Create Multiple Shortcuts From TV3 Search Results?

[frew]

Hello.

Is there a simple way to select like 50 files that show up in TV3 search results and create shortcuts to all of these files, so that I can then put these shortcuts into a special shortcuts folder that I've created?

I want to create shortcuts for multiple selected files wav audio files that show up when I do a search for certain wav files.

For example, 900 wav files show up, and I want to select around 50 of them as my favorite ones to listen to, so I thought it would be nice to select the ones I like, right click on selected files, drag and drop using "create shortcut(s) here" like explorer does, but I do not see this option with TV3.

When I select multiple files with TV3 and right click, I see option to "create shortcut" but I do not know where the shortcuts are put, and the shortcuts , when I do find them, tend to not have the right targets, thus windows has to do a big time consuming search for most of the files that the shortcuts refer to.

Thanks for any ideas about this. I'm sure I'm probably overlooking a simple method to create multiple shortcuts form TV3 search results.

Thanks again for the amazing TV3 !

Frew

[admin]

In the custom drop context menu you find an item "Shell Context Menu...". Select it and you'll see a new menu (the one you know from Explorer) containing your "Create Shortcuts Here" item.

[frew]

In the custom drop context menu you find an item "Shell Context Menu...". Select it and you'll see a new menu (the one you know from Explorer) containing your "Create Shortcuts Here" item.

Can you please explain this further..all I see is move or copy option when I select multiple files and then right click/drag to a new folder.

Selecting files, then right clicking with no drag does show "create shortcut" in menu...but where do these shortcuts get put? and why are the shortcuts targets not accurate (ie when I click properties of shortcuts and notice the shortcuts targets), causing windows to do a long search for most of the files that the shortcuts refer to when I lclick on the shortcuts?

I did Tools, Config, Custom drag and drop context menu...but nothing changes in context menu even with TV3 restart....maybe because I'm with Windows98SE?

Please explain further so I can select 50 wav files from search results and make 50 shortcuts to these files...shortcuts that I can then easily put into a separate folder please.

Thank you very much for you help,

Frew

[admin]

...all I see is move or copy option when I select multiple files and then right click/drag to a new folder.

You should see either move/copy/shortcuts (shell menu) or TV3's custom menu containing "Shell Context Menu...".

I did Tools, Config, Custom drag and drop context menu...but nothing changes in context menu even with TV3 restart....maybe because I'm with Windows98SE?

This should under Windows98SE as well (TV3 restart is not necessary). Look again, there must be "Shell Context Menu...".

[frew]

At Tools, Config, Custom drag n drop....both checked and unchecked, I get the same results: When I do a search for files with TV3, I select a few files from the search results, right click and drag to a new folder I've created on my desktop...and all I see in the menu is move, copy , and cancel....

Okay, I see...I need to do the drag and drop into the tree structure of TV3...I was trying to drag/drop into folder window I had created and opened from my normal windows desktop area.

But now there's a new problem...I right click/drag files to a separate folder in TV3 tree structure and, (with custom drag/drop checked) in the menu I do not see an option to create shortcuts....but I do see "shell contex menu" but when I click on "shell context menu" I get error that TV3 has performed illegal operation and will be shut down.

With "custom drag/drop" unchecked, when I right click/drag files from search ressults into separate folder in TV3 structure, I immediately get same error message as soon as I release right mouse click onto my new folder.

Oh well, all I want is too quickly and easliy create multiple shortcuts to files I select from TV3 search results...and I want to get these shortcuts into a separate folder for myself. My reason is because I do not want to make copies of all these wav files (takes to much space), I'd rather make shortcuts to my favorite wavs, and I do not want to have to browse through all the wavs in the search results in order to get to my favorite wavs that are scattered all over my hard drive. If I could select my favorite wavs from TV3 search results, right click, drag, select to create shortcuts, and drop shortcuts into separate favorite wavs folder, I think I'd get the result I want.

Thank you very much for any other ideas about this.

Frew

[admin]

Ah, okay:

1. Right-drag'n'drop out of TV3 indeed misses the shortcuts entry in the menu. I know this, but can't fix it -- it's a little mystery.

2. If the context menu crashes TV3, the reason is probably that you have some custom shell extension installed. Some of these can bring TV3 down.

Bad luck for you this time, Frew.

[frew]

some custom shell extension installed

Sorry I don't know what that means...do you mean things like Winzip,
Winrar, AVG, and other programs that have put things into my right click menu may be causing a problem so that TV3 crashes when I try to use TV3 custom shell menu, TV3 right click/drag/drop into TV3 tree, etc?

Maybe I could get rid of some of the items I do not use in my shell menu in order to free it up a bit so TV3 will not encounter a problem with the shell menu usage for TV3?

Thank you very much for your help, and for any other ideas about this.

Frew

[admin]

some custom shell extension installed

See here: http://www.trackerv3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=990#990

As far as I know only programs that install as a context menu item (like PixVue) have been seen to bring TV3 down. WinZip and WinRar are definitely not a problem, AVG I don't know.

[frew]

Just thought I'd let you know this.

I tried this utility ShellExView

http://www.nirsoft.net/

found at your above link and I disabled all items except microsoft items and TV3 still generates error message when I do above mentioned actions.

By the way, if I just select TV3 search results and right click and select "create shortcut", then shortcuts do get created, but most of them then have wrong/incomplete target (paths?)...any way to get the target paths to be created correctly with this method?

Also, right clicking and sending to desktop works (then I can cut/paste shortcuts to new folder), but still most targets are not right.

Thank you very much for your help and ideas.

Frew

[admin]

By the way, if I just select TV3 search results and right click and select "create shortcut", then shortcuts do get created, but most of them then have wrong/incomplete target (paths?)...any way to get the target paths to be created correctly with this method?

That's a known issue in the Windows shell API since Win95 and it's still there in XP: you cannot multiselect from a list of items with different paths AND have all the paths correctly resolved. This concerns all original shell commands in the context menu (try e.g. Copy or Move on a find results list with different paths... same issue); TV3's custom context menu commands however work correctly on find results.

About your crash: disabling the items apparently is not enough. What stuff have you got in your context menu? I'd like to compile a black list of products that do not work with TV3.

[frew]

That's a known issue in the Windows shell API.

Okay, Thank you.

About your crash: disabling the items apparently is not enough. What stuff have you got in your context menu? I'd like to compile a black list of products that do not work with TV3.

I can email to you an HTML report from ShellExView if you'd like...with all my tons of items sorted by company and then sorted by item type if you'd like.

Or I can just send you a screenshot jpg of my context menus..or both.

Thank you very much,

Frew

[admin]

I can email to you an HTML report from ShellExView if you'd like...with all my tons of items sorted by company and then sorted by item type if you'd like.

tons of items... how high is your screen? And why do you need all those items when you have TV3?

What really would help: if you find out which of the items is the trouble maker.

[frew]

I'm not sure what to do next with this.

I do not know how to check for what items may be creating problems.

Are you saying that, let's say for example, if I had just re-installed Windows, with no other added programs yet, that TV3 context menu options would probably be working fine for me when I go to create multiple shortcuts, and that as I added more software to my system, with the stuff they put into right-click context menu, that TV3 right-click menu items and TV3 drag/drop may begin to develop difficulties?

I'm not really familiar with how all this context menu, shell, etc. works.

Oh well, no major problem....I'm just looking for a fast and easy way to select a bunch of wavs from a list of search results from my hard drive, and create shortcuts to these wav files. Then I want to put these shortcuts into a special separate folder. And I want the shortcuts to instantly open the wav files without Windows having to browse for them.

The reason I need the shortcuts is that even with all my exclude folders, etc. I am having a little trouble constructing a search template that returns only the specific wavs I want. I have around 70,000 wav files scattered around on my hard drive, and my constructed TV3 find template very nicely returns around 900 of the most relevant wav files...yet of those 900 there are around 100 that I wish I could select, drag/drop into new folder and make shortcuts to them so I do not have to search through the 900 for the 100 that I really want. Maybe I can further tweak my find template to weed out the 800 that I still do not want to show up in the search results.

Thank you very much for any other ideas about this.

Frew

[admin]

Maybe you send me a screenshot of your context menu (if it's not too large ) -- I'm really curious now.

[frew]

I sent you some images and HTML report of ShellExView to the email address on TV3 support page.

Let me know what you think please.

Thank you very much for taking a look at the images,

Frew