Auto parse/expand \\Desktop && \\My Documents

[Balderstrom]

Total Commander offers internal commands that will GoTo various folders:
\\Desktop is one and when there, clicking on "My Documents" changes your path to \\My Documents ... Yet there are a number of actions TC will refuse to do when these places are the current path -- which makes them inherently not very useful.

It would therefore be preferred for TC to resolve these UNC-like path's to their real-location -- which AFAIK are stored under:

HKU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

When using TC's command cm_OpenDesktop, editing the path, or CD \\Desktop, then TC would change directory to:
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop.

When clicking on "My Documents" from the Desktop, editing the path, or CD "\\My Documents", then TC would change directory to:
%USERPROFILE%\My Documents.

Both of which are stored in the registry key(s) above.

I realize you can create a userdefined action for part of this, but that still doesn't resolve the issue of opening "My Documents" from the Desktop. If there was an wincmd.ini Setting, AlwaysExpandDeskDocs=1
OR allow you to add (to the ini):

MyDocs=%USERPROFILE%\My Documents
Desktop=%USERPROFILE%\Desktop

To force TC to treat(expand) \\Desktop and \\My Documents under all circumstances.

[Lefteous]

There is a mechanism in Windows that answers the question: "Where are file copied to when trying to copy to a virtual folder?". I fear the paths stored in the registry have nothing to do with this mechanism.

Yet there are a number of actions TC will refuse to do when these places are the current path

If you are referring to file operations dealing with files operations within such virtual paths - there is no problem to detect the real paths for them - if they have one. If TC can't do this it's a bug.

[Balderstrom]

Yeah but you can't pgDown to open an archive file (zip,rar,etc) when your panel is displaying
\\Desktop or \\My Documents

If you have a zipfile in the right pane ( \\Desktop )
and attempt to "unpack" TC will claim the zipfile is corrupt.

Error in archive file!
StdoutToVar.zip

If you have a zip file, in the Left pane, \\Desktop in the right
TC will refuse to unpack the zipfile to \\Desktop

Error writing \\Desktop\StdoutToVar.ahk!

Yet, if you right click on those very same files, WinRar's context menu will unpack them quite happily. In both cases.

[Lefteous]

Yeah but you can't pgDown to open an archive file (zip,rar,etc) when your panel is displaying

As I wrote this is a bug.

[Balderstrom]

Yeah but that makes \\Desktop and \\My Documents not very useful.

I can put a Desktop expandable menu on the Taskbar that gives me access to "My Computer" or anything else I might need that is a special object that doesn't display in Users\MyUser\Desktop -- if I happen to of hidden icons on the desktop itself.

TC even forces you to go to \\My Documents when you click on it from TC's \\Desktop

Yet in the same case, if you click on a FOLDER that is on your desktop, then the path suddenly changes to:
C:\Users\MyUser\New Folder\

[petermad]

2Balderstrom

It would therefore be preferred for TC to resolve these UNC-like path's to their real-location....

When using TC's command cm_OpenDesktop, editing the path, or CD \\Desktop, then TC would change directory to:
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop.

When clicking on "My Documents" from the Desktop, editing the path, or CD "\\My Documents", then TC would change directory to:
%USERPROFILE%\My Documents.

You can already use %$DESKTOP% and %$PERSONAL% for the users folders and %$COMMON_DESKTOPDIRECTORY% and %$COMMON_DOCUMENTS% for the shared folders.

(both directly accessible in my extended menus)

[Balderstrom]

@PeterMad ... I don't see how that helps
if you use cm_OpenDesktop you are transferred to \\Desktop, and clicking on MyDocs there puts you to \\My Documents

If you don't use cm_OpenDesktop, and instead use a userdefined command, or directory action to send you to the actual path of your desktop, then there is no "My Docs" shortcut there. So then you could create a junction therein... but still \\Desktop and \\My Documents are broken and should either be fixed or we should be able to except them in the .ini so we never see it in TC.

I shouldn't be told .zip files are corrupted just because TC has directed me to \\Desktop or \\My Documents.

[petermad]

if you use cm_OpenDesktop you are transferred to \\Desktop, and clicking on MyDocs there puts you to \\My Documents

If you don't use cm_OpenDesktop, and instead use a userdefined command, or directory action to send you to the actual path of your desktop, then there is no "My Docs" shortcut there. So then you could create a junction therein... but still \\Desktop and \\My Documents are broken and should either be fixed or we should be able to except them in the .ini so we never see it in TC.

That's correct - but it wasn't what I was responding too - I was responding to the quote of your first post in my post.

I shouldn't be told .zip files are corrupted just because TC has directed me to \\Desktop or \\My Documents.

I agree - that should be fixed!

And Ghisler should work on better support for other file operations too, in virtual folders, as long as the items are real files - off course not many operations can be performed on items in Control Panel for example, but most items in \\My Documents (and a lot of items in \\Desktop) are real files and should be handled.