Link Files - Win32 Programmer's Reference

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Link Files

When the user creates a shortcut to an object by choosing the Create Shortcut command from the object's context menu, Windows stores the information it needs to access the object in a link file that is, a binary file that has the .LNK filename extension. A link file contains the following information:

The location (path) of the object referenced by the shortcut (called the "corresponding object").
The working directory of the corresponding object.
The list of arguments that the system passes to the corresponding object when the IContextMenu::InvokeCommand member function is activated for the shortcut.
The show (SW_) command used to set the initial show state of the corresponding object.
The location (path and index) of the shortcut's icon.
The shortcut's description string.
The hot key for the shortcut.

When a link file is deleted, the corresponding object is not affected.

If you create a shortcut to another shortcut, the system simply copies the link file rather than creating a new link file. This is important to remember if you are assuming that the shortcuts will remain independent of each other.

An application can register a filename extension as a "shortcut" file type. If a file has a filename extension that has been registered as a shortcut file type, the system automatically adds the system-defined link overlay icon (a small arrow) to the file's icon. To register a filename extension as a shortcut file type, you must add the "IsShortcut" value to the registry description of the filename extension. Note that the shell must be restarted for the overlay icon to take effect.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

.xyz (Default) = "XYZApp"

XYZApp IsShortcut = ""

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