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Licence CPOL
First Posted 3 Feb 2003
Views 93,771
Downloads 1,986
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Find Target Shell Extension

By Paul Farry | 3 Feb 2003
An article about shortening the process of finding the target of a .lnk(windows shortcut) file

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3 votes, 18.8%
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1 vote, 6.3%
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12 votes, 75.0%
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4.38/5 - 16 votes
μ 4.04, σa 2.11 [?]

Find Target menu selected - findtarget.gif

Introduction

This shell extension will add a new option to the Context menu of .lnk (Shortcut) files. I've always been annoyed that to Perform a find target, you have to right click properties, then click find target. There doesn't seem to be a direct api call that simulates what the shell does so I've hunted around, and come up with this, which uses a CreateProcess, ShellExecute, and didn't seem to highlight the file.

Background

After reading Michael Dunn's articles on shell extension (well the first couple so far), I took the examples and came up with this. http://www.codeproject.com/shell/shellextguide1.asp

Using the code

To use the extension, either just regsvr32 it, or Recompile and Register.

Points of Interest

There is a quirk still in here that sometimes the selected file doesn't highlight. (Anyone with any clues, assistance would be greatly appreciated)

History

  • 08-02-2003 Correction for incorrect registry entry.
  • 04-02-2003 Initial release.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

About the Author

Paul Farry

Architect
Idealpos Solutions
Australia Australia

Member
After a lengthy stint at a Retailer writing Point of Sale applications and related internal systems.
 
I now work for a Software Company writing Point of Sale applications and related internal systems.

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Comments and Discussions

 
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GeneralGreat Assisting Tool Pinmemberchessgod1019:23 10 Jan '10  
QuestionHow to install in 3 steps! Pinmembercherwally5:29 19 Sep '09  
Generaloh! thank you Paul!!!! Pinmemberbbsoft16:53 3 Aug '09  
Generalcontext not working solved Pinmemberalxnto10:39 22 Jan '09  
Generalxp64 PinmemberTilo Kühn2:40 9 May '08  
GeneralGreat Tool Pinmembercharlie markwick22:17 8 Dec '07  
GeneralDifferent behaviour on expanded start menu to s/c's in an explorer pane Pinmemberdalchina17:13 24 Aug '07  
QuestionHow to get the route of Shortcut PinmemberYao113016:44 9 Dec '04  
Generalhigfails if the target directory is open PinmemberMartijn2:59 1 Oct '03  
Generala very valuable tool PinmemberBill Hart17:52 26 Aug '03  
Generalmuch easier/more reliable way to do this Pinmemberchrisg13:20 23 Mar '03  
GeneralRe: much easier/more reliable way to do this PinmemberPaul Farry16:01 23 Mar '03  
GeneralRe: much easier/more reliable way to do this Pinmemberchrisg17:39 26 Mar '03  
GeneralRe: much easier/more reliable way to do this PinmemberLupinTaiwan7:46 13 Mar '08  
For your information, "Find Target" can also be done with ShellExecute a command line as
"Explorer.exe /e,/select,C:\\Windows\\notepad.exe".
 
I tried and this works at WinXP. Smile | :)
I'm not sure if it also works at W2K or earlier Windows. Sniff | :^)
Generalnot display in context menu Pinmemberbillhao5:59 4 Feb '03  
GeneralRe: not display in context menu PinmemberTak10:05 4 Feb '03  
GeneralRe: not display in context menu Pinmemberbillhao21:24 4 Feb '03  
GeneralRe: not display in context menu PinmemberPaul Farry12:57 7 Feb '03  
GeneralRe: not display in context menu Pinmemberbillhao2:42 8 Feb '03  
GeneralRe: not display in context menu PinmemberBill Hart17:41 26 Aug '03  
GeneralRe: not display in context menu PinmemberPaul Farry22:21 5 Feb '03  
GeneralRe: not display in context menu PinmemberPaul Farry4:01 7 Feb '03  
GeneralRe: not display in context menu Pinmemberbillhao4:18 7 Feb '03  

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