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Getting short (8.3) names?
This follows on from my post earlier, 'Clickable shortcut to local
file?', as I have made progress on this. For many years on my XP PC I used a very neat and little known tip to get short names (DOS 8.3 format) onto the clipboard. I simply pressed the Ctrl key while selecting Send To Clipboard as Name. I could then paste the short name into my text editor, TextPad, from where I could open the file directly. Avoiding opening up my browser and pasting the full name into its address box, or other methods. Very handy in How To... notes, tutorials, etc. My new PC runs Windows 10 and File Explorer (Classic Shell) still allows me to use 'Send To Clipboard as Name'. But it first opens this dialog, which is a minor inconvenience: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...hortName-1.jpg Is there some way I could avoid this step please? I'd like to be able to paste the result immediately. Those two options I've enabled - they were disabled by default - do 'stick', so I close the dialog immediately anyway. But that's trivial. There appears to be a more serious problem. It may well apply to earlier Windows versions too. Namely that this doesn't work for any drive other than my OS drive! And for me that's true for ALL the several other solutions I've seen, such as using VBS. And also using Dir /X from a command prompt. Every page I've read says this lists the short names for the current folder. Not here it doesn't. Only works for C: For D: all of these methods show the FULL name, not the 8.3 short name. I'm no programmer or techie, so maybe the reason is embarrassingly obvious? Is there really no way to get short names for files that are on my 4 TB data HD? -- Terry, East Grinstead, UK |
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#2
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Getting short (8.3) names?
[snip]
I responded with something that can possibly explain your issue on "D: drive" in alt.msdos.batch.nt... You should've crossposted. Regards, -- ! _\|/_ Sylvain / ! (o o) Memberavid-Suzuki-Fdn/EFF/Red+Cross/SPCA/Planetary-Society oO-( )-Oo Ewoks make better burgers! |
#3
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Getting short (8.3) names?
Terry Pinnell wrote:
This follows on from my post earlier, 'Clickable shortcut to local file?', as I have made progress on this. For many years on my XP PC I used a very neat and little known tip to get short names (DOS 8.3 format) onto the clipboard. I simply pressed the Ctrl key while selecting Send To Clipboard as Name. I could then paste the short name into my text editor, TextPad, from where I could open the file directly. Avoiding opening up my browser and pasting the full name into its address box, or other methods. Very handy in How To... notes, tutorials, etc. My new PC runs Windows 10 and File Explorer (Classic Shell) still allows me to use 'Send To Clipboard as Name'. But it first opens this dialog, which is a minor inconvenience: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...hortName-1.jpg Is there some way I could avoid this step please? I'd like to be able to paste the result immediately. Those two options I've enabled - they were disabled by default - do 'stick', so I close the dialog immediately anyway. But that's trivial. There appears to be a more serious problem. It may well apply to earlier Windows versions too. Namely that this doesn't work for any drive other than my OS drive! And for me that's true for ALL the several other solutions I've seen, such as using VBS. And also using Dir /X from a command prompt. Every page I've read says this lists the short names for the current folder. Not here it doesn't. Only works for C: For D: all of these methods show the FULL name, not the 8.3 short name. I'm no programmer or techie, so maybe the reason is embarrassingly obvious? Is there really no way to get short names for files that are on my 4 TB data HD? To close off this thread, here's my eventual solution and the steps leading to it in some detail. Here's my summary, using the file C:\Test Folder\Here is another long filename Path Copy Short Path returns C:\TESTFO~1\HEREIS~1.TXT That doesn't work as it stands but my macro converts it to the format I've been using for years: file:///C:/TESTFO~1/HEREIS~1.TXT So I could use it just as before, by selecting the file in File Explorer and activating my macro's hotkey. I could then paste directly into TextPad. That would also be true of Bullzip Short Path. As described earlier, up till now #5 was the only method which delivers the required format directly, i.e. with no need for my macro. That wasn't even true for the method I was using in XP for years (which I think came from the PowerToys package BTW). Note that now the macro is written, there is a positive advantage in using it, because it fully automates the procedure. However, I was pleased to find that Path Copy Internet Path also works, now that the spaces have been replaced by %20.It delivers file://C:/Test%20Folder/Here%20is%20another%20long%20filename.txt I can open that from a TextPad file just like the earlier format. And as well as not needing my macro (unless I decide to do so to get fast hotkey operation) it has the significant advantage that, unlike every other method, it works on ALL my D: files. Not just those after switching on 8Dot3 as described before. The older file D:\Test\This is a long name with spaces gives this result: file://D:/Test/This%20is%20a%20long%20name%20with%20spaces.txt which woks correctly in TextPad. So that's the emergent winner! |
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