16 replies to this topic

[larioteo]

Hello,

i have started and successfully finished my replacement for the shortcuts exe that is widely used. Why i have made this? It is simple i tried to find out how it works and found on some other forums the well known users here like lancelot and others discussing about how bad winbuilder is and so on. Also that they want to make an alternative and so on, but as expected no usefull information about it over google or anything else.

So i started to make my own tool which suits perfect in my project, not released and not sure if will ever be, anyway some parts that i have taken from here i will give back. The tool is called

CreateLink
Download: http://www.multiupload.com/SETA9MS2DD

and it is for sure nothing used from others expecially from people like lancelot and his friends. In my project the CAPI of them will die it is useless for me cause i want an normal pe build time not 100 of workarounds in how to read simple variables and so on. I am angry that realy every project is a part of it so it is much more work for me to replace it and to create redirections for scripts that uses it. The worst think i have ever seen is a comment of lancelot as he wrote nazi in it, and this is for me not funny.But that is another story.


Information:

The tool uses an configuration file in ini format you only need to pass the configuration file path with filename.ext and to say in which section it should look for the data.

Example:

Win7PE.cfg

[Shortcuts]
Key=LinkPath|LinkName|SourcePath|SourceArgs|IconPath,ResIndex|LinkInfo

You will find any neccassary information in attached file also an example is already in.

This tool also can be used for on runtime creation and on buildtime createion (not fully tested yet) it is under development and beta status but it works for now. Nobody needs to say thanks to me cause of using it, or to write in my name this code is Free4All and anyone can change it as he want, that is the main point why i started this. I started it also cause of i want to create shorctus before packing the wim on boot time they are slowing down startup and thats not the goal for my project.

Everyone wants to be listed somewhere i want only to help others so the difference in this point should be clear. Also everyone is on his own resposible for harms and so on. Its not my fault if you use it .

So thats it if someone want to make it a little bit better with me, i have also no problem with that.

I am sometimes wondering why everyone forces to make a global building pe for all versions of windows available, it would be enough to support only a major build like Windows Seven like Win7PE_SE but it uses anyway a lot of useless stuff to define if it is realy a 7, i found many stuff that can be deleted completly without harms on project. Also the full capi remove was a speedup to 2 times in buildtime.

Someone are maybe asking who are you? I am known in the bada world (samsungs phone os) as an simple developer my primaly language is c++ but autoit wasn't also so hard the first time. Maybe there are some lines to much but for the first project in this language i am happy.
If some bada users are here : http://teamvea.wordpress.com (darijolarioteo (better known as larioteo)

maybe the mods here can change my name...

Regards

Edited by Darijo, 12 November 2011 - 04:34 AM.

[doberman]

Hi Darijo!

You can specifically suggest what you want to change, to improve the project. And we all talk about it. To do this, and there is a forum !

[MedEvil]

Does your tool create links only for explorer shell or also for BS-Explorer?

[larioteo]

BS-Explorer is the difference where?

You must say the tool where to place the shortcut as first parameter, i am using as example my TargetDir and the Root of the default users destop, so i cretae with the tool a wrong shrotcut that works on pe, cause the systemdrive is X and not c during runtime.

I read about bs-explorer you must only as i remember place all shortcuts in startmenu to root isntead to subfolder all programs, so it should work yes, but if i can be better let me know how.


The goal with this tool is to create shortcuts as example of explorer on a running system or of a non running system. So after starting pe they should be valid cause the explorer is than on X: or another drive letter.

Hopefully i can wirte it so as i think it in english.

Edited by Darijo, 13 November 2011 - 09:07 PM.

[larioteo]

Hi Darijo!

You can specifically suggest what you want to change, to improve the project. And we all talk about it. To do this, and there is a forum !

Sorry i am not completly undrestanding you, maybe you can explain it for me. Also google seems to translating it to bad.

Edited by Darijo, 13 November 2011 - 09:09 PM.

[larioteo]

Update 1.0.1:

BugFix: Execution Path was trimmed false, now i am using internal AutoIt Function to get the right path of executeable, works with hardcoded and environment paths.

http://www.multiupload.com/KK5KUOHN5M

Planned:
- Fetures: Direct Link Creation without config file, will be better for runtime builds.


Then the tool is for me finished, all possible bugs i have catched i think already in the first version, so nothing strange happend since the last week. Link Creation with config file during build time also works perfectly.


A Tip:

If you create the links after your runtime build only use instead of X: this #$pSystemDrive#$p
or for X:Windows this one #$pSystemRoot#%

It should be as in every PE predefined i hope.

You can store the link on PE2-3 in
ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart Menu
Or in user specified dir like UsersDefaultAppDataMicrosoftWindowsStart Menu

and so on, script devs should know what i am talking about.

After pe starts up icons are fine in and everything works good, cause it is not neccessary to create a valid link in pe after startup they are magically valid and working.


How to handle the tool in winbuilder? Simply write an easy api command for your project or put it in directly it is realy no hard to find out how it is used
and three parameters are needet to create a link


LinkPath|LinkName|SourcePath the key in the inf or whatever extension you are using isnt important but should be unique. I am using an counter to simply differ them.

Edited by Darijo, 17 November 2011 - 04:11 PM.

[MedEvil]

BS-Explorer doesn't understand standard Windoews shortcuts. It needs a configuration file for desktop and startmenu shortcuts.

[larioteo]

Ok give me the needet data and i will add it for you no problem.

So the tool works good, now i have the shortcuts before the pe loads already in image and yes it is faster as i tought

Yeepeee

[Flyboarder]

Has this been uploaded to Downloads section?

[larioteo]

No but i would do ti, dont know how it here goes... Attachments i dont see.

[MedEvil]

Ok give me the needet data and i will add it for you no problem.

Sorry that it took so long.

The format is described here: http://www.kursknet....en/ReadMeEn.txt

And attached are examples of the 3 ini files.
bs_desktop.ini - for the Desktop shortcuts
bs_qlaunch.ini - for the Quicklaunch shortcuts
bs_start.ini - for the Startmenu shortcuts

Attached Files

•  bsexplorer.rar   2.56KB   359 downloads

[larioteo]

OK on this friday or maybe also the whole weekend i will have time to implement the future for bsexplorer. Maybe also in one the direct link creation without configfile would not be bad.

How you want to pass the parameters for the operation?

I mean now we have exe %ConfigFile% %Section%

You can choose a parameter if you want like "-bsexplorer" or "-b" that the exe recognizes that you wanna create a bsexplorer link?
The first syntax without parameters will stay in for compability to first version.

First the compability than the new features .

I will search for a maybe more simplier solution let me think until friday about it.

[MedEvil]

I will check, how it is done in the Win7PE_SE project, so your shortcut.exe can easily replace the old one.

[larioteo]

OK, should we also add an compability mode to read the old config file of the shortlink.exe to create them on the fly??

The CAPI creates the file so the compability will be higher also to this. For me it is only a switch that says if user wants the config file of old config go to function(blablabla). So also the speed should be the same as it is currently.

[MedEvil]

If it could use the default config file of the Win7PE_SE project that would make life a lot easier.
Especialy, if you still plan to not release your project.

If i understood you right, you want to add the ability to your shortcut.exe to also be used during bootup like the old one, right?

[larioteo]

Yes i want to provide a alrounder Tool for Shorctut Creation with following possibilities:

- Shortcuts Creation with Config File (During build time or during runtime)
- Shortcuts Creation directly during build or runtime (witouth Config File)
- Support for the old Config File of shortcut.exe cause it is used by the CAPI
- Now new planned: Support for BSExplorer Shortcuts

[MedEvil]

Sounds great!
The reason i asked about BS-Explorer support is, that the old shortcut.exe has that feature, which made it irreplaceable until now.