FARR alias for choosing program based on file extension

[wjamoe]

Sometimes you don't want to start the default program for a certain file extension.

With the aliases below, you can pass the file name to start a program which you can select from your user defined menu.

Use it as follows:

First search and find the file using farr's search field or directory traversal.

Then select the file multiple times [Cursor Down] and then [Cursor Right] to display the file name in the farr search box.

Then press <dot>

Then select the program you want to run it with F1..F9, or use the [Cursor] keys.

To shorten the list of menu items you can enter a string after the dot,  then only lines matching the string and the file extension.




jump to latest version  https://www.donation....msg394054#msg394054


Have fun

[skajfes]

Hi, I love this  . It's simple and effective.
However, I've modified it a bit to fit my needs better.
First I've changed the regex to (.+\.(.{3,4}))\s?(.*)$, and I've changed the result filter to $$2 $$3
This ignores the trailing space when you expand the filename so you don't have to backspace it after expanding the filename. It also allows to further filter the menu by typing in the tool you want. (ie. index.html opera)
This also simplifies the result list a bit, as you can just write $$1 everywhere for the full filename instead of $$1.$$2. Also it matches both 3 and 4 character extensions.
I like having the default program in the first place so I can just run it by pressing enter. I've found that just running the file directly has the best results for me, also running a program with just giving the name (see notepad example below), and without cmd.exe or shellexec

[Select]

run default program for file: $$1 | "$$1"
notepad txt ahk bat ini ion pdf | C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe "$$1"

[mouser]

I'm not 100% following what's going on here -- which wouldn't be the first time I don't understand my own program

However i will just mention one thing, in FARR there is a help page under Advanced Use / Using Alias Action Keywords:

Code: Text [Select]

1. A new feature with FARR version 2 is the ability to specify alias names in your search string using the + prefix (just like keyword modifiers).
2.  
3. When an alias name is specified in this way, anywhere on the search string, it does not effect search, but it will cause the alias results to be displayed AFTER the result file is selected, with the selected file name as argument $$1 in the alias.
4.  
5. In this way, you can perform a normal file/folder search and then launch a specific alias command with that file/folder as an ARGUMENT.
6.  
7. For example, you could create an alias named hexedit
8. whose result contents are:
9. C:\Program Files\HexEditors\HexEdit.exe "$$1"
10.  
11. Now you can type in your search (where mydocsearch is something like "C:\Users\myfile.txt"):
12. mydocsearch +hexedit
13.  
14. As you type mydocsearch words, FARR will let you search for files as normal.
15. After you choose the result, instead of launching the result file, you will be presented with
16. C:\Program Files\HexEditors\HexEdit.exe "SELECTEDFILE"
17. Which you can then launch.
18.  
19.  
20. NOTE:
21. You can use the same keyword for both alias names and search/scoring keyword modifiers.

This is specifically to let you use +keyword to open files that you have found using a non-default program.

The key thing here is that you define an alias as normal, using $$1 for the file to be opened, but then instead of triggering the alias normally by typing its name first, you use +aliasname in the search.

[wjamoe]

@skajfes, thanks for the optimisation 
I'll remove all shellex and cmd.exe's, they were needed in my very old version of farr, my bad  , today I upgraded to v2.226.01 and assumed they were still needed.

I had to look up your PCRE :  (.+\.(.{3,4}))\s?(.*)$

$$1 contains file name including file name extension.
$$2 contains file name extension maximum length of 4 characters.
$$3 contains optionally for longer extensions 5th char and more followed by optional white space and optional characters that may contain more white space and dots.

----
I'm also working on a version where the alias
 

• opens websites e.g. donationcoder.com without http:// prefix, but instead based on domain .com/.net/.org/.nl/.uk/.de/.be,
• opens files like svg in a browser of your choice using file:///,
• tags a file or url (grouping). Tagging is done by adding  tag at the end of the path\file.txt.tag (object oriented method notation). It
   uses separate files for each tag. These files are created dynamically. I use farr's #filecontents tag_file to retrieve the list of tagged files

For tagging I still need something like $$1.$$2 because I must be able to remove the temporary added extension tag =$$2 from the file name =$$1 before using it

The regex then becomes ((.+)\.(\S*))\s(.*)$

$$1 contains file name including extension
$$2 contains file name without extension and without trailing dot
$$3 contains extension without the dot (any length)
$$4 contains white space followed by any character, can be used as optional parameter in the program call if so required.

The farr (extension) alias filter thus becomes $$3

With this alias just add an entry to the farr alias results
     program name file extensions it can open followed by '|' the full path to the program and "$$1" in double quotes because file name can contain spaces

There are still some challenges (like searching within the list of tagged files), I'll send an update soonish.

@mouser, in the hexedit example the user needs to know beforehand that he wants to edit the file in hex mode.
After searching and selecting a file from the farr results With the above alias you can choose any program (from the alias menu) including the default program for the file.
My alias is more similar to

• windows right click open-with which uses file associations in the windows registry wikipedia on file associations
• NANY2012 extension warlock
• total commander openfiletc.exe
• drag & drop on an exe-icon on desktop using your mouse
• drag & drop on farr tool bar menu items using your mouse

With the above alias it is now fully integrated in FARR and can be performed without lifting your hands from the keyboard.
One additional advantage the program list will not change when some program hogs some or all file associations.

[skajfes]

I had to look up your PCRE :  (.+\.(.{3,4}))\s?(.*)$

$$1 contains file name including file name extension.
$$2 contains file name extension maximum length of 4 characters.
$$3 contains optionally for longer extensions 5th char and more followed by optional white space and optional characters that may contain more white space and dots.

-wjamoe (November 14, 2015, 04:56 PM)

Just to clarify:
$$2 contains file extension of 3 or 4 characters. It would probably be better if I set it like \S+ instead of .{3,4} to match any length of characters that has at least one character.
$$3 contains anything else that might be typed after the filename - this is used for additional filtering of the menu.

@mouser, in the hexedit example the user needs to know beforehand that he wants to edit the file in hex mode.

-wjamoe (November 14, 2015, 04:56 PM)

This is not quite true. You can search for files like you do normally, ie. start typing part of the filename. And when you see the desired file in the list you add +hexedit to the end of the search string. If you have only one result in the result list it will change to the alias text, ie: Edit <filename> with hexeditor. If you launch it it will open in hexeditor. However if you have multiple files in the result list, when you launch any of them it will open in hexeditor, however, the result list will not change.

[wjamoe]

1) I think my misunderstanding was caused when I used files with multiple dots, take a look at these

Code: Text [Select]

1. (.+\.(.{3,4}))\s?(.*)$
2. file.ex                NO MATCH =>okay extension to short
3. file.extension         $$1=file.exte | $$2=exte | $$3=nsion => MATCH, but not what I expected
4. filename.extension.mp  $$1=filename.exte | $$2=exte | $$3=nsion.mp => $$2 has value we cannot use
5. file.ex.ED             $$1=file.ex.E | $$2=ex.E | $$3=D  => $$2 has value we cannot use (I assume that's why you use $$2$$3  as a filter )

I now use

Code: Text [Select]

1. regex    ((.+)\.(\S+))\s?(.*)$
2. filter      $$3 $$4
3. The trailing text($$4) can be used to shorten the list of available programs e.g. add debug or -note or -))
4.  
5. file.sub.ext.mp4 debug  
6.  
7. To select the debug from the alias:
8. debug ext menu  1full=$$1 2wo_ext=$$2 3ext=$$3 4filter=$$4  |
9.  
10. Where $$1=file.sub.ext.mp4 | $$2=file.sub.ext | $$3=mp4 | $$4=debug
11.  
12. Which displays as
13. debug ext menu  1full=file.sub.ext.mp4 2wo_ext=file.sub.ext 3ext=mp4 4filter=debug

2) I stand corrected  , Let me rephrase. You need to know the name of the alias, and have to type +hexedit, instead of selecting a program from a short list.

3) Still working on the file tagging functionality

4) I have updated the first post so readers don't have to puzzle as much.

[wjamoe]

Update: 2 extended aliases!

Alias to add a farr "context menu" to a file in the farr search field
Alias to add a farr "context menu" to any string in the farr search field not containing a file extension

Each context menu is shown when you append a <space> and a dot and an optional menu match string.

example

farr search field

c:\user\wim\my documents\test.txt .

shows the complete list of menu lines matching extension txt to handle the file test.txt

example:

farr search field

c:\user\wim\my documents\test.txt .note

shows a list of menu lines matching string 'note' to handle the file test.txt

description	alias for file names with extension like .doc, .txt, .ahk
usage	full path and file name including extension<space>.<result menu filter>
please note	full path and file name may contain spaces and dots, easiest to copy result from farr search results (or directory traversing) by pressing Cursor-Right-key
alias	file extension menu
regex	^((.+)\\(.+)\.(\S+))\s+\.(.*)$
filter	$$5 $$4

usage within result(s)	value
$$1	<path>\<file name>.<file extension>
$$2	<path excluding backslash at end>
$$3	<file name excluding path and excluding extension>
$$4	<file extension excluding preceding dot>
$$5	<result menu filter>

usage	description	farr result entry (copy only this part)
file_name .	start default windows assocation	[Enter] run default prog for -file.$$4 | shellexe $$1
file_name .vlc	open  mkv avi and mp4 files with vlc	[Enter]  VLC (mkv;avi;mp4) | %programfiles%\vlc\vlc.exe "$$1"
file_name .view	open file with any extension in irfanview (image viewer)	[Enter] / IRFANview -file.$$4 | %programfiles%\irfanview\i_view32.exe "$$1"
file_name .npp	open any file in notepad must include $$4 to match any file extension	[Enter] notepad npp -file.$$4 | c:\windows\notepad.exe "$$1"
file_name .chro	open file in chrome browser use $$4  to match all file extensions	[Enter] chrome -file.$$4 | %myAppData%\Google\Chrome\googlechrome.exe "$$1"
file_name .cl	copy file name to clipboard	[Enter]  FARR copy $$1 to CLIPBOARD  | copyclip $$1
file_name .string	show lines within txt files (current folder and down) containing string using findstr in msdos box	[Enter] find string '$$5' in *.txt /s | %systemdir%\cmd.exe /k findstr /S /I /P $$2 "$$2*.txt"
file_name.py .string	show lines within files with same extension e.g. .py (current folder and down) containing string using findstr in msdos box	[Enter] find string '$$5' in *.$$3 /s | %systemdir%\cmd.exe /k findstr /S /I /P "$$5" "$$2*.$$3"
file_name.doc .	make subfolder file_name and move file_name.doc to subfolder, select this option from the result list	[Enter] mv $$4-file to subFolder $$3 | %systemdir%\cmd.exe /c mkdir "$$2\$$3";;; %systemdir%\cmd.exe /c move /-Y "$$2\$$3.$$4" "$$2\$$3"

tip:
To always show a certain menu line when adding a dot in the search field, you should use the file extension ($$4) before the '|'.

tip:
The descriptive part before the '|' shouldn't be too long, otherwise the menu line gets cut up weirdly in the farr search results. Therefore use file_extension ($$4) instead of the full pathname ($$1)


A similar alias menu for strings / folders without extensions. This requires a different alias and regex. If you want to use both aliases the one matching no extensions should appear after the one matching extensions.

description	for file names without extension
usage	any string <space>.<result menu filter without spaces>
please note	full path and file name may contain spaces and dots
please note	easiest to copy result from search results using cursor right key
alias	any string context menu
regex	^(.+)\s+\.(.*)
filter	$$2

Some examples of  FARR alias result entries

usage	description	farr result entry
string or url .	copy $$1 to clipboard	[Enter] FARR copy $$1 to CLIPBOARD  | copyclip $$1
folder .	show lines within files with same extension (current folder and down) containing string using findstr in msdos box	[Enter] find string '$$2' in $$1*.* /s | %systemdir%\cmd.exe /k findstr /S /I /P "$$2" "$$1*.*"
string .	look up string using duckduckgo.com	[Enter] duckduckgo.com '$$1' |https://www.duckduckgo.com/?q=$$1
word .	look up word using wikipedia	[Enter] lookup  $$1 in WIKIPEDIA| https://en.wikipedia.../w/index.php?search=$$1&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go

For wikipedia, copy text below, php table formatting removed some essential details of the wikipedia url.
[Enter] lookup  $$1 in WIKIPEDIA| https://en.wikipedia.../w/index.php?search=$$1&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go


tip:
Sometimes pressing the cursor-right-key seems the correct action to execute the command from the new farr context menu, but this will give a strange result (the name of the alias will be copied to the search field). Therefore I placed [Enter] at the beginning of each farr alias result entry to make sure you press the [Enter] key. You can also double click the line and of course use the short cuts F1-F9 for the first nine entries.

tip:
If you edit the registry entries in my other post : how to start FARR from within explorer or total commander(TC). You can include a <space> and a <dot> at the end of the registry entry. When you then start FARR from within TC the above farr context menu will automatically appear. See underlined characters in registry :

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\FARR file\command]

@="\"c:\\filemngr\\farr portable\\FindAndRunRobot.exe\" -search \"%1 .\""

Enjoy! 

[wjamoe]

new/update:

file_name .string   
show lines within txt files (current folder and down) containing string using findstr in msdos box   
[Enter] find string '$$5' in *.txt /s | %systemdir%\cmd.exe /k findstr /S /I /P $$2 "$$2*.txt"

file_name.py .string   
show lines within files with same extension e.g. .py (current folder and down) containing string using findstr in msdos box   
[Enter] find string '$$5' in *.$$3 /s | %systemdir%\cmd.exe /k findstr /S /I /P "$$5" "$$2*.$$3"

Find lines in files containing a strings, similar to unix grep. Shows the  file names and lines containing the specified string using dos findstr command in an msdos box

Usage to  find search_string in files in current folder (path) and down (subfolders)

farr search field

path\filename.ext .search_string

or

farr search field

path .search_string

It will open an msdox box in a separate windows with the filenames and lines containing search_string.

BTW : It would be nice to get the result in the FARR results. I tried
[Enter] findstr '$$2' in *.txt | showmemo findstr '$$2' in '$$1*.txt' /s ;;; AppCapAppendMemoNS %systemdir%\findstr.exe /S /I /P $$2 "$$1*.txt"
but in popup it says bad invocation2 of quickdocklauncher.exe and gives an error '-0'

Does anyone know how to solve this problem?

[wjamoe]

File to Folder (by skwire) alternative using above FARR extension alias:

[Enter] mv $$4-file to subFolder $$3 | %systemdir%\cmd.exe /c mkdir "$$2\$$3";;; %systemdir%\cmd.exe /c move /-Y "$$2\$$3.$$4" "$$2\$$3";;; %systemdir%\cmd.exe /k dir "$$2\$$3"

make subfolder with name of file without filename extension
move file to file (ask for confirmation if you try to overwrite an existing  file)
shows contents of the subfolder without the extension in separate DOS window

or

[Enter] mv $$4-file to subFolder $$3 | %systemdir%\cmd.exe /c mkdir "$$2\$$3";;; %systemdir%\cmd.exe /c move /-Y "$$2\$$3.$$4" "$$2\$$3"

make subfolder with name of file without filename extension
move file to file (ask for confirmation if you try to overwrite an existing  file)

[wjamoe]

Sometimes when editing the search field this alias is triggered (too eraly) when the file name extension contains only one character.

By changing the regex

from
^((.+)\\(.+)\.(S+))\s+\.(.*)$

into

^((.+)\\(.+)\.(\S\S+))\s+\.(.*)$

the extension alias is only triggered when there are at least two characters in the file name extension (after the dot).

[wjamoe]

run simple commands on the file in search window

just add
[Enter] run in DOS window $$5 $$4-file | %systemdir%\cmd.exe /k $$5 "$$1"

usage
c:\path somewhere on your disk\names.txt .sort
will start msdos window which shows the sorted lines from names.txt

c:\path somewhere on your disk\names.txt .notepad
to open file names.txt with notepad

other possible commands :
type, del, remove, cd, c:\path\par2, c:\path\unrar x, ...

[wjamoe]

BIG speed optimization for the extension alias,
when using this you can use two spaces between filename and the command (instead of spaces and a dot)

replace

regex   ^((.+)\\(.+)\.(\S+))\s+\.(.*)$

by

regex ^((.+)\\(.+)\.(\S\S+))\s\s(\S*)

which reads as

anly line containing a '\'  (=this is part of the path of the filename)
some characters
a '.'  (=start of the file name extenstion)
at least two characters but not spaces (=file name extension, this helps when browsing for files)
 
followed by two spaces (=the separator between the file name and the command)

and a number of non-space characters (the command to look for in the extension alias)


For the filemanager shell extension, replace the dot by  a space):
so replace

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\FARR file\command]   @="\"c:\\filemngr\\farr portable\\FindAndRunRobot.exe\" -search \"%1 .\""

by
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\FARR file\command]   @="\"c:\\filemngr\\farr portable\\FindAndRunRobot.exe\" -search \"%1  \""


BTW the second alias for items without extensions is optional.

Njoy
Wjamoe

[IainB]

Nifty! (Assuming it works - I haven't had time to try it yet.)   

[wiem]

Simpler easier to maintain version with incremental search for program in list.

Use Case
  you want to open a file with a specific program (not being the default)

How to
 find a file or folder using farr
 copy file to searchbox (cursor down, cursor right)
 add  one or more spaces and -- after the filename or folder
 then select one of the programs from the list
 or do an incremental search through the list by adding searchstring character after the '--' you just entered.

You need to define the following alias:

alias name: Choose program to load
alias regular expression:       (.*)\s+--(.*)$
alias filter field : $$2


Use the following alias results (programpaths on your machine will most likely be different):

[Enter] view VLC| %programfiles%\vlc\vlc.exe "$$1"
[Enter] view IRFANview | %programfiles%\irfanview\i_view32.exe "$$1"
[Enter] edit notepad | c:\windows\notepad.exe "$$1"
[Enter] edit gvim | %programfiles%\vim\gvim.exe "$$1"
[Enter] goto totalcmd |%programfiles%\totalcmd\totalcmd64.exe /o "$$1"
[Enter] browser chrome|%programfiles%\chrome\chrome.exe "$$1"[Enter] copy to CLIPBOARD | copyclip $$1
[Enter] run deafult| shellexe $$1


To open the html file with your default browser
c:\User\Wiem\Documents\test.html --run
then press [Enter]

To open the html file with chrome browser
c:\User\Wiem\Documents\test.html --chrome
then press [Enter]


To open the html file with an editor you would type
c:\User\Wiem\Documents\test.html --edit
then choose the editor you want to use, and then press [Enter]
 
To open the html file with notepad you would type
c:\User\Wiem\Documents\test.html --pad
then press [Enter]

To open the html file with graphical version of vim (the greatest editor ever ;-) you would type
c:\User\Wiem\Documents\test.txt --gvim
then press [Enter]

A few notes:
 Keep the descriptions before the '|' character unique, then the searchstring can also be kept short...
 The text [Enter] is just a reminder that you must press the [Enter] key to really execute the command.
 

Njoy 
wjamoe

[Nod5]

Nice! Here is a helper hotkey script to more quickly go from a regular FARR search to activating the "choose program" alias for the first search match by using an exclamation character as keyboard shortcut.

Code: Autohotkey [Select]

1. #NoEnv
2. SendMode Input
3. SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%
4. #SingleInstance force
5. ListLines, Off
6. SetBatchLines, -1
7. SetWinDelay, -1
8. SetControlDelay, -1
9.  
10. ; choose program FARR alias helper hotkey script.ahk
11. ; 2020-05-23
12. ; by Nod5
13.  
14. #IfWinActive, ahk_exe FindAndRunRobot.exe
15. ; press ! to expand first FARR match file path and append --
16. !::
17.   ControlGetFocus, vFocusControl, A
18.   ; if FARR search box focus and options not open
19.   if (vFocusControl = "TEdit1")
20.     if !WinExist("ahk_class TOptionsForm")
21.     {
22.       ; show first result file full path in FARR search box
23.       Send {down}{right}
24.       ; append -- to trigger "choose program" alias
25.       Send --
26.     }
27. Return
28. #IfWinActive

Screenshot of the alias


Gif of how it all works
https://imgur.com/a/YzJlRhx

(Edit: cannot embed .mp4 video in forum posts it seems so I added link to Imgur instead)

Edit2: mouser could uppdate FARR with special variables that represent the full path of a file result, maybe %resultfile1% or similar. Then we could skip the AutoHotkey script and instead make an alias that triggers on "!" anywhere in the searchbox and reacts by doing "restartsearch %resultfile1% --".

[wjamoe]

@nod5

thanks for the nice GIF animation to explain the user experience for this alias

https://imgur.com/a/YzJlRhx

[wjamoe]

moved this post to other FARR subject concerning Listery