forum.vdsworld.com

Hooligan · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 3:31 pm Post subject: Link create question...

Hi all,
Does anyone know an easy way to create a link (shortcut) with VDS, that will start the app. minimized? Apparently link create doesn't have that option, and having to manually open, modify and close the shortcut after having created it, is a little cumbersome...

Thanks,
Hooligan

jules · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 4:00 pm Post subject:

I don't think that many modern Windows apps take any notice of that setting anyway, which may be why VDS doesn't support it. I'm pretty sure apps written in Borland Delphi don't, and I'm pretty sure apps created using VDS (which was created using Delphi) don't either. However, it you have an app that does obey this setting, I'm not sure how you would create a shortcut that includes it.

I had to create a PIF file in one of my VDS apps to ensure that a DOS program I ran from the app closed its window on termination. I found that the PIF didn't need to specify the full path of the DOS program, just the file name, if it was in the same directory as the program. So I was able to create a PIF file for the program, store it in the compiled EXE as a resource, and save it to disk using BINFILE SAVERES...

I don't know if you could do a similar thing with a LNK file. You don't need to specify the full path of the EXE if you create a registry entry that associates the full path with the filename.

Hooligan · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 4:46 pm Post subject:

Jules,
Thank for the reply... I'm not quite sure I follow what you're saying. Its my understanding that if a window has a minimize (iconize) and maximize button available in it's title bar, then that program should run under the condition the link that calls it specifies. Perhap I was not clear in my original post... If you right click on an icon on the desktop, select properties, then select the shortcut tab, the field in question is the run entry. The only three choices are Normal window (default), maximized and minimized. I would like a way to select minimized at the link creation time.
Thanks again,
Hooligan Confused

jules · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 5:11 pm Post subject:

That's the way things were in the early days of Windows, when programs were written using the Windows API and C, but I think you'll find that it is not often the case now. I have rarely found a Windows application that starts minimized or mazimized if you make this setting in a shortcut. Most applications now save and restore their last window positions, and they restore to those positions regardless of what you set in the shortcut. Delphi and VDS windows start up the way they were designed, regardless of this setting. I don't know what application you are trying to control, but I think it will depend on what it was written in, whether it will obey this shortcut setting or not.

Hooligan · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 6:21 pm Post subject:

The program (an ftp server) does start up minimized if I set this setting to minimized... I just can't figure out how to make the link default to that setting when I create it... Confused

Perhaps someone knows of an API call....

Thanks,
Hooligan

tim6389 · Professional Member Joined: 01 Aug 2002 Posts: 790

Hooligan

ok maybe i don't understand what you mean but lets see if i do:

are you looking so if a user installs the program it will default to run min.? when they run the program?

Hooligan · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 7:10 pm Post subject:

I created a script that installs this program, and a couple others, and then creates links to the programs, in the startup directory... But the link starts this program "windowed". So I have to manually set the link to start the program minimized (The prefered condition)...

Thanks, Wink

Hooligan

tim6389 · Professional Member Joined: 01 Aug 2002 Posts: 790

ok

I would do this: ( if i understand what you want that is)

have a check box in the program called "start up min" then have it save this setting in a ini file. then when the program starts up have it check this setting when it start up... this way you can have this setting be set at defualt....that way you can still have it install a link in the start-up folder BUT the program itself will hold the min setting...if ya follow what i mean

p.s i hope i follow what you are asking..

Hooligan · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 8:08 pm Post subject:

Great idea... Except I didn't write the program... only the script that installs it. But thanks anyhow!

Hooligan

Hooligan · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 8:50 pm Post subject:

Thanks LiquidCode, Very Happy

That looks like what I needed... I'm off to go test this...
Thanks again...
Hooligan

LiquidCode · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 8:50 pm Post subject:

I think I have a solution for you. I'll let you know soon. Wink

vdsalchemist · Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 9:14 pm Post subject:

Hi Hooligan,
Gadget has a supporting DLL called dragonfly.dll that will do what you want to do with the links. The supporting DLL comes with the Gadget package. You can take a look at the misc.dsc demo to see how to use this DLL. The DLL is a normal DLL so you should be able to use it with VDS 5 directly if you need to.

LiquidCode · Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 12:10 am Post subject:

Ok. Here is a DSU that adds the command Shortcut to VDS. It creats Program Groups and Shortcuts for the StartMenu. Here is the link for more info and to DL it.

http://www.vdsworld.com/index.php?page=search&keywords=Shortcut%20DSU&extend=1

Hope you find it usefull.

Hooligan · Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 4:57 pm Post subject:

Thanks LiquidCode for the dsu, it works great... Very Happy

Thanks mindpower for the gadget suggestion, I may find it useful in the future... Smile

Thanks Jules and Tim6389 for helping me clarify what I really wanted... Wink

Thanks PGWARE for an awesome forum, that provides us all with the much needed support... Very Happy

Thanks ES for keeping this awesome product alive... Very Happy

(Hell, I was on a roll..........)

Hooligan Cool

Dr. Dread · Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 5:57 pm Post subject:

Whooo, you've been to the Academy Awards lately Question

Dread