In: Categories » » Windows registry » The export function invoked with the command reg export
The export function, invoked with the command reg export, exports the registry object specified to a disk file. The object may be a single-level key, such as HKLM\TEMP. Parameters include the name of the key to export and the name (qualified as necessary) of the file to export to. Export is only allowed on the local machine. The command line for export is: REG EXPORT keyname filename As with other registry tools, the registry path to be queried may be a ROOTKEY or a hive, with or without a value entry. The ROOTKEY may consist of one of the following (HKLM is assumed if none is entered):
• HKLM
• HKCU
• HKCR
• HKU
• HKCC
Objects in the key are exported. Here's an example of executing the export command:
Windows 9:47:58 C:\ REG export HKLM\TEMP\ myreg.exp The operation completed successfully. Windows 9:48:01 C:\
Import
The import function, invoked with the command reg import, imports the registry object specified from a disk file. The object may be a single-level key, such as HKLM\TEMP. Parameters include the name of the key to import and the name (qualified as necessary) of the file to import from. Import is only allowed on the local machine. The command line for import is:
REG IMPORT filename
Objects in the exported key are imported. There is no recovery in the event of a user error with this command. Here's an example of executing the import command:
Windows 9:47:58 C:\ REG import myreg.exp The operation completed successfully. Windows 9:48:01 C:\
Load
The load function, invoked with the command reg load <options>, loads the registry object from the file specified. The object must have been saved using the reg save or reg backup command. Options include the name of the file to load from, the registry path to be restored, and an optional machine name (restorations may be made to remote registries). The command line for restore is: REG LOAD FileName keyname [\\Machine]\ As with other registry tools, the registry path to be queried may be a ROOTKEY or a hive, with or without a data key. The ROOTKEY may consist of one of the following (HKLM is assumed if none is entered):
• HKLM
• HKCU
Only HKLM and HKCU may be specified in this command.
Objects in the key are loaded, overwriting existing objects if there are any. Here's an example of executing the load command:
Windows 9:47:58 C:\ REG load c:\temp\myco HKLM\TEMP\ The operation completed successfully. Windows 9:48:01 C:\ reg query HKLM\TEMP /s Listing of [TEMP\] REG_SZ Version 1.00 Windows 9:48:35 C:\
Query
The query function, invoked with the command reg query keyname <options>, displays the value of an object (key or value entry) in the registry. A required parameter, keyname, specifies the object to be queried. Options include specifying a query for a specific registry, querying for the default value, and specifying that all subkeys and values be displayed. The command line for query is:
REG QUERY Keyname [/v valuename or /ve] [/s]
As with other registry tools, the registry path may be a ROOTKEY or a hive (with or without a value entry). The ROOTKEY may be one of the following (HKLM is assumed if none is entered):
• HKLM
• HKCU
• HKCR
• HKU
• HKCC
The hive is further qualified to determine the object to be added. Remote registry query may be done by specifying the keyname to be remotely queried, such as \machine\keyname.
Restore
The restore function, invoked with the command reg restore <options>, restores the registry object from the file specified. The object must have been saved using the reg save or reg backup command. Options include the name of the file to restore from, the registry path to be restored, and an optional machine name (restorations may be made to remote registries). The command line for restore is:
REG QUERY FileName RegistyPath [\\Machine]
As with other registry tools, the registry path to be queried may be a ROOTKEY or a hive, with or without a value entry. The ROOTKEY may consist of one of the following (HKLM is assumed if none is entered):
• HKLM
• HKCU
• HKCR
• HKU
• HKCC
Only HKLM and HKU may be specified when copying objects to a remote registry. Objects in the key are restored and overwritten by the information contained in the specified file. Here's an example of executing the restore command:
Windows 9:39:17 C:\ REG backup HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyNewApp c:\temp\MyCo The operation completed successfully. Windows 9:40:20 C:\ REG restore c:\temp\myco HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyNewApp Are you sure you want to replace Software\MyCo\MyNewApp (Y/N) y The operation completed successfully. Windows 9:40:44 C:\
Save
The save function, invoked with the command reg save <options>, saves the registry object specified to the file specified. Options include the registry path to be saved, the output filename, and an optional machine name (saves may be made on remote registries). The command line for save is: REG SAVE RegistryPath OutputFileName [\\Machine] As with other registry tools, the registry path to be queried may be a ROOTKEY or a hive (with or without a value entry). The ROOTKEY may consist of one of the following (HKLM is assumed if none is entered):
• HKLM
• HKCU
• HKCR
• HKU
• HKCC
Only HKLM and HKU may be specified when copying objects to a remote registry. An example of executing the save command is shown next. In this example, I've saved a small key to the file C:\Temp\MyCo.reg:
Windows 9:16:27 C:\ REG save HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyNewApp c:\temp\MyCo.reg The operation completed successfully. Windows 9:18:35 C:\ dir c:\temp\myco.reg Volume in drive C is (c) - Boot drive Volume Serial Number is CC56-5631 Directory of c:\temp 07/17/99 09:18a 8,192 MyCo.reg 1 File(s) 8,192 bytes 183,407,104 bytes free Windows 9:19:08 C:\
Unload
The unload function, invoked with the command reg unload <options>, unloads (deletes) the registry object specified. The object must be a single-level key, such as HKLM\TEMP. Options include the name of the key to unload and an optional machine name (objects may be unloaded from remote registries). The command line for unload is:
REG UNLOAD keyname [\\Machine]
As with other registry tools, the registry path to be queried may be a ROOTKEY or a hive, with or without a value entry. The ROOTKEY may consist of one of the following (HKLM is assumed if none is entered):
• HKLM
• HKCU
Only HKLM and HKCU may be specified in this command. Objects in the key are unloaded and are not saved. There is no recovery in the event of a user error with this command. Here's an example of executing the unload command:
Windows 9:47:58 C:\ REG unload HKLM\TEMP\ The operation completed successfully. Windows 9:48:01 C:\ reg query HKLM\TEMP /s The system was unable to find the specified registry key. Windows 9:48:35 C:\
Update
Update is supported in versions of Windows prior to Windows 2000, so this section is of concern only to those working with machines running Windows 95 or 98/Me. On versions of Windows that do not support Backup, including Windows XP, use the Save option instead of Backup Update is invoked with the command reg update <options>, updates an existing object (key or value entry) to the registry. Options include the registry object to be added (with the object's value) and an optional machine name (updates may be made to remote registries). The command line for update is:
REG UPDATE RegistryPath=value [\\Machine]
As with other registry tools, the registry path to be queried may be a ROOTKEY or a hive, with or without a value entry. The ROOTKEY may consist of one of the following (HKLM is assumed if none is entered):
• HKLM
• HKCU
• HKCR
• HKU
• HKCC
The hive is further qualified to determine the object to be added. Below is an example of executing the update command. First I show the original value, then I update the object, and then I show the new value.
Windows 9:00:48 C:\ REG query HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp\Version REG_SZ Version 1.00 Windows 9:01:33 C:\ REG update HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp\Version=2.00 The operation completed successfully. Windows 9:03:47 C:\ REG query HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp\Version REG_SZ Version 2.00 Windows 9:03:53 C:\
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