How to find out if ".lnk" file (windows shortcut) is linking to ".exe" file
Author
Does anybody know how to find out if .lnk file is linking to an .exe (Application file)
For example:
Calculator.lnk is actually linking to an Application file
in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories, and the application is called Calculator.exe
I am programming using Win32 and C++.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.
all .lnk files link to an .exe. it's what they are: shortcuts to .exe files
at least according to this...
http://filext.com/file-extension/LNK
Do you mean to ask: how do i find out what EXE a LNK file links to?
-me
at least according to this...
http://filext.com/file-extension/LNK
Do you mean to ask: how do i find out what EXE a LNK file links to?
-me
Not all shortcuts are to executables. You can have shortcuts to folders, documents, shell objects, etc. If you want to find what a given link refers to you can use IShellLink::Resolve(). It's not pretty though. Q179904 gives an example of how to use IShellLink.
It's not too bad of a process to resolve a link:
IShellLink *psl;HRESULT hr = CoCreateInstance(__uuidof(IShellLink), NULL, CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER, IID_PPV_ARGS(&psl));if (SUCCEEDED(hr)){ IPersistFile *ppf; hr = psl->QueryInterface(IID_PPV_ARGS(&ppf)); if (SUCCEEDED(hr)) { hr = ppf->Load(pszPathToLnkFile, STGM_READ); if (SUCCEEDED(hr)) { hr = psl->Resolve(NULL, SLR_NOLINKINFO | SLR_NO_UI | SLR_NOUPDATE | SLR_NOSEARCH | SLR_NOTRACK); if (SUCCEEDED(hr)) { WCHAR szPath[MAX_PATH]; hr = psl->GetPath(szPath, ARRAYSIZE(szPath), NULL, 0); if (SUCCEEDED(hr)) { // Do whatever with the path } } } ppf->Release(); } psl->Release();}
Author
Colin,
Thank you for your sample code.
I have a question about the code, though, where is it in there actually trying to to detect whether a '.lnk' file is linking to a '.exe' file or some other file extension?
Or do you mean to find the path where the .lnk file is linking and in the "// Do whatever with the path" section, after we figure out the path, we have to figure out of the last 3 letter of the file whether it is 'exe' or something else?
Thank you for your sample code.
I have a question about the code, though, where is it in there actually trying to to detect whether a '.lnk' file is linking to a '.exe' file or some other file extension?
Or do you mean to find the path where the .lnk file is linking and in the "// Do whatever with the path" section, after we figure out the path, we have to figure out of the last 3 letter of the file whether it is 'exe' or something else?
The part where it says "//Do whatever with the path" is where you determine whether the target is an EXE or something. I recommend using PathIsExe().
Author
There's an error when I use "IID_PPV_ARGS" , it says: error C3861: 'IID_PPV_ARGS': identifier not found
I tried including "objbase.h", but it still doesn't work. Do you have any idea what file I need to include to use "IID_PPV_ARGS"?
Thanks.
I tried including "objbase.h", but it still doesn't work. Do you have any idea what file I need to include to use "IID_PPV_ARGS"?
Thanks.
Author
I have installed the latest Windows SDK, but I still get the same error message.
error C3861: 'IID_PPV_ARGS': identifier not found
error C3861: 'IID_PPV_ARGS': identifier not found
It should be in objbase.h. If not there is a newer SDK than you have and if you still cant find it, here it is.
This topic is closed to new replies.
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