VB Script to Lookup and Open Home Directory

In a school network, teachers often need to access a student's home folder — to retrieve a file, check submitted work, or troubleshoot. The problem: teachers don't know UNC paths, folder structures vary by year group, and display names in File Explorer don't always match usernames in the system.

This VBScript takes a username, queries Active Directory for the home directory path, and opens it directly in Windows Explorer.

The Script

Option Explicit

Dim sUser, sDomain, sQuery, oUser, sHomePath

' Accept username from command line or prompt
If WScript.Arguments.Count > 0 Then
    sUser = WScript.Arguments(0)
Else
    sUser = InputBox("Enter the student username:", "Open Home Directory")
End If

If Trim(sUser) = "" Then WScript.Quit

' Set your domain
sDomain = "YOURDOMAIN"

' Query Active Directory
On Error Resume Next
Set oUser = GetObject("WinNT://" & sDomain & "/" & sUser & ",user")

If Err.Number <> 0 Or IsNull(oUser) Then
    MsgBox "User '" & sUser & "' not found in Active Directory.", vbExclamation
    WScript.Quit
End If

sHomePath = oUser.HomeDirectory

If Trim(sHomePath) = "" Then
    MsgBox "No home directory configured for '" & sUser & "'.", vbInformation
    WScript.Quit
End If

On Error GoTo 0

' Show info and open the folder
MsgBox "Opening home directory for: " & oUser.FullName & vbCrLf & sHomePath, vbInformation

Dim oShell
Set oShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
oShell.Open sHomePath
Set oShell = Nothing
Set oUser = Nothing

Deployment

1. Save as OpenHomeDir.vbs on a shared staff area (e.g., \\server\staff\tools\)
2. Create a desktop shortcut pointing to the script (set a custom icon if desired)
3. Distribute via logon script:

copy "\\server\staff\tools\OpenHomeDir.vbs" "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\" /Y

Teachers can then double-click the shortcut, type the student's username, and Explorer opens the folder directly — no knowledge of UNC paths or folder structures needed.

Command-Line Use

The script also accepts a username as an argument, useful for running from other scripts:

wscript "\\server\tools\OpenHomeDir.vbs" jsmith