Requested Copy shortcut-to-image

[Dabble]

Apart from the copy and move image functionality I'd like a copy-shortcut-to-the-image function, where you select a folder where to copy the shortcut to.
With that you'd be able to make folders that have a specific collection for temporary use without needing the diskspace.

And it should not be too complex to add, nor would it run a risk of influencing other parts of the code.

Addendum:
I suggested a separate menu for it, in which case irfan could use a copy of the move/copy dialogue for the display purposes, but now that I thought of it it would be even handier if there was a checkbox next to the folders shown in the copy GUI to toggle between 'copy' and 'create shortcut' instead, the way that there is an 'active' checkbox right now, simplifying things even more.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Try Properties, File Handling, Show Move Dialogue.

[Dabble]

I don't think you get the point here, I ask for a option to make shortcuts and you mention the dialogue, and yeah I want a list of folders like that but for making shortcuts rather than copying the whole file you see, that's not available.
Although I can use external apps, a 3rd party utility to make shortcuts but then I don't have options to select where, although I guess I could make an autohotkey script to then pop up a dialogue with folders, maybe I try that.
But hey I could also make a utilitiy to display pictures :P
It would be nice if it just was available native in irfanview to make shortcuts to images in selected folders, and as I said it should be easy to implement without interfering with existing code, just an extra menuoption.

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply though, always nice to see your posts noticed

[ChuckE]

Apart from the copy and move image functionality I'd like a copy-shortcut-to-the-image function, where you select a folder where to copy the shortcut to.

I must be really missing something in your explanation, or else you are not already aware of the built-in Windows function to make a shortcut to any file or folder by just doing a right-click, drag, and select of [Create Shortcut Here] to wherever you want that shortcut icon to be.

With that you'd be able to make folders that have a specific collection for temporary use without needing the diskspace.

While a shortcut icon, itself, uses negligible diskspace, it still require some diskspace. And if you place any files in a temporary location, if those are real files and not shortcuts also, then there is that much more diskspace involved. You always use something, it might be small, but it is still something.

And it should not be too complex to add, nor would it run a risk of influencing other parts of the code.

Complex to your idea of thinking maybe, but I would not speak for the actual implementation of your idea, or how it would impact any other part of the overall code. Code writing is a bit more complex than adding a simple idea - even when that idea is precisely defined, as yours is not.

[Dabble]

Of course I know how you make a shortcut, but the idea of looking at a picture, then closing (or minimizing) irfanview, then going to explorer then opening a targetfolder, then drag&drop the shortcut, then opening irfanview for the next picture, well that's not quite as convenient than having a button in irfanview.
Irfanview has the copy/move functionality, something you could also do in explorer, but it's just handy to be able to make a choice while you see the picture in the viewer if you wish to move/copy it to a certain spot, it's certainly a functionality I use regularly, to categorize pictures, or as I said to make a working set if I need it for clipart.

And I mention the code thing because I have suggested things before, both for irfanview and in other software development, and yes I made things myself, and if a new functionality needs to change the whole core of the program it's a bitch to code and a lot of work and it'll introduce bugs that push the whole project back to beta status, whereas if it's doable as a small separate module you can just link into the code that doesn't mess with the existing core significantly then yes, that is in fact a huge relief for the coder, and making a shortcut is a simple routine mostly done by windows code itself and it would only require then to tie it in the user interface of irfanview.

I suggested a separate menu for it, in which case irfan could use a copy of the move/copy dialogue for the display purposes, but now that I thought of it it would be even handier if there was a checkbox next to the folders shown in the copy GUI to toggle between 'copy' and 'create shortcut' instead, the same way that there is an 'active' checkbox right now, simplifying things even more.

I'll edit that into the suggestion I guess.

P.S. I notice it's a bit of a sport on this forum to find the most silly objections to any suggestion if you can't find a real objection, it's a weird thing, would be simpler to just say "I don't need this and don't think it's worth any effort" if that's how a person feels, rather than trying to think up strange objections.

[Dabble]

Just did a quick test, selected 25 pictures totalling 8 MB, then made shortcuts to them and those totalled 19.9 KB.
Those were jpegs, and to illustrate I saved one of those jpegs sized 298KB as PNG and then its size became 2.30MB, so about 7.8 times as much, so roughly if they were all png the total space for the same 25 pictures would be 61MB versus 19.9KB for shortcuts.

I think you can see how that makes quite the impact on space.

[Skippybox]

I feel for you Dabble. Creating shortcuts should be easier in programs, and it's not that easy to do even in Windows, since you have to have access to the place it is dropped. Maybe IrfanView could do this one day, but you certainly could code it too using VBScript. IrfanView let's you specify external editors (Shift+E) and one could be your shortcut script. Essentially you could mimic the Move/Copy dialog by making a batch file with a list of preset folders to choose as the destination. Then, pass that info along to the VBS file to make the shortcut object.

[Batch File]

@echo off
echo Select a folder for your shortcut.
echo.
echo [1] ...\My Pictures\My Links
echo [2] ...\Work
echo.
set /p ask=Or press Enter to default to Desktop...

if "%ask%" == "" set storepath=D:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Desktop

if "%ask%" == "1" set storepath=D:\Documents and Settings\UserName\My Documents\My Pictures\My Links

if "%ask%" == "2" set storepath=D:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Desktop\Work

cscript "D:\Scripts\IVShortcut.vbs" %1 "%~n1" "%storepath%"

[VBS File]

Dim ArgObj, filepath, filename, storepath
Set ArgObj = WScript.Arguments

filepath = ArgObj(0)
filename = ArgObj(1)
storepath = ArgObj(2)

Dim WSHShell
Set WSHShell = _
   WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

Dim MyShortcut
Set MyShortcut = _
   WSHShell.CreateShortcut( _
   storepath & "\Shortcut to " & filename & ".lnk")
MyShortcut.TargetPath = _
   WSHShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings( _
   filepath)
MyShortcut.Save

If you want true control, the VBS file could present the Windows Browse For Folder dialog to intercept your selection! Try this code for something like that.

There is a lot of potential.

[Dabble]

Thanks for your scripts, and thanks for getting it, that's exactly what I mean as an external app solution, but it would of course be much easier in irfanview itself as a proper function, plus the 3 external apps only have a keyboard shortcut for one of them, so that's a bit annoying, although I got my tricks to get around that too but at some point all the ducttape start to spell 'crappy fix'

Its a fix to hold me over though I guess.

[Skippybox]

I know what you mean. IrfanView just doesn't have a great mechanism yet for choosing external editors. But, you can use the 'duct tape' and make another little menu batch file, like the one shown, to select an editor. That way you can still use SHIFT+E to run the relay batch file and quickly select by number/code what you want (like the make-a-shortcut batch file).

BTW, for categorizing, have you tried other viewers with drag-and-drop support and a preview function? Those are much better for making shortcuts, since you have an explorer environment for file tasks and can see the image at the same time. Or you could use FreeCommander, which has a Quick Viewer and a built-in viewer, too.

[Dabble]

Hmm, well typing lots of options each time is a bit annoying I think, and in regards to those commander type tools, I never really liked those very much.

In fact when I use irfanview with the copy function I also used assigned mousekeys, sidebutton to copy andsoforth, people sometimes forget that logitech's and such mousesupport utilities, can not only have per-game settings but also per running program for mousekeys, so you can select functions for when irfanview is active, and when you use utilities like autohotkey (www.autohotkey.com) instead you can even change what keys do depending on what window is active, for instance with irfanview the copy dialogue or what have you.

I'm lazy I guess