Reading the target of a .lnk file in Python?

Question

Hi, I'm trying to read the target file/directory of a shortcut (.lnk) file from Python. Is there a headache-free way to do it? The .lnk spec [PDF] is way over my head. I don't mind using Windows-only APIs.

My ultimate goal is to find the "(My) Videos" folder on Windows XP and Vista. On XP, by default, it's at %HOMEPATH%\My Documents\My Videos, and on Vista it's %HOMEPATH%\Videos. However, the user can relocate this folder. In the case, the %HOMEPATH%\Videos folder ceases to exists and is replaced by %HOMEPATH%\Videos.lnk which points to the new "My Videos" folder. And I want its absolute location.

Answer 1

Basically call the Windows API directly. Here is a good example found after Googling:

import os, sys
import pythoncom
from win32com.shell import shell, shellcon

shortcut = pythoncom.CoCreateInstance (
  shell.CLSID_ShellLink,
  None,
  pythoncom.CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER,
  shell.IID_IShellLink
)
desktop_path = shell.SHGetFolderPath (0, shellcon.CSIDL_DESKTOP, 0, 0)
shortcut_path = os.path.join (desktop_path, "python.lnk")
persist_file = shortcut.QueryInterface (pythoncom.IID_IPersistFile)
persist_file.Load (shortcut_path)

shortcut.SetDescription ("Updated Python %s" % sys.version)
mydocs_path = shell.SHGetFolderPath (0, shellcon.CSIDL_PERSONAL, 0, 0)
shortcut.SetWorkingDirectory (mydocs_path)

persist_file.Save (shortcut_path, 0)

This is from http://timgolden.me.uk/python/win32_how_do_i/create-a-shortcut.html.

You can search for "python ishelllink" for other examples.

Also, the API reference helps too: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb774950(VS.85).aspx

Answer 2

Alternatively, you could try using SHGetFolderPath(). The following code might work, but I'm not on a Windows machine right now so I can't test it.

import ctypes

shell32 = ctypes.windll.shell32

# allocate MAX_PATH bytes in buffer
video_folder_path = ctypes.create_string_buffer(260)

# 0xE is CSIDL_MYVIDEO
# 0 is SHGFP_TYPE_CURRENT
# If you want a Unicode path, use SHGetFolderPathW instead
if shell32.SHGetFolderPathA(None, 0xE, None, 0, video_folder_path) >= 0:
    # success, video_folder_path now contains the correct path
else:
    # error

Answer 3

Create a shortcut using Python (via WSH)

import sys
import win32com.client 

shell = win32com.client.Dispatch("WScript.Shell")
shortcut = shell.CreateShortCut("t:\\test.lnk")
shortcut.Targetpath = "t:\\ftemp"
shortcut.save()

Read the Target of a Shortcut using Python (via WSH)

import sys
import win32com.client 

shell = win32com.client.Dispatch("WScript.Shell")
shortcut = shell.CreateShortCut("t:\\test.lnk")
print(shortcut.Targetpath)