Effectively using the script console

Using the Script Console

You can send the output of your custom scripts to the Script Console. It provides rich formatting capabilities that can be used to enhance the quality of your output. This article demonstrates how you can control the font face, color, hilite, and size of the text that appears in the console. Additionally, this article contains some hints on how to output results in languages other than English.

Stand-alone and Integrated scripts

Unsniff supports two types of scripts based on how they interact with Unsniff Network Analyzer.
   1. Stand alone scripts
        These scripts typically are run from the command line or via a Windows shortcut. They
        operate on capture files outside the Unsniff application.

   2. Integrated scripts
        You can attach custom scripts to popup menu items in Unsniff. They are triggered
        when the corresponding menu item is selected. These scripts give you access to the
        currently open capture file and the current selection context. This is a powerful way to
        add functionality to the Unsniff application.

The Script Console is for use with integrated scripts only. For standalone scripts you can use the MS-DOS console, HTML, or a graphical toolkit such as Fx-Ruby (the Fox toolkit)

The CurrentDocument.Console object

See the Unsniff Scripting Guide for complete documentation of the CurrentDocument.Console object.
The functionality of the Script Console is provided via the CurrentDocument.Console object. You always have access to this object within your script. This listing demonstrates all the features of the Scripting Console in a single program. You can mix and match any of these styles to produce reports. For example :

Flag errors in red-bold font
Highlight important data,
Print titles in large size font
Use a mono-space font like Courier New or Lucida Console to align your reports

Dim
Con

Set Con = CurrentDocument.Console

Con.WriteLine"----------------"
Con.WriteLine "Testing Console"
Con.WriteLine"----------------"

' Default color
Con.WriteLine "This Text is in in default color"

' Different colors
Con.TextColor= "#0000FF"
Con.WriteLine "This Text is in in #0000FF color"

' Set window title
Con.SetTitle "A new window title"

' Test Default format
Con.SetDefaultFormat
Con.WriteLine "Now we are back to default format"

' Test Hilite
Con.Write "This is a long line, "
Con.Hilite = True
Con.Write "this text is now hilited"
Con.Hilite = False
Con.WriteLine "Now we are back to non-hilited more"

' Test Bold
Con.Bold=True
Con.Write "This sentence is meant to be in bold"
Con.Bold=False

' Test Italics
Con.Italics=True
Con.Write "This sentence is meant to be in italics"
Con.Italics=False

    ' Test Height
    Con.Height = 250
    Con.WriteLine "This text is 250 twips high"

    ' Test Font
    Con.SetFont "Times", 300
    Con.WriteLine "This text is in TimesFont and 300 twips high"

Sample Output

A screenshot of the script console is shown below.
English Script Console Output

Working with Unicode

The Script Console is capable of displaying unicode output. The only issue is that you must select a font that is capable of displaying your language. For example if you are displaying output in Japanese, you may want to choose a font such as MS Mincho or MS Hei. The code shown below sets the font to MS Mincho 300 twips - at the very top of the script.

Dim Con

Set
Con = CurrentDocument.Console

Con.SetFont "MS
Mincho", 300

Sample Unicode Script Output

A sample Japanese script output is shown below. This sample script scans through a capture file and looks for HTTP OK messages. It then highlights each HTTP message.
Japanese Script Console Output

Clipboard

You can save the contents of your script by pressing Ctrl-A (to select all the output) and pressing the "Copy" button. You can then paste it into notepad (for plain text) or Wordpad (for RTF text)