Script Overwriting

Overview

Scripts attached to a scraping session are exported along with it. When you subsequently import that scraping session into another instance of screen-scraper it might overwrite existing scripts in that instance. In some cases, though, you might have a series of general scripts shared by many scraping sessions. In these cases you often want to ensure that the very latest versions of these general scripts get retained in a given instance.

Using the Workbench

In the main pane of the script there is a Overwrite this script on import checkbox. When checked, any name clashes between existing scripts and imported versions will prompt you whether it should overwrite the script or not. If the local version's Overwrite this script on import checkbox is unchecked this file will not be overwritten even if you click to have it overwritten.

In a GUI-less environment

Checking the Overwrite this script on import requires access to the screen-scraper workbench, which you may not have access to if screen-scraper is running in a GUI-less environment. In these cases you can make use of the ForceOverwriteScripts property in the resource/conf/screen-scraper.properties file to allow scripts that have this box un-checked to be overwritten. In order to overwrite scripts that have this checkbox un-checked in a GUI-less environment you would follow these steps:

1. Stop screen-scraper (or ensure that it isn't currently running).
2. Open the resource/conf/screen-scraper.properties file.
3. Add this line to the properties file: ForceOverwriteScripts=true (or edit the line, if it already exists).
4. Save and close the properties file.
5. Start up screen-scraper and import the scraping sessions or scripts.

Once you're finished importing you may want to stop screen-scraper, set the property back to false, then start up again. Note that when you import scripts with the ForceOverwriteScripts property set to true screen-scraper will import the scripts regardless of whether or not the Overwrite this script on import checkbox is checked.