Bug creating shortcut to folders ending in ".com"

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rich Pasco
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R

Rich Pasco

Windows 2000 has a problem creating a shortcut to a folder (directory)
whose name ends in ".com". It should create a link file (.lnk) but
instead it tries to create a program information file (.pif) instead.

Suppose I have a directory
c:\mail\microsoft.com\
and want to create a shortcut (link) to it on my desktop.

I right-click on my desktop, and choose "New Shortcut."
In the Create Shortcut Wizard, I type the location of the item
c:\mail\microsoft.com and click Next. I give it a name like
Microsoft and click Next.

My first clue that something has gone wrong is when the prompt to
select an icon. Why didn't it just use the "folder" icon?

Anyway it creates a .PIF file instead of a .LNK as expected.

The work around is to create a shortcut to a folder that does not
end in ".com", then go back and change it later to point to the
desired folder.

- Rich
 
In
Rich Pasco said:
Windows 2000 has a problem creating a shortcut to a folder (directory)
whose name ends in ".com". It should create a link file (.lnk) but
instead it tries to create a program information file (.pif) instead.

Suppose I have a directory
c:\mail\microsoft.com\
and want to create a shortcut (link) to it on my desktop.

I right-click on my desktop, and choose "New Shortcut."
In the Create Shortcut Wizard, I type the location of the item
c:\mail\microsoft.com and click Next. I give it a name like
Microsoft and click Next.

My first clue that something has gone wrong is when the prompt to
select an icon. Why didn't it just use the "folder" icon?

Anyway it creates a .PIF file instead of a .LNK as expected.

The work around is to create a shortcut to a folder that does not
end in ".com", then go back and change it later to point to the
desired folder.

- Rich
Click to expand...


My system shows none of the problems you mention Rich, I've just created
a folder called me.com then dragged a shortcut to it onto the desktop
and it created the required shortcut as requested.
 
I right-click on my desktop, and choose "New Shortcut."
In the Create Shortcut Wizard, I type the location of the item
c:\mail\microsoft.com and click Next. I give it a name like
Microsoft and click Next.

My first clue that something has gone wrong is when the prompt to
select an icon. Why didn't it just use the "folder" icon?

Anyway it creates a .PIF file instead of a .LNK as expected.
Click to expand...

My XP pro with SP2 does the same thing.
The work around is to create a shortcut to a folder that does not
end in ".com", then go back and change it later to point to the
desired folder.
Click to expand...

Another workaround is to do what Steve did: Right-drag the folder to
the desktop and choose "Create shortcut". On my XP, that creates a
correct shortcut.
 
Back in the day (before your time, I guess), .com was a commonly used DOS
file extension denoting a binary executable as in COMMAND.COM. If your
system is interpreting this extension as a DOS file, it's no wonder.

Just rename the folder. Maybe dotcom?
 
Back in the day (before your time, I guess), .com was a commonly used DOS
file extension denoting a binary executable as in COMMAND.COM.
Click to expand...

I wish I was young enough to not know about .COM files :-)
If your
system is interpreting this extension as a DOS file, it's no wonder.
Click to expand...

No wonder, maybe, but telling the difference between a file and a
folder is not rocket science. If the operating system cannot tell this
difference, it is clearly a bug.
Just rename the folder. Maybe dotcom?
Click to expand...

A workaround that may be acceptable in some cases, but may not be a
viable option in other cases.
 
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