Identifier Variables

With many login script commands, you can take advantage of identifier variables to make your login script more efficient and flexible.

Identifier variables allow you to enter a variable (such as LAST_NAME), rather than a specific name (such as Smith) in a login script command. When the login script executes, it substitutes real values for the identifier variables.

By using the variable, you can make the login script command applicable to many users instead of limiting it to one user.

For example, the command

WRITE Hello, %LAST_NAME

displays the following message on Bob's Smith's workstation screen when he logs in:

Hello, SMITH

Similarly, when Mary Jones logs in, the message she sees is

Hello, JONES

In the previous example, when the user logged in, the user's actual last name was substituted for the LAST_NAME variable in the command.

Table 19 lists all the available identifier variables.

Table 19. Login Script Identifier Variables

Category	Identifier Variable	Function
Date	DAY	Day number (01 through 31)
	DAY_OF_WEEK	Day of week (Monday, Tuesday, etc.)
	MONTH	Month number (01 through 12)
	MONTH_NAME	Month name (January, February, etc.)
	NDAY_OF_WEEK	Weekday number (1 through 7; 1=Sunday)
	SHORT_YEAR	Last two digits of year (94, 95, 96, etc.)
	YEAR	All four digits of year (1994, 1995, 1996, etc.)
Time	AM_PM	Day or night (am or pm)
	GREETING_TIME	Time of day (morning, afternoon, or evening)
	HOUR	Hour (12-hour scale; 1 through 12)
	HOUR24	Hour (24-hour scale; 00 through 23; 00=midnight)
	MINUTE	Minute (00 through 59)
	SECOND	Second (00 through 59)
User	%CN	User's full login name as it exists in NDS
	LOGIN_ALIAS_CONTEXT	Y IF REQUESTER_CONTEXT is an Alias
	FULL_NAME	User's unique username. It is the value of the FULL_NAME property for both NDS and bindery-based NetWare. Spaces are replaced with underscores
	LAST_NAME	User's last name (surname) in Novell Directory Services, or full login name in bindery-based NetWare
	LOGIN_CONTEXT	Context where user exists
	LOGIN_NAME	User's unique login name (long names are truncated to eight characters)
	MEMBER OF group	Group object that the user is assigned to
	NOT MEMBER OF group	Group object that the user is not assigned to
	PASSWORD_EXPIRES	Number of days before password expires
	REQUESTER_CONTEXT	Context when login started
	USER_ID	Number assigned to each user
Network	FILE_SERVER NETWORK_ADDRESS	NetWare server name IPX external network number of the cabling system (8-digit hexadecimal number)
Workstation	MACHINE	Type of computer (IBM_PC, etc.)
	NETWARE_REQUESTER	Version of the NetWare Requester for OS/2 or VLM users
	OS	Type of operating system on the workstation (MSDOS, OS2, etc.)
	OS_VERSION	Operating system version on the workstation (3.30, etc.)
	P_STATION	Workstation's node number (12-digit hexadecimal)
	PLATFORM	Workstation's operating system platform: DOS, OS2, WIN (Windows 3.1), WNT (Windows NT), or W95 (Windows 95)
	SHELL_TYPE	Version of the workstation's DOS shell (1.02, etc.); supports NetWare 2 and 3 shells and NetWare 4 Requester for DOS.
	SMACHINE	Short machine name (IBM, etc.)
	STATION	Workstation's connection number
DOS environment	<variable>	Any DOS environment variable can be used in angle brackets (<path>, etc.). To use a DOS environment variable in MAP, COMSPEC, and FIRE PHASERS commands add a percent sign (%) in front of the variable. For example, MAP S16:=%<path>
Miscellaneous	ACCESS_SERVER	Shows whether the access server is functional (TRUE=functional, FALSE=not functional)
	ERROR_LEVEL	An error number (0=no errors)
	%n	Replaced by parameters the user enters at the command line with the LOGIN utility. For more information, see Table 19.
Object properties	property name	You can use property values of NDS objects as variables. Use the property values just as you do any other identifier variable. If the property value includes a space, enclose the name in quotation marks. To use a property name with a space, within a WRITE statement, you must place it at the end of the quoted string: WRITE Given name=%GIVEN_NAME IF %MESSAGE SERVER=MS1 THEN MAP INS S16:=MS1\SYS:EMAIL To see a list of object properties, see Appendix A, NDS Object Classes and Properties, of Guide to NetWare4 Networks. Not all properties are supported.

Using Identifier Variables

When using identifier variables in login script commands, observe the following conventions.

Identifier variables are used most often with commands such as IF...THEN, MAP, and WRITE. They can also be used with commands for which you can specify a path, such as COMSPEC.
Type the variable exactly as shown.
To use DOS environment variables as identifiers, enclose them in angle brackets.
Identifier variables can be placed within literal text strings in a WRITE statement. However, the identifier variable must be in uppercase letters and preceded by a percent sign. (Literal text is the text that is displayed on the screen, such as Sales report is due today. Literal text must be enclosed in quotation marks.)

Examples

If user Smith logs in during the morning, both of the following lines display the same message on his screen (Good morning, SMITH):
WRITE Good ; GREETING_TIME; , ; LAST_NAME
WRITE Good %GREETING_TIME, %LAST_NAME
To use DOS environment variables as identifiers, enclose them in angle brackets. The following example uses the DOS environment variable path:
WRITE my path is %<path>

The text displayed on the screen is similar to
my path is z:.;y:.;c:\WINDOWS

Using LOGIN Parameters with %n Variables

Some variables in a login script can be indicated by a percent sign (%) followed by a number from 0 to 9.

When a user logs in, he or she can type additional parameters that the LOGIN utility passes to the login script. The login script then substitutes these parameters for any %n variables in the login script. These variables are replaced in order by the parameters the user typed when executing the LOGIN utility.

The %0 variable is replaced by the name of the NetWare server the user typed at the command line, and %1 is replaced by the user's login name. The remaining variables change, depending on what the user types when executing LOGIN. The %n variables must precede all command line options.

The SHIFT login script command allows you to change the order in which these %n variables are substituted. For more information about the SHIFT command, see SHIFT

The %n variables can be used in WRITE statements if included within the quotes:

WRITE My login name is %1.

Example

Suppose a login script contains the following commands:

IF %2=SALES THEN

WRITE Meeting today

END

IF %3=LEGAL THEN

WRITE Report is due tomorrow

END

If user RON logged in by typing the following command:

LOGIN COUNT\RON SALES MARKETING

then the login script would substitute the values Ron entered at the keyboard for the %n variables in the login script, as shown here:

%0=COUNT

%1=RON

%2=SALES

%3=MARKETING

Since %2 is replaced by SALES, the message Meeting today is displayed on Ron's screen. However, since %3 is replaced by Marketing, Ron doesn't see Report is due tomorrow.