I'm wondering if there's any protocol for making a
shortcut link to 2 places. Not sync or anything like
that. I want to go right-click -> SendTo -> Backup1
and have that target lnk file point to, say, D:\Backup
and G:\Something\orOther. Then thre right-clicked
file would be copied to both locations.

I think I can do it by putting VBScripts into the SendTo
folder, but I was hoping there might be a simple
approach using lnk files.

On 4/5/24 12:08 PM, Newyana2 wrote:
> I'm wondering if there's any protocol for making a
> shortcut link to 2 places. Not sync or anything like
> that. I want to go right-click -> SendTo -> Backup1
> and have that target lnk file point to, say, D:\Backup
> and G:\Something\orOther. Then thre right-clicked
> file would be copied to both locations.
>
> I think I can do it by putting VBScripts into the SendTo
> folder, but I was hoping there might be a simple
> approach using lnk files.
>
>
There is a 'send to' folder in you home directory, I'm not sure what can be put there, I have a few
..lnk files. I'm sure there is more to it than that, but you could try putting a batch file in
there that would popup something. From what I see, the file you right click is passed to the .lnk.
--
Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon 6.0.4 Kernel 6.5.0-26-generic
Al

Newyana2,

> but I was hoping there might be a simple
> approach using lnk files.

Something like "cmd /c start {prog1} & start {prog2}" perhaps ?

Probably will flash a console window though. :-\

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

Newyana2,

> Something like "cmd /c start {prog1} & start {prog2}" perhaps ?

The above will apply an/the argument (filename) only to the last program.
:-(

To apply the argument to both programs a bit of a trick needs to be used :

cmd /c for %a in ("{prog1}" "{prog2}") do %a

This starts the second program only after the first one has finished
(setting the shortcut to run "minimized" will hide the console window).

To start both at the same time just include 'start "title"' after the "do".

regards,
Rudy Wieser

On 06/04/2024 08:27, R.Wieser wrote:
> Newyana2,
>
>> Something like "cmd /c start {prog1} & start {prog2}" perhaps ?
>
> The above will apply an/the argument (filename) only to the last program.
> :-(
>
> To apply the argument to both programs a bit of a trick needs to be used :
>
> cmd /c for %a in ("{prog1}" "{prog2}") do %a
>
> This starts the second program only after the first one has finished
> (setting the shortcut to run "minimized" will hide the console window).
>
> To start both at the same time just include 'start "title"' after the "do".
>
> regards,
> Rudy Wieser
>
>
As already suggested by Big Al, all that is needed is a batch file in
the SendTo folder. The filename that is sent to it can be used (as %1)
as many times as required by commands in the batch file, eg
Copy %1 D:\Backup
Copy %1 G:\Something\orOther

On 4/6/2024 3:27 AM, R.Wieser wrote:
>
> To apply the argument to both programs a bit of a trick needs to be used :
>
> cmd /c for %a in ("{prog1}" "{prog2}") do %a
>
    Thanks, but what I was looking for was a way to make
a lnk file do double duty in copying a file. Maybe that's not
possible. If not then I'll use VBScripts. I tested a VBS in
SendTo. WScript.Arguments(0) gets the full path of the
right-clicked file.

   One pleasant surprise with Win10 is that it's not hard
to change icons. So I can probably set a folder icon  on
the SendTo menu.

    This is because I've set up redundant drives and I often
save articles by copying webpage text to Notepad and saving
a simple text file. The target folders are topics like security,
privacy, ideas, sample code, etc. So if I see an interesting
article about, say, privacy, I want to right-click that file on
the Desktop and send it to both privacy folders.

Newyana2,

>> cmd /c for %a in ("{prog1}" "{prog2}") do %a
>>
> Thanks, but what I was looking for was a way to make a lnk file do double
> duty in copying a file.

Why do you think it doesn't ? Have you already tried ?

> I tested a VBS in SendTo. WScript.Arguments(0) gets the full path of the
> right-clicked file.

In the above solution the full path of the file will be appended to that
line (by the .lnk mechanism).

If you want to test that you could, in a shortcut, try "cmd /c echo the file
is : ".

hmmm... that might be a problem, as the console window will close
immediatily after executing the echo. Ah yes, ofcourse: change the "/c" to
a "/k".

For bonus select two (or more) files and drag-and-drop them onto the
shortcut. :-) Also works when you select multiple files and use "SendTo".

> One pleasant surprise with Win10 is that it's not hard
> to change icons. So I can probably set a folder icon on
> the SendTo menu.

I take it you mean you want to change the icon of what is placed in the
SendTo folder. For shortcuts changing the icon is easy. In my OS (XP) I
cannot do that for a VBScript file or alike. In that case I store such
scripts elsewhere, and put a shortcut to them into the SendTo folder.

> This is because I've set up redundant drives and I often
> save articles by copying webpage text to Notepad and saving
> a simple text file. The target folders are topics like security,
> privacy, ideas, sample code, etc. So if I see an interesting
> article about, say, privacy, I want to right-click that file on
> the Desktop and send it to both privacy folders.

In that case you might also consider a program which will monitor a folder
for changes, and if so copy the changed file(s) to another one.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

Mike,

> As already suggested by Big Al, all that is needed is a batch file in the
> SendTo folder.

The problem with that is that neither Big Al nor you have bothered to
actually read the first post.

If you would have you would have noticed that Newyana2 wrote that he already
could "do it by putting VBScripts into the SendTo folder".

IOW, /he already has/ such a solution.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

Newyana2,

> Thanks, but what I was looking for was a way to make a lnk file do double
> duty in copying a file.

Ackk... I just realized that a simple copy command will cause a problem :
the source filename needs to come /before/ the target. And as the source
filename is, by the .lnk mechanism, always glued to the end of the string
....

IOW, I think that in your case you can't use my single-line .lnk solution,
and your vbscript one is the better one.

Not that that is a bad thing, 'cause batch has a problem with strings - or
more precise : with "control characters" embedded in them. For funzels just
put a "&" in the middle of a filename and try a simple "cmd /c wordpad
{thefilename}" with it. Same-ish for "^" and a few others.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

Newyana2,

> Ackk... I just realized that a simple copy command will cause a problem :
> the source filename needs to come /before/ the target. And as the source
> filename is, by the .lnk mechanism, always glued to the end of the string
> ...

As far as I can tell the following will work :

cmd /c for %a ("{path1}" "{path2}") do cd %a ^& copy

(notice the use of "^&")

In other words: change to the target folder first, than copy (into that
folder) the source file. Should also work when you select multiple files.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

In article <1e0d2587-f0e8-e80a-de3e-3fc04d0c563c@invalid.nospam>, Newyana2
wrote...
>
> On 4/6/2024 3:27 AM, R.Wieser wrote:
> >
> > To apply the argument to both programs a bit of a trick needs to be used :
> >
> > cmd /c for %a in ("{prog1}" "{prog2}") do %a
> >
>     Thanks, but what I was looking for was a way to make
> a lnk file do double duty in copying a file. Maybe that's not
> possible. If not then I'll use VBScripts. I tested a VBS in
> SendTo. WScript.Arguments(0) gets the full path of the
> right-clicked file.
>
>    One pleasant surprise with Win10 is that it's not hard
> to change icons. So I can probably set a folder icon  on
> the SendTo menu.
>
>     This is because I've set up redundant drives and I often
> save articles by copying webpage text to Notepad and saving
> a simple text file. The target folders are topics like security,
> privacy, ideas, sample code, etc. So if I see an interesting
> article about, say, privacy, I want to right-click that file on
> the Desktop and send it to both privacy folders.

Interesting question: the answer to your original question is no. A link
(including shortcuts, junction points, etc) will provide a further independent
address pointing to a single existing location; whereas ideally you want a
single address pointing to two independent locations. No such thing in Windows
(that I'm aware of!). So some sort of scripting is your only answer, as you've
already tried. (Note VBScript is being deprecated and will disappear from W11
before that long - think PowerShell perhaps.)

I see you want more than just backup, in which case I'd have plugged the
invaluable File History, which seems to me to get less mention than it deserves
- I think it's wonderful!

You're wanting to copy nuggets of information to different folders. But a
folder is only really a sort of "index", and that can be achieved without the
risks of copying the data. (If you copy an article, and find that there's a
mistake in it, you could end up with one version corrected and one uncorrected
- it's something to be avoided generally.) So maybe thinking more in terms of
maintaining indexes to your records might be appropriate. One way is to store
the file in one place and put shortcuts in the other folders to which it might
seem relevant. Or go a step further and maintaining your indexes as documents
which contain those shortcuts (giving the option of adding comments). If you
take that to its logical conclusion you end up where I'm happy to find myself.
I almost never store "snippets" as files; I put them in my well-structured
OneNote hierarchy, where I can use formatting for emphasis, add notes, and
cross-link to and from other locations in OneNote. If a file is bulky I'll
identify a suitable folder (just one) and then include a link to the folder in
all the OneNote pages which need it. With a nice little symbol so I can spot
it easily. I think of OneNote as "the index to my life" and couldn't live
without it now.

One little problem I had to solve might be of interest, given that you asked
about links. I put just about everything in OneDrive, which syncs beautifully
across my various devices, so I can walk away from my PC (after a quick sync
check), pick up my laptop in another building, and carry on what I was doing.
But MS, in its wisdom, tends to give the same MS account different filesystem
addresses for the account in the \Users folder. So the links didn't work.
Now, on any new device, if the original folder on my main machine is, say:
C:\Users\FOO\OneDrive\Meetings
.... and the new device has my OneDrive account at:
C:\Users\BAR\OneDrive\Meetings
.... I simply create a hard link C:\Users\FOO pointing to C:\Users\BAR, and hey-
presto all my links work.

Not the suggestions you'd have been expecting, I figure!

--

Phil, London