I know how to put a shortcut for a program on the desktop (DUH!), and I
know how to build a shortcut so it opens a program and a specific file
Sometimes the file's extension with fire up the correct app, but other
times or when a specific parameter is needed, I have to assemble the
properties of the shortcut.

Is there a program that will do the building for me so that the properties
of the shortcut reads

c:\program files\programx\programx.exe -edit c:\my documents\work for
spring\to-do-list for this week.xxx

Any such utility?

Notice the "-edit" parameter in my example -- which is what
Netscape/Mozilla requires to enter edit mode so the file can be edited
rather than simply displayed.

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 19:55:14 GMT, JimmyJam <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Is there a program that will do the building for me so that the properties
>of the shortcut reads
>
>c:\program files\programx\programx.exe -edit c:\my documents\work for
>spring\to-do-list for this week.xxx
>
>Any such utility?

Prolly not. However, clever use of the SendTo folder could help...
especially if parts of your shortcuts are repetitive. You still may have to
manually insert command line switches or run options.

Bob

Remove "kins" from address to reply.

Bob,

That's an idea. I really dont have that many different progs I'd want to
stipulate -- instead of letting the file association take care of it. Got
to break out the books on getting fancy with SentTo. Thanks for the
suggestion.

Bob Adkins <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 19:55:14 GMT, JimmyJam <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>Is there a program that will do the building for me so that the
>>properties of the shortcut reads
>>
>>c:\program files\programx\programx.exe -edit c:\my documents\work for
>>spring\to-do-list for this week.xxx
>>
>>Any such utility?
>
> Prolly not. However, clever use of the SendTo folder could help...
> especially if parts of your shortcuts are repetitive. You still may
> have to manually insert command line switches or run options.
>
> Bob
>
> Remove "kins" from address to reply.

I'm not sure if this helps, but you can find at least two cmdline
utilities that create shortcuts at

<http://www.esil.univ-mrs.fr/~lafirme/Softs/Windows/utils_nt4/>
<http://www.optimumx.com/download/>

/luigi


JimmyJam <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:Xns94AC97C7C8053jimmya0lcom@207.69.154.203:

> I know how to put a shortcut for a program on the desktop (DUH!), and
> I know how to build a shortcut so it opens a program and a specific
> file Sometimes the file's extension with fire up the correct app, but
> other times or when a specific parameter is needed, I have to assemble
> the properties of the shortcut.
>
> Is there a program that will do the building for me so that the
> properties of the shortcut reads
>
> c:\program files\programx\programx.exe -edit c:\my documents\work for
> spring\to-do-list for this week.xxx
>
> Any such utility?
>
> Notice the "-edit" parameter in my example -- which is what
> Netscape/Mozilla requires to enter edit mode so the file can be edited
> rather than simply displayed.



--
Luigi M Bianchi
Science and Technology Studies
Room 2048 TEL Building
York University, 4700 Keele St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J-1P3
phone: +1 (416) 736-2100 x-30104 fax: +1 (416) 736-5188
mail: lbianchi at yorku dot ca http://www.yorku.ca/sasit/sts/

JimmyJam <(E-Mail Removed)>:
>
> I know how to put a shortcut for a program on the desktop (DUH!), and I
> know how to build a shortcut so it opens a program and a specific file
> Sometimes the file's extension with fire up the correct app, but other
> times or when a specific parameter is needed, I have to assemble the
> properties of the shortcut.
>
> Is there a program that will do the building for me so that the properties
> of the shortcut reads
>
> c:\program files\programx\programx.exe -edit c:\my documents\work for
> spring\to-do-list for this week.xxx
>
> Any such utility?
>
> Notice the "-edit" parameter in my example -- which is what
> Netscape/Mozilla requires to enter edit mode so the file can be edited
> rather than simply displayed.

Make one shortcut for the program with the parameters, and put it in your
sendto. Add a "%1" at the end of the commandline in the shortcut.

If it's a program you use often, give it a promotion. That is, put the
entry in your explorer context-menu for that filetype. Such that, for
example, you right-click on an .htm file and choose "Moz Edit" (or however
you've named the entry). If you don't have experience with adding actions
for a filetype, post back, and I can outline the steps.

Here is something else. For your quick access to particular documents.
Put that whole line, such as the one you used in your example, into
the "RUN..." dialog of the start menu.

Just make sure to surround things in quotes, because of the spaces. All
one line (but use full paths):

RUN...
: "c:\program files\...\moz.exe" -nosplash -edit "c:\my documents\...\file.htm"

The startmenu's RUN dialog will keep this in its history. So you can use
its drop-menu to select it and re-use it.

There is also the advantage that it only keeps X items in its history,
which can be seen as self-cleaning, reduces leftover entries to documents
you've stopped using.

If the RUN dialog on the startmenu has an inadequate recent history for
your use, or perhaps you are already using it for more important entries,
and don't want it cluttered with a lot of these document shortcuts, then
you can add an additional Run utility to the root of your startmenu. I've
found about 4-5 or so that work adequately for this purpose. If you're
interested, I can look up their URLs.


--
Karen S.

omega <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:


Hi Karen,

Interesting discussion!

> Make one shortcut for the program with the parameters, and put it in
> your sendto. Add a "%1" at the end of the commandline in the shortcut.

I'm a total newbie when it comes to command switches, so I'm not sure what
the syntax would be. I tried the following, but it just brought me into
Moz browser mode:

"C:\Program Files\mozilla.org\Mozilla\mozilla.exe" -nosplash -edit "%1"

So, I must be off somewhere in the quotes or spacing.

> If it's a program you use often, give it a promotion. That is, put the
> entry in your explorer context-menu for that filetype. Such that, for
> example, you right-click on an .htm file and choose "Moz Edit" (or
> however you've named the entry). If you don't have experience with
> adding actions for a filetype, post back, and I can outline the steps.

I have experience in adding actions for a filetype, but again, I've never
used command switches. So given the location of my Mozilla.exe file as
listed above, what should it read? I'm guessing it should be the same
answer as the sendto?


--
Cheers,
jason

jason <(E-Mail Removed)>:
>
> omega <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> > Make one shortcut for the program with the parameters, and put it in
> > your sendto. Add a "%1" at the end of the commandline in the shortcut.
>
> I'm a total newbie when it comes to command switches, so I'm not sure what
> the syntax would be.

On command switches, they're non-guessable, vary between each program,
and when a program supports them, a matter of copying whatever string(s)
mentioned in its docs.

The only universal principle is that "%1" at the end (which is called a
placeholder, says to the program "this file that I handed you"). Not
every programs need it. And perhaps only a minority these days need it
in quotes (the quotes are in case the program is confused by being handed
a file whose name has spaces). Yet it is extremely unusual for a program
to mind it being there. So handiest to have a standing habit of using it.

(Btw. DOS programs and commands are different. My pifs I add in a "%1 %2
%3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9" to the end. And some of the DOS progs I've set up
in sendto seem to like that, too. That's the outer scope of my current
knowledge in that realm, though.)

> I tried the following, but it just brought me into
> Moz browser mode:
>
> "C:\Program Files\mozilla.org\Mozilla\mozilla.exe" -nosplash -edit "%1"
>
> So, I must be off somewhere in the quotes or spacing.
>
> I have experience in adding actions for a filetype, but again, I've never
> used command switches. So given the location of my Mozilla.exe file as
> listed above, what should it read? I'm guessing it should be the same
> answer as the sendto?

You're right. Something's up. I don't know what.

When I'd tested the shortcut before posting, Moz opened up in edit mode
here. Just now, looking things over, I realized I had Moz settings to open
with a profile that was already telling it to start up in edit mode. So I
changed to a profile that said start up in navigator mode. With that done,
then the -edit switch didn't work.

I used to use these standard command switches regularly, with Netscape.
And the Moz document I downloaded a year ago had basically the same
switches. Yet, here we have something new involved...Mozilla preferences
overriding the command switch.

I need to read the docs, and see if I can learn how thing now work with
Mozilla. I'm posting in advance of having any clue, in case someone gets
to this thread early with some answers.


--
Karen S.

[correction on a tangential subject]
> (Btw. DOS programs and commands are different. My pifs I add in a "%1 %2
> %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9" to the end.
I meant in my bats. I can't say to remember having ever tested adding
anything to the command in pifs.

jason <(E-Mail Removed)>:
>
> > I tried the following, but it just brought me into
> > Moz browser mode:
> >
> > "C:\Program Files\mozilla.org\Mozilla\mozilla.exe" -nosplash -edit "%1"

Do you use profiles? I have now got success, instead of my previous fail, by
specifiying one of my user profiles to Mozilla.

mozilla.exe -p "Profile_Name" -edit "%1"

I didn't test without profiles. This is a very wild guess, but maybe Mozilla
might in that case still want a profile switch there, like this:

-p "default"


--
Karen S.

jason <(E-Mail Removed)>:
>
> > I'm a total newbie when it comes to command switches, so I'm not sure what
> > the syntax would be.

Netscape/Mozilla has an unusually big set of commandline switches. As to
those choices, this is the ref doc that I've used:

http://www.mozilla.org/docs/command-line-args.html

There is another doc over there, haven't read for whether it has any
additional information for Windows or not:

http://www.mozilla.org/quality/brows...ases/cmd-line/

As to things not working until I added the specific profile switch, I don't
know how that is explained. It is true that I tended to always hand Netscape
and Moz a profile name in my shortcuts, but it never occurred to me that not
doing so would cause a problem such as it ignoring a startup command switch.

For now, I'll have to file the experience into the dunnowhy folder.

--
Karen S.