Here’s a tutorial for using Visual Basic to extract the target file from a shortcut file. This is helpful when you have shortcuts that point to a folder where a new file has been added since the last time you checked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A shortcut file is a file that contains a list of shortcuts that you can use to open files or folders. When you double-click a shortcut file, Windows launches the programs in the list, exactly as if you had typed the full path to the file or folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want to delete a shortcut file, right-click it and choose ‘Remove Shortcut.’ Add a shortcut file to the Desktop. Right-click an empty area on the desktop and choose New > Shortcut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the ‘Type’ text box, type a name and then press Enter. In this example, we will call our new shortcut file My JPG Files. In the ‘Location’ text box, type %USERPROFILE%DesktopMy JPG Files (make sure you include the double backslashes at the end of your filename) and then press Enter again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right-click on MyJPGFiles and select Properties from the popup menu. Leave all the settings as they are. Now enter the following commands in the ‘Target’ field: Click Finish. Right-click on MyJPGFiles again and select Properties from the popup menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dialog will now look similar to this: Click OK and then click Close. Select the desktop shortcut to MyJPGFiles and right-click it, choose Properties. Check the ‘Start In:’ field, select your default folder (usually C:Program Files), click Apply, then click OK to close the properties window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now you can open JPG files with your new icon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this tutorial, we will show you how to extract the target file from a shortcut file. This can be useful if you want to use the shortcut file without the associated file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To start, open up a new VB project and create a new shortcut file. Right-click on the shortcut and select ‘Create Shortcut’. Name the shortcut ‘ExtractFile.lnk’ and click on OK. Next, open up the ‘ExtractFile.lnk’ shortcut in Visual Studio and add the following code:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sub ExtractFile() ‘ Extracts the target file from the shortcut Dim objShell As Shell Set objShell = CreateObject(‘WScript.Shell’) Dim fso As Object Set fso = CreateObject(‘Scripting.FileSystemObject’) Dim strPath As String strPath = Me.FullName If (InStr(1, strPath, ‘.lnk’)) > 0 Then fso.CopyFile(Me.Clipboard, _ objShell.GetTempFolder & ‘argetfile.txt’, True) Else MsgBox ‘The path to the .lnk file is not correct!’ End If End Sub<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, right-click on the ‘ ExtractFile’ shortcut in the Visual Studio project. Select ‘Properties’ from the menu. On the ‘Shortcut’ tab, locate the Target field and click on it to select.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Add the following:Target: %ProgramFiles%Microsoft SDKsWindowsv7.1BINmspdbengine.exe<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will tell Windows where your mspdbengine.exe is located so that MSBuild will be able to find it to process its build instructions contained within its manifest file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Close the Properties window and return to Visual Studio if you haven’t already. Press F5 to compile your solution. (Note: If you don’t have a desktop with a shortcut on it, create one by right-clicking on the Visual Studio icon and choosing ‘Create Shortcut’.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You should be able to now run the mspdbengine.exe from your application’s shortcut in Visual Studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this tutorial, we will show you how to extract the target file from a shortcut. A shortcut is a file that contains the path to a program or document. When you double-click a shortcut, Windows takes you to the location where the shortcut was created. Sometimes, you may want to extract the target file from a shortcut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To do this, follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Right-click on the shortcut and select Properties from the menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. In the Properties dialog box, click on the Location tab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. In the Location field, type the full path to the target file that you want to extract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Click on OK to save your changes and close the Properties dialog box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Right-click on the shortcut again and select Uninstall from the menu. The target file will be deleted from your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. The installed shortcut will be removed from the Start menu and Control Panel. When you select a file that is part of a shortcut, Windows displays the contents of the shortcut in its default view mode (i.e., it shows all the shortcuts contained in the folder).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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