VB.NET call desktop application from 2 shortcuts - supply different parameters

Question

I have a desktop application which reads files from a specified folder, then deposits the files to a folder in a third party document management system based on criteria that the user provides.

My question is:

is it possible to somehow provide different parameters to the code, depending on which shortcut of the application the user clicked on to start it up?

Answer 1

Yes.

The easiest way would be to have the shortcut pass those parameters in via the command line.

Answer 2

You could also use conditional compilation variables, and have 2 different .exes. You should be able to find samples of both approaches (command line and conditional compilation variable) in help.

Answer 3

You can add command line parameters to a shortcut icon. Here's how you can do it in Windows:

• On the Start Menu, navigate to Notepad.
• Right click on Notepad and choose Send To > Desktop (Create Shortcut)
• Right click on the newly-created desktop icon and choose Properties

• Add your command line parameters to the Target text box.

  • For example, if you want notepad to open up the hosts file, this would be the content of Target property:

    %SystemRoot%\system32\notepad.exe "C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts"

You can put pretty much anything into the Target property of a shortcut that you would put into a command line.