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I need to find an easy way to copy the text from the programs list in Task Manager to a text file 5

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jfelis

jfelis

Technical User
Joined
Sep 13, 2003
Messages
23
Location
AU

Hi There,

I run really long and complicated working sessions on my system and it is an absolute PAIN that I have to write down or type up a list of my running programs every time I have to shut down my system.

Does ANYONE know how I can copy the text shown in the Task Manager (see the attachment) into a text file that I can then restore my working environment when I restart? I know I can take a screen shot but that is pretty inelegant and I'd much prefer a text file, so I can manipulate the results.

Ciao, Jacq.
 
 http://files.engineering.com/getfile.aspx?folder=7db1694d-8baf-426b-bf61-07cf2de05b28&file=Task_Manager_Question.PNG
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You could try an app like Process Explorer, or some other 3rd party app similar. (Proc Explorer allows you to Save As and save the running apps in a text file)

I found this power shell script that worked a charm.

get-process | where-object {$_.mainwindowhandle -ne 0} | select-object name, mainwindowtitle

ACSS - SME
General Geek
 
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Why not hibernate rather than shutdown?
 
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Alternatively, if you do not wish to use powershell

tasklist | findstr /v " 0 "
 
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Thanks to hairlesssupportmonkey and xwb for sharing those. I just tested xwb's and it spits out a nice list direct to the cmd window. To get it to text, just add the redirect command at the end. Something like this:
Code: 
tasklist | findstr /v " 0 "[highlight #FCE94F]>"C:\temp\testlist.txt"[/highlight]

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57
 
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Glad you got what you needed!

Thanks for the pink! :-)

ACSS - SME
General Geek
 
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Hello Everyone,

Almost, but no cigar to XWB & kjv1611. The list is great, but it doesn't list the Names of the Files which are open the way that task Manager does. When I want to remember something like "Bryophyllum Search in IPNI 2016-05-01.txt" - notepad.exe just doesn't cut it!

Apologies to hairlessupportmonkey as I haven't had a chance to reinstall Process Explorer yet so I'm still not sure if that will work or not - I had it on my old Vista system, but I lost a lot of stuff when I was upgraded to Win 7 in April and I'm still reconstructing - I am very slow because of my disability issues - essentially the mind is willing, but the body wants to go off and sleep all day! LOL! I've never used Powershell so I don't know anything about it.

To strongm re: "Why not hibernate rather than shutdown? " Sometime you just have to switch it off like when Windows Updates makes you do it or the thunderstorm is coming. Normally my system is always on and I average about two to three weeks between shutdowns.

To anyone else who is looking at this question - please go back and look at the picture so you can see exactly what I am trying to capture - it is the Aqua text on the Dark Purple background inside the Task Manager Window.

Ciao, Jacq.
 
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Here is a raw output from Process Explorer.

Code: 
Process	CPU	Private Bytes	Working Set	PID	Description	Company Name
System Idle Process	86.8	0 K	4 K	0		
System	2.26	200 K	33,680 K	4		
 Interrupts	1.74	0 K	0 K	n/a	Hardware Interrupts and DPCs	
 smss.exe		404 K	1,008 K	424	Windows Session Manager	Microsoft Corporation
 Memory Compression	< 0.01	788 K	148,460 K	3668		
csrss.exe	< 0.01	1,700 K	3,912 K	612	Client Server Runtime Process	Microsoft Corporation
csrss.exe	0.49	2,568 K	12,016 K	716	Client Server Runtime Process	Microsoft Corporation
wininit.exe		1,180 K	4,572 K	740	Windows Start-Up Application	Microsoft Corporation
 services.exe		3,964 K	7,208 K	788	Services and Controller app	Microsoft Corporation
  svchost.exe	0.02	10,604 K	24,220 K	964	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
   ShellExperienceHost.exe	Suspended	54,408 K	94,144 K	6952	Windows Shell Experience Host	Microsoft Corporation
   RuntimeBroker.exe	< 0.01	36,780 K	60,872 K	3196	Runtime Broker	Microsoft Corporation
   SkypeHost.exe	Suspended	33,912 K	37,980 K	3580	Microsoft Skype Preview	Microsoft Corporation
   SettingSyncHost.exe		61,320 K	14,216 K	8912	Host Process for Setting Synchronization	Microsoft Corporation
   dllhost.exe		2,732 K	9,668 K	8528	COM Surrogate	Microsoft Corporation
   SystemSettingsBroker.exe	< 0.01	6,556 K	24,080 K	5732	System Settings Broker	Microsoft Corporation
   explorer.exe		49,712 K	89,984 K	13292	Windows Explorer	Microsoft Corporation
   ApplicationFrameHost.exe		18,056 K	27,956 K	8736	Application Frame Host	Microsoft Corporation
   Music.UI.exe	Suspended	18,876 K	28,148 K	3192	Music Application	Microsoft Corporation
   Microsoft.Photos.exe	Suspended	116,348 K	86,764 K	8536		
   Calculator.exe	Suspended	16,836 K	30,424 K	11876		
   SystemSettings.exe	Suspended	17,400 K	39,708 K	8640	Settings	Microsoft Corporation
   WmiPrvSE.exe		2,560 K	8,724 K	952	WMI Provider Host	Microsoft Corporation
   SearchUI.exe	Suspended	71,936 K	122,652 K	8500	Search and Cortana application	Microsoft Corporation
   smartscreen.exe		12,800 K	25,348 K	14652	SmartScreen	Microsoft Corporation
  svchost.exe		7,256 K	12,716 K	76	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  svchost.exe		15,104 K	25,916 K	784	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
   WUDFHost.exe	< 0.01	25,468 K	14,992 K	1196	Windows Driver Foundation - User-mode Driver Framework Host Process	Microsoft Corporation
   WUDFHost.exe		1,272 K	5,248 K	1492	Windows Driver Foundation - User-mode Driver Framework Host Process	Microsoft Corporation
   dasHost.exe		6,904 K	17,588 K	1532	Device Association Framework Provider Host	Microsoft Corporation
  svchost.exe	< 0.01	19,368 K	27,200 K	936	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  svchost.exe	< 0.01	15,844 K	32,876 K	288	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  WRSA.exe	0.1	83,856 K	19,844 K	1188	Webroot SecureAnywhere	Webroot
   WRSA.exe	0.04	14,340 K	968 K	6056	Webroot SecureAnywhere	Webroot
  svchost.exe		15,540 K	28,636 K	1368	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  nvvsvc.exe		2,436 K	8,784 K	1548	NVIDIA Driver Helper Service, Version 372.70	NVIDIA Corporation
   nvxdsync.exe	< 0.01	12,580 K	24,132 K	1592	NVIDIA User Experience Driver Component	NVIDIA Corporation
    nvtray.exe		2,464 K	9,552 K	6756	NVIDIA Settings	NVIDIA Corporation
    nvtray.exe	0.17	5,680 K	14,256 K	6868	NVIDIA Settings	NVIDIA Corporation
  svchost.exe	0.07	54,848 K	73,536 K	1612	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
   sihost.exe		7,644 K	27,444 K	5924	Shell Infrastructure Host	Microsoft Corporation
   taskhostw.exe	< 0.01	8,828 K	19,584 K	5056	Host Process for Windows Tasks	Microsoft Corporation
   ACMON.exe		2,376 K	1,464 K	3404	ACMON 	ASUS
   USBChargerPlus.exe		2,008 K	944 K	2944	ASUS USB Charger Plus	ASUSTek Computer Inc.
   RAVBg64.exe		6,952 K	1,432 K	4012	HD Audio Background Process	Realtek Semiconductor
   RAVCpl64.exe		3,756 K	1,424 K	6720	Realtek HD Audio Manager	Realtek Semiconductor
   msoia.exe	< 0.01	6,416 K	1,700 K	11200	Office Telemetry Agent	Microsoft Corporation
  igfxCUIService.exe		1,936 K	8,140 K	1812	igfxCUIService Module	Intel Corporation
  svchost.exe		9,908 K	20,468 K	1908	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  svchost.exe		2,608 K	9,392 K	1304	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
   audiodg.exe		21,020 K	17,708 K	8800	Windows Audio Device Graph Isolation 	Microsoft Corporation
  svchost.exe		4,360 K	12,732 K	2232	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  svchost.exe		5,880 K	15,180 K	2348	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  AsLdrSrv.exe		1,228 K	4,984 K	2400	ASLDR Service	ASUSTek Computer Inc.
   HControl.exe		1,836 K	8,552 K	5996	HControl	ASUSTek Computer Inc.
    KBFiltr.exe		1,316 K	5,848 K	2260	KBFiltr	ASUSTek Computer Inc.
  GFNEXSrv.exe		804 K	3,052 K	2412	GFNEXSrv	ASUS
  spoolsv.exe	< 0.01	12,444 K	22,236 K	2504	Spooler SubSystem App	Microsoft Corporation
  svchost.exe		4,636 K	12,628 K	2732	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  svchost.exe		1,596 K	6,452 K	2812	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  DbxSvc.exe		2,376 K	5,224 K	2908	Dropbox Service	Dropbox, Inc.
  svchost.exe		9,444 K	24,236 K	2920	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  DymoPnpService.exe		26,696 K	19,540 K	2928	DymoPnpService	Sanford, L.P.
  mDNSResponder.exe		2,380 K	6,720 K	2936	Bonjour Service	Apple Inc.
  OfficeClickToRun.exe		39,800 K	42,060 K	2980	Microsoft Office Click-to-Run (SxS)	Microsoft Corporation
  HSMServiceEntry.exe	0.22	5,508 K	10,308 K	3028	NService Application	Nero AG
  esif_uf.exe		1,796 K	6,280 K	3036	Intel(R) Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework	Intel Corporation
   esif_assist_64.exe	< 0.01	1,300 K	4,336 K	5868	Intel(R) Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework Utility Application	Intel Corporation
  HWDeviceService64.exe		17,484 K	7,936 K	3048	DCSHOST	
   DCSHelper.exe		4,352 K	9,344 K	6416	DataCardMonitor MFC Application	Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
  AppleMobileDeviceService.exe	0.02	3,516 K	11,000 K	2044	MobileDeviceService	Apple Inc.
  NvStreamService.exe	0.01	5,512 K	13,252 K	2212	NVIDIA Streamer Service	NVIDIA Corporation
   NvStreamUserAgent.exe	0.03	22,744 K	33,872 K	14252	NVIDIA Streamer User Agent	NVIDIA Corporation
    conhost.exe		1,588 K	7,224 K	11420	Console Window Host	Microsoft Corporation
  NvNetworkService.exe		2,736 K	7,072 K	2272	NVIDIA Network Service	NVIDIA Corporation
  pnusbvirtualhubwssrv.exe	< 0.01	1,924 K	5,316 K	2388	Virtual USB Hub Main module	Dell Inc.
  QVRService.exe	< 0.01	3,472 K	7,188 K	2200		
  SolarWinds TFTP Server.exe	< 0.01	19,216 K	18,324 K	2872	SolarWinds TFTP Server	SolarWinds
  ScreenConnect.ClientService.exe	0.01	18,800 K	23,860 K	3080		
   ScreenConnect.WindowsClient.exe		25,124 K	27,984 K	1560	ScreenConnect Client	ScreenConnect Software
  PassThruSvr.exe		1,272 K	4,108 K	3088	PassThruSvr Application	
  ReflectService.exe		2,244 K	9,216 K	3152	Macrium Reflect Utility Service	Paramount Software UK Ltd
  svchost.exe	< 0.01	3,724 K	12,324 K	3248	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  TomTomHOMEService.exe		908 K	3,384 K	3336	Windows Service for TomTom HOME	TomTom
  vmnat.exe	< 0.01	2,212 K	6,464 K	3344	VMware NAT Service	VMware, Inc.
  svchost.exe		8,352 K	21,644 K	3352	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  UsbClientService.exe	0.26	2,120 K	6,532 K	3364		
  vmware-authd.exe	0.26	4,952 K	10,340 K	3544	VMware Authorization Service	VMware, Inc.
  TeamViewer_Service.exe	0.01	6,784 K	20,744 K	3608	TeamViewer 12	TeamViewer GmbH
   TeamViewer.exe		13,908 K	38,752 K	5188	TeamViewer 12	TeamViewer GmbH
   tv_w32.exe	< 0.01	1,376 K	6,368 K	6672	TeamViewer 12	TeamViewer GmbH
   tv_x64.exe	< 0.01	1,464 K	6,096 K	6692	TeamViewer 12	TeamViewer GmbH
  svchost.exe	0.01	89,336 K	96,144 K	3660	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  vmware-usbarbitrator64.exe	< 0.01	2,440 K	9,072 K	3884	VMware USB Arbitration Service	VMware, Inc.
  vmnetdhcp.exe		7,436 K	4,304 K	3896	VMware VMnet DHCP service	VMware, Inc.
  wgsslvpnsrc.exe		1,316 K	5,124 K	4020		
  Ath_CoexAgent.exe		2,172 K	7,108 K	4028	Atheros Coex Service Application	Atheros
  vmware-hostd.exe	< 0.01	24,788 K	28,264 K	4456		
  NvStreamNetworkService.exe	0.04	7,688 K	17,380 K	4432	NVIDIA Network Stream Service	NVIDIA Corporation
  SearchIndexer.exe		61,152 K	60,804 K	3260	Microsoft Windows Search Indexer	Microsoft Corporation
  svchost.exe		8,472 K	31,480 K	972	Host Process for Windows Services	Microsoft Corporation
  PresentationFontCache.exe		26,360 K	17,228 K	5992	PresentationFontCache.exe	Microsoft Corporation
  iPodService.exe	0.01	2,204 K	7,836 K	7688	iPodService Module (64-bit)	Apple Inc.
  BrYNSvc.exe		4,328 K	10,628 K	1948	BrYNCSvc	Brother Industries, Ltd.
  jhi_service.exe		1,296 K	5,648 K	7964	Intel(R) Dynamic Application Loader Host Interface	Intel Corporation
  LMS.exe		3,120 K	10,384 K	7972	Intel(R) Local Management Service	Intel Corporation
  isa.exe		9,512 K	11,720 K	11268	Intel(R) Security Assist	Intel Corporation
 lsass.exe	0.01	8,216 K	18,000 K	804	Local Security Authority Process	Microsoft Corporation
winlogon.exe		2,160 K	9,456 K	848	Windows Logon Application	Microsoft Corporation
 dwm.exe	0.6	50,688 K	58,820 K	1140	Desktop Window Manager	Microsoft Corporation
 fontdrvhost.exe		912 K	3,116 K	13184	Usermode Font Driver Host	Microsoft Corporation
ouc.exe	0.03	17,100 K	20,880 K	4224		
DMedia.exe		1,576 K	6,892 K	5052	ATK Media	ASUSTek Computer Inc.
ATKOSD2.exe		1,888 K	8,020 K	5944	ATKOSD2	ASUSTek Computer Inc.
explorer.exe	0.12	51,444 K	101,336 K	5884	Windows Explorer	Microsoft Corporation
 NvBackend.exe	< 0.01	3,372 K	12,280 K	8116	NVIDIA Backend	NVIDIA Corporation
 iTunesHelper.exe	< 0.01	4,112 K	13,692 K	8168	iTunesHelper	Apple Inc.
 OneDrive.exe		23,368 K	41,880 K	7364	Microsoft OneDrive	Microsoft Corporation
 TomTomHOMERunner.exe		1,972 K	9,416 K	7448	System Tray application for TomTom HOME	TomTom
 lync.exe	< 0.01	203,712 K	160,700 K	7572	Skype for Business	Microsoft Corporation
  UcMapi.exe	< 0.01	29,340 K	52,276 K	8612	Skype for Business	Microsoft Corporation
  lynchtmlconv.exe	< 0.01	31,640 K	28,496 K	9264	Microsoft Lync	Microsoft Corporation
 firefox.exe	0.82	546,776 K	569,300 K	400	Firefox	Mozilla Corporation
adb.exe	< 0.01	1,752 K	6,400 K	6428		
igfxEM.exe		3,672 K	12,220 K	6772	igfxEM Module	Intel Corporation
igfxHK.exe		2,264 K	8,076 K	6816	igfxHK Module	Intel Corporation
igfxTray.exe		3,484 K	10,764 K	6848		
Dropbox.exe	0.01	181,148 K	115,468 K	6064	Dropbox	Dropbox, Inc.
vmware-tray.exe		1,656 K	7,264 K	7744	VMware Tray Process	VMware, Inc.
EpmNews.exe	0.01	1,836 K	8,000 K	3820	EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition Application	CHENGDU YIWO Tech Development Co., Ltd
TrayTipAgentE.exe	< 0.01	5,524 K	7,960 K	8056		
BrStMonW.exe	< 0.01	13,308 K	18,620 K	5092	Status Monitor Application	Brother Industries, Ltd.
BrCtrlCntr.exe		2,248 K	9,792 K	7584	ControlCenter Main Process	Brother Industries, Ltd.
 BrCcUxSys.exe		1,964 K	8,644 K	6124	ControlCenter UX System	Brother Industries, Ltd.
AsusTPLoader.exe	< 0.01	2,404 K	1,684 K	5604	ASUS Smart Gesture Loader	AsusTek
 AsusTPCenter.exe	0.09	3,064 K	3,052 K	228	ASUS Smart Gesture Center	AsusTek
AsusTPHelper.exe	< 0.01	1,176 K	516 K	9764	ASUS Smart Gesture Helper	AsusTek
ConnectWiseCrashHandler.exe		1,276 K	5,932 K	6668	ConnectWise Crash Handler	ConnectWise
PNUSBCLITRAY.exe		2,576 K	7,520 K	5736	vWorkspace Virtual USB Hub Client Control System Tray (x86)	Dell Inc.
 PNTray.exe	< 0.01	2,360 K	7,128 K	11784	Dell Wyse vWorkspace System Tray (x86)	Dell Inc.
pntsc.exe		2,764 K	7,624 K	10820	vWorkspace connector for Windows	Dell Inc.
deluge.exe	4.18	79,256 K	69,200 K	1544	Deluge Bittorrent Client	Deluge Team
LiveUpdate.exe	0.34	69,884 K	21,584 K	7828	ASUS Live Update	ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
procexp64.exe	1.17	40,808 K	63,100 K	15948	Sysinternals Process Explorer	Sysinternals - [URL unfurl="true"]www.sysinternals.com[/URL]


ACSS - SME
General Geek
 
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You can simply import the generated file into Excel and format as you like.

ProcessExplorerinExcel_pvhiow.png


ACSS - SME
General Geek
 
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Do you just want to shutdown your programs before you shutdown the system? You could use taskkill. Type taskkill /? for all the parameters

For instance if you wish to kill all the chrome processes

taskkill /im chrome.exe

To kill all processes with starting with Bryophyllum in the title

taskkill /fi "windowtitle eq Bryophyllum*

The parameters are similar to tasklist. If you want to know what will be killed, replace taskkill with tasklist.
 
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No, I don't want to just kill them, I want to make a list so I can reopen all the files and re-create my working environment when I re-start the system,
Thanks, Jacq.
 
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You might want to have a look at using the shutdown command. Specifically, you might want to have a look at

shutdown /g

I don't think it will do everything you require (as it only restarts certain registered programs), but it might help reduce the effort you need to make.
 
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you seem to not understand hibernate or sleeping. They save all of memory to a file on the hard drive and then power off the machine. While you have to fully restart after installing new windows patches you do not have to restart because you want to shut down before a storm. Simply put your machine to sleep.

Bill
Lead Application Developer
New York State, USA
 
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Bill, don't think that is quite right; sleeping does not "save all of memory to a file" nor does it "then power off the machine.
 
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Another alternative - use a VM. You only ever need to suspend it before shutting down the host. Then when you start it again, it is where you left off.
 
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Quite so, which is why I suggested it back on 3rd Jan ... :-) But sadly the OP has already pointed out that this is not a solution that can work for them.
 
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Guys, we are getting off track here -

what I WANT to do is find a way to copy the actual text showing in the applications window of the Task Manager:

for example - "Super Finder Textify List After.txt - Notepad"
or "C:\Windows.old\Users\Public\Pictures\Kodak Pictures\17-03-2014"
These two lines above took me almost 3 minutes to type by looking backwards and forwards between the Task Manager and the posting box here. I currently have 5 text files open and 4 Explorer windows, plus E-mail and two Firefox windows - can you imagine how long it would take me to type all of it? (I have brain damage from a car accident and my short term transfer memory is quite damaged. - my handwriting is not too flash either - if I write things down by hand often I can't read them ten minutes later!)

Can we stay on track? I can select what I want to copy, it is just when I right click it "Copy" does not come up as one of my menu options.

Sorry I haven't checked in for a few days I've been having trouble with my braodband connection and I've only just got back online today

Ciao, Jacq.


 
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Use Tasklist

Chris.

Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares?
Time flies like an arrow, however, fruit flies like a banana.

Never mind this jesus character, stars had to die for me to live.
 
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