working around the clock, around the globe, visit: http://www.star.net.uk -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: List of all installed applications (XP)?
Guy Lateur [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: | What -- from your point of view -- is an application? Good question. Let me try to elaborate: I would like to know if people in our company (building techniques) are using non-licensed software (eg Photoshop, Office, AutoCad). So I guess by 'application' I mean commercial software packages like those. Is it safe to assume those apps get listed in AppPath? I don't think my users are cunning enough to mess with the registry, so I guess we're talking about the 'standard' installation. | Neither does every app have an Add/Remove Program | entry. (And some things have entries which aren't apps). Just out of curiosity: can one read the info/list one gets in Add/Remove Programs? It's not a problem I get results that aren't actually apps, but it is important I get all apps. I think it's this registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall Maybe you should try HKEY_CURRENT_USER\.. or HKEY_USERS\..\.. as well. Thomas -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: List of all installed applications (XP)?
Get Tim Golden's wmi module (http://tgolden.sc.sabren.com/python/wmi.html). I recently had to help my brother remove some spyware, and so I used some of the example that came with WMI to read through the registry to extract startup keys, services, etc. Even if your users aren't sophisticated enough to mess with the registry, rest assured that the software installation programs are. You should be able to find traces of any installed commercial program that was released in the past 5 years - I suspect they *all* leave traces in the registry at this point. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE and you will get a list of software vendors, and you can enumerate keys from there. Good luck! -- Paul -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: List of all installed applications (XP)?
| [TJG] | Hmmm. While I understand your requirement, it's not as | thought there's some easily-discernible charactersistics | of commercial software packages which should have licenses | but which don't No? Really? How disappointing.. ;) | [TJG] | By the sound of it, you're almost better off compiling | a list of .exe from machines and building up a blacklist | from those. That was kind of the idea at first. However, we have a file server (H:), and I've seen apps installed on it. So it's pretty hard to know who actually uses that app just by the .exe - could be several people, too, I guess. That's why I thought of the registry - which, as you rightfully pointed out, isn't a perfect strategy, either. I do understand that I can remove those apps by removing the .exe (+ containing folder, probably), but I'd also like to get an idea of who is using what right now (and why). That might come in handy at some point later on. Btw, is there a module called pyWhy or something? :) Maybe I should also follow Paul's advice and go through the registry on a vendor/app basis. I mean, ATM, I'm not really concerned about a user having, say, Cubase installed without a license. My priority right now is to make sure we have licenses for certain apps we use professionally/commercially (ACad, Office, ..). Thanks for the input, people, much appreciated, g -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: List of all installed applications (XP)?
Not only is it difficult to tell which applications are installed, it is difficult to tell if an application is still installed as all too many applications do not remove all their registry keys upon uninstall. I was going to suggest using a commercial application due to the messiness of this problem but the one I tried Tally Systems WebCensus (now owned by Novell) failed to find NuMega BoundsChecker and it also believes Yahoo Messenger is still installed even though it was uninstalled. Neil -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
