Any "Create shortcuts, and move them" thingy?

[Curt]

Yesterday I installed a package of many small programs, and was reminded that I quite often have wanted a 'thingy' which could create and move a shortcut in one go. For this reason I wrote the author of Piky Basket ("Copy, Copy, Copy, Paste") and asked for a new feature: >"Create shortcut and put in basket" and several new shortcuts later: "Drop / paste  shortcuts here"<. He liked the idea and said it will "mostly" be added to an upcoming new version (the program has not been updated for several years)! I know users of some third party file managers already have a part of this feature, "stack", but I will like to have all of the feature, and to have it now, and to have it in Explorer - so I am asking if 'you' know of an application with such a feature for the standard Explorer, please?

 

[Nod5]

I read this four times but still don't understand exactly what you're asking for... 

Is this it: you want a shortcut for C:\folder\file.exe , you right click it and select "thingy" and thingy creates a shortcut BUT immediately moves it to some other folder, say C:\folder2\ ?   

[jgpaiva]

The idea that Curt is asking would be similar to pinky basket, but instead of having "paste file(s) here", it'd be "create shortcut(s) here", from what i understand.
I'm not a fan of shortcuts (i only rarely create one), but i can see the usefulness, i've used pinky basket in the past and it's a pretty good idea.

[Curt]

jgpaiva is right on the spot. I use True Launch Bar (replacing Windows' Quick Launch) and like to have shortcuts there for all of my programs. SendTo will send a shortcut to Quick Launch all right, but I will have to first create the link myself, and after it has been sent to Quick Launch I will have to move it further / deeper inside True Launch Bar. This takes too long, when all I really would need is for a program like Piky Basket to be able to first create the shortcut (right-click file > create shortcut) and put in the basket / memory, and later on drop the shortcut wherever (True Launch Bar or elsewhere) I meanwhile have navigated to.


- to make a simple story more complicated... 

[PhilB66]

NirExt Shortcut+ maybe?

Create Shortcut+: This option is available in the context menu when you right-click on any file in your system. It allows you to instantly create a shortcut and drop it into one of the following folders: Desktop, Start Menu, Programs folder under Start Menu, Common Desktop (for all users), Common Start Menu (for all users), and Common Programs folder (for all users) under Start Menu. You can also specify a command-line options for the application, working folder, and the comment that appears when the mouse cursor moves over the shortcut. If you create a shortcut to executable file (.EXE), the description information from the executable file is automatically copied to the Shortcut Name field.

[Perry Mowbray]

NirExt Shortcut+ maybe?

-PhilB66 (June 23, 2008, 06:23 PM)

No QuickLaunch available tho' 

I've just asked Nir if it's a possability to have user defined locations as well 

[PhilB66]

Curt's post was a bit confusing... but now I think I got it right... maybe?

Adding the "Add to Quick Launch" context menu option in Windows XP

[Curt]

Thanks to all of you, and one extra thank you to Perry for writing Nirsofer! I have tried, though, to write him some time ago about something different, but I cannot remember getting an answer. I hope you have better luck.

The 'Add to Quick Launch' is incorporated in Send To Toys, so I won't 'add' that one. And what's more, the situation was if I wanted to add a lot of shortcuts - and having a lot of shortcuts placed at the same time in Quick Launch toolbar even for a couple of minutes will simply look terrifying! They MUST be transported further / deeper inside True Launch at once! (True Launch > Audio+Video, or True Launch > Foto) - like this:



- so I am not too sure it would help to use NirSoft's version either, the present or the maybe upcoming, because he is so far only using fixed locations. But maybe if the user could add dozens of fixed locations?

[Nod5]

Curt, ok now I get it.
There's an autohotkey command for creating shortcuts:

FileCreateShortcut, Target, LinkFile [, WorkingDir, Args, Description, IconFile, ShortcutKey, IconNumber, RunState]

So it would be easy to make an explorer context menu entry that passes the right clicked file's path to the script which then creates a shortcut in some set folder. I get the impression that you want to vary what target folder to put the shortcuts in. That complicates things but only slightly. It would for example be possible to let the context menu entry + script to always copy the shortcuts to some temp folder. Later, when navigating to some target folder in explorer, some hotkey could copy all temp shortcuts to that folder.

[lanux128]

you can try a slightly different approach with SnapFolders. this program creates shortcuts to a folder in the 'Start Menu'. when you are done creating links, you can drag and drop that folder into the TLB folder. btw, i haven't tried this program yet.

The shortcuts you create with SnapFolders are automatically placed on the Start Menu or a side menu to the Start Menu. Like any shortcuts they can be copied or moved anywhere you want. Like any shortcuts they can be renamed or deleted as you wish.

• http://www.proffs.nu/snap.htm

[Perry Mowbray]

Thanks to all of you, and one extra thank you to Perry for writing Nirsofer! I have tried, though, to write him some time ago about something different, but I cannot remember getting an answer. I hope you have better luck.

-Curt (June 24, 2008, 03:32 AM)

We'll see 

It seemed the perfect resolution for your specific situation if user defined folders was available; anyway, we'll see...

Phil or Nod's suggestion of a script (of some sort) is probably going to be the most configurable though, and not too difficult to achieve.

[Curt]

Thanks, Perry - but speaking of 'scripts', SnapFolders wouldn't work in my setup - some conflict of a kind, I guess, though it suggest that I get the latest script-something from MS. The problem must be something else,  for I am confident my script version is newer than the one Matts was using back in 2005.

[Nod5]

Curt, I made Shortcutty, http://nod5.dcmember....com/shortcutty.html
But it only creates shortcuts in one folder specified in the .ini file. To be able to dynamically vary what folder to put the shortcuts in another script is needed that does this: when a hotkey is pressed grab the path to the then active explorer folder, then copies all shortcut files made with Shortcutty to that folder (the output folder in Shortcutty and the input folder in the second script must be the same). I can put that together too but not tonight. If you want to make that complementary script yourself, or add such functionality to some other script, this is the central line of code needed in it:

[Select]

FileMove, %xfolder%\*.lnk, %xtargetfolder%, 1 

[PhilB66]

There is ShortcutFolder by skrommel as well.

[Curt]

Curt, I made Shortcutty, http://nod5.dcmember....com/shortcutty.html
... another script is needed ... I can put that together too ...

-Nod5 (June 25, 2008, 05:17 PM)

@ Nod5 - wow, BOTH your scripts sounds perfect to me for the job. 
I am truly looking forward to try them. But right now I am not able to even try the first one, because all I get is a File Not Found / 404


@ Phil - thanks a lot for looking for an answer. 
However, I read the rest of the thread and will therefore not try skrommel's.

[Perry Mowbray]

Thanks, Perry - but speaking of 'scripts', SnapFolders wouldn't work in my setup - some conflict of a kind, I guess, though it suggest that I get the latest script-something from MS. The problem must be something else,  for I am confident my script version is newer than the one Matts was using back in 2005.
 (see attachment in previous post)

-Curt (June 24, 2008, 08:31 AM)

A script that I use here at work for adding links to my favourites I've posted below. It handles multiple selected files, you'd want to edit the targetFolder for a place on your own computer:

Code: Visual Basic [Select]

1. ' VB Script Document
2. option explicit
3.  
4. Dim iCount, sSourceFilePath, ws, fso, sObjectName, sShortCutPath
5.  
6. Set ws = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
7. Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
8.  
9. Dim sTargetFolder
10. ' Change the following to point to where you want the link to appear
11. sTargetFolder = ws.SpecialFolders("Favorites") & "\"
12.  
13.   For iCount = 0 To (WScript.Arguments.Count -1)
14.     sSourceFilePath = WScript.Arguments.Item(iCount)
15.     sObjectName = mid(sSourceFilePath,instrrev(sSourceFilePath,"\")+1)
16.  
17.     sShortCutPath = sTargetFolder & sObjectName & ".lnk"
18.  
19.     ' Create the shortcut
20.    With ws.CreateShortcut(sShortCutPath)
21.       .TargetPath = sSourceFilePath
22.       .IconLocation = sSourceFilePath
23.       .Save
24.     End With
25.   Next

If you save it somewhere (C:\Scripts maybe?) then you can add a shortcut link to the script from your Send To directory (eg: C:\Documents and Settings\pmowbray\SendTo) then it'll be always available from the RMB Context Menu in Explorer.

You can easily add your own locations into the script where indicated. Multiple locations could be handled by multiple scripts (as long as the entries in your Send To menu didn't get too many).

Don't know if it's any help, but it was a script that I've had lying around for a while... If you're interested we could add other logic that could be used in determining a subFolder to put the link (MP3's for example?)

[Nod5]

[...] right now I am not able to even try the first one, because all I get is a File Not Found / 404

-Curt (June 25, 2008, 06:55 PM)

I put the .zip in the wrong folder, fixed now.

[Curt]

..., fixed now.

-Nod5 (June 26, 2008, 04:12 AM)

- yes, it is working just the way I would want a limited version to work.
Thank you so much, Nod5! 

So far I have changed the path to Quick Launch > My System > New apps, and just this, to know that I have the shortcuts but they are not cluttering up the Quick Launch toolbar, is a really good felling. I am looking forward to the next chapter! But take your time, I have waited for years, I can easily wait another couple of minutes...    ehh... days.

[Curt]

Thanks, also, to Perry 
- but the script is way over my head. I really mean those words below my picture, "IT-anaphabetic".

[Perry Mowbray]

Thanks, also, to Perry 
- but the script is way over my head. I really mean those words below my picture, "IT-anaphabetic".

-Curt (June 26, 2008, 06:17 AM)

Ah, sorry Curt. Nod5's script looks much more functional anyway 

I just found Link Shell Extension too: don't know if it's any use?

[Curt]

... I just found Link Shell Extension too: ...

-Perry Mowbray (June 27, 2008, 08:10 AM)

- actually I was using precisely that one, (Schinagl's LSE), for half a year or so, but one day I forgot that a folder shortcut was hard linked this way, so I deleted it, and lost 10 GB files! From that day on I have not being using hard-linking...

[Nod5]

Curt, I added the second part now:
"The (optional) companion tool Shortcutta moves shortcuts from a folder to the active Explorer window's folder when a hotkey is pressed. "
http://nod5.dcmember....com/shortcutty.html   (v080701)