Special keys and Conflicts

I'm not sure what you're saying here...

It's undoubtedly some issue between DO, and Microsoft IntelliKey (v5.2), but I see little chance of MS adjusting...

There's just some (little) twist to the way DO addresses the keys. Else why would it not only conflict with the MS driver (blocking the key etc.) but direct it TOTALLY to a different folder.

Glad there's a (tiny) workaround.

CB

You're missing the point :slight_smile:

We don't think it's anything to do with the keystroke itself.

We think it's what your keyboard drivers DO when they get the keystroke that is the problem.

When your keyboard driver sees the key, it runs a "system action" to open a particular folder. It's the opening of this folder that Opus is intercepting, and for some reason mis-understanding.

Just to re-cap - the actual problem you're having is that you press the key you have assigned to 'My Pictures', but an incorrect folder opens in Opus. Yes?

Now, can you clarify exactly how you have this configured? Is the key configured through your keyboard drivers, or through the Hotkey Helper program?

Exactly what do you have the key defined to do?

Can you show us a screenshot of the configuration window for this particular keystroke?

Also, try going to Preferences / Miscellaneous / Explorer Replacement and setting Don't replace Explorer, then Apply, to double-check that everything works properly when the key causes Explorer to launch.

If it still happens with Opus out of the picture then there's one less program to think about while trying to work out what's going wrong.

Okay:

In the zip file there aee three pics from defining a key with Microsoft IntelliKey.

Once you select the key to define (Pic 1) you choose what you want to do with it (Pic 2). In my case I pick "Start a program, web page or file";

In Pic 3 you can see (for the most part) just the path to a folder. Microsoft's driver interprets this a "Opne this folder in a single window via Explorer"

And this is where the key, in thois case "My Pictures", is definned to open instead of "My Pictures" "C:\Documents and Settings\CWBillow\My Documents\RegIDs", which worked fine... and does now, if I mark it for exclusion in DO (Option 3).

If I do NOT exclude it, and select instead "Replace Explorer for all system files" it opens "C:\Documents and Settings\CWBillow\My Documents\My Zinio Library" when I press the same button.

And switching options turns this error on or off with no re-booting or further intervention whatsoever.

HTH,
Chuck

Exactly what do you have the key defined to do?

Can you show us a screenshot of the configuration window for this particular keystroke?
<<
MS_I_Key.zip (61.5 KB)

Is RegIDs just a normal folder? If you change this to another folder does the same thing happen, or is it something peculiar to RegIDs?

RegIDs is just a standard folder with my software registration info. It happens regardless of the folder.

If I point the key at a program ("My Music" is pointed at msconfig.exe) DO works fine... it's all about the folders and the intervention into Explorer's handling of same.

CB

So what you're saying is, no matter what folder you have a key set up to open, Opus will open the "My Zinio Library" folder?

EDIT:
I just tried and found that any name I gave a folder that started with Reg caused the same reaction. Other names worked.

???????????????????????????????????????????


Strangely, no. It's just THAT folder. I just went and switched them all around, and other folders seem to be OK... bu that one, each time I come back to it, results in "My Zinio Library".

Strange?

You wouldn't have a file called "target.lnk" in that RegIDs folder would you?
If so, try deleting it and see if it fixes it.

That seemed to fix it. What was it and why?

Also, is it a lister I need to set up now to have this folder show up in single-pane icon form?

[quote="jon"]You wouldn't have a file called "target.lnk" in that RegIDs folder would you?
If so, try deleting it and see if it fixes it.[/quote]

Well, it's not "IntelliKey" but "IntelliType Pro". I just installed v5.2 from Microsoft with my Digital Media Pro keyboard and the same hotkey (to the same path as yours no less) works just fine. I know it might seem far fetched since it 'otherwise works with Explorer'... but for shats and giggles, could you try temporarily renaming both your "RegIDs" and "My Zinio Library" folders to completely different names? Just as a test - name one foo, and the other oof and update your IntelliType key bindings to go to the new folder name? How are you entering in the path to IntelliType? Copying and pasting? Manually typing? What happens with the folders renamed?

EDIT:

Steje:

I found the folder options....

TX

Steje:

As noted it seems now to be working... there was a file target.lnk that upon deletion seemed to adjust the issue.

I appreciate everybody's patience...

Now that THTA one is done, I'm off to set it up...

Is it a "lister" I need to set up to have that folder always shoe in large icon form?

And where do I find how to assign a specific lister to a specific folder?

Regards,
Chuck Billow

"Lister" is just another name for a normal Opus window with a file list in it.

You need to create a Folder Format for the path in question if you want it to display in a particular mode. The FAQ on Folder Formats should explain all you need to know.

OK... thanks.

Chuck

"Lister" is just another name for a normal Opus window with a file list in it.

You need to create a Folder Format for the path in question if you want it to display in a particular mode. The FAQ on Folder Formats should explain all you need to know.[/quote]

Yeah - I saw the whole bit about 'target.lnk' AFTER I posted my reply. Not sure why that messed things up - but cool that it's fixed!

Glad you finally got the to the bottom of your problem!

But does anybody have a clue what Target.lnk is, what it does, or why it would create such a huge problem?

What the heck are shats? I heard the expression "to have... " but not this one.

Regards,
Chuck Billow

[quote="CWBillow"]That seemed to fix it. What was it and why?
Also, is it a lister I need to set up now to have this folder show up in single-pane icon form?

[quote="jon"]You wouldn't have a file called "target.lnk" in that RegIDs folder would you?
If so, try deleting it and see if it fixes it.[/quote][/quote]
Found it! They are junction points, or folder redirects. So perhaps something you installed on your PC (other than DOpus) must have created a juntion point between the folder you were trying to get to and the one you ended up at.

Read more about junction points and Target.lnk files here:
http://shell-shocked.org/article.php?id=284

Kenneth:

I'm sorry, I'm a bit slow... how can that fix my issue if at all?

Chuck

Found it! They are junction points, or folder redirects. So perhaps something you installed on your PC (other than DOpus) must have created a juntion point between the folder you were trying to get to and the one you ended up at.
<<

First off, this is all new to me, but I tend to learn quick

I hadn't realized that I had ever used junction points directly, until just now.

To see how they work, try this:
[ol][li] Create a folder named "Test" directly on your Desktop.[/li]
[li] Open the folder (doesn't matter DOpus or Windows Explorer)[/li]
[li] Create some shortcuts to real files inside of the Desktop\Test folder.[/li]
[li] Close the Desktop\Test folder[/li]
[li] Click on the Desktop\Test folder and drag it to your Start Menu (just on the main Start Menu, not in Programs). This creates a program group on the Start Menu.

You just created a junction point.
[/li]
[li] Hover your mouse over Start Menu\Test, it should show all the shortcuts that Desktop\Test had. (But these are not copies!)[/li]
[li] In Directory Opus Find, search for target.lnk. (It must be Directory Opus, Windows Explorer won't show them.)

My system-wide search shows a target.lnk for each of my network locations that show up in My Network Places. The properties of each can be viewed and each displays the \computername\sharename of its network place. I also have a target.lnk listed for the Start Menu\Test group folder that I just created above.

According to the article I linked, this is what a target.lnk file is for—redirecting a local file or folder to somewhere else. The Start Menu\Test group you just created is an excellent example of this. You dragged a folder full of shortcuts to the Start Menu and Windows copied them there, creating a group with shortcuts in it, right? Wrong!

What really happened is that, behind the scenes, Windows created the folder %SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\User Name\Start Menu\Test, inside of which Windows also created a target.lnk file that contains a junction point to the Desktop\Test folder. We will now prove this.
[/li]
[li] Try to list the folder %SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\User Name\Start Menu\Test each of the ways below (in Windows Explorer or DOpus, it does not matter):[ul][li] Right-Click on Start Menu\Test and click Explore[/li]
[li] Open a lister to %SystemDrive% and drill down a folder at a time.[/li]
[li] actually type the explicit path in the Path bar and press the Go button[/li][/ul]

What happened? In all cases, you will end up at this folder:

%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\User Name\Desktop\Test

not at

%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\User Name\Start Menu\Test
[/li]
[li] Now open the Command Prompt, and CD into %SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\User Name\Start Menu\Test[/li]
[li] Type Dir and press .

You will see one file...target.lnk
[/li]
[li] Type del target.lnk and press — Windows puts up no fuss at all, the file is deleted and you just broke the junction point.[/li]
[li] Close Command Prompt[/li]
[li] Goto your Start Menu\Test Group and take a look at it, its there, but its empty and its dead.[/li]
[li] Open your Desktop\Test folder, everything is still there.[/li][/ol] Target.lnk files are obscure little buggers. And you won't see them when browsing in Windows Explorer. I believe they are an "alternate stream" file, similar to the Zone Identifier files that Windows creates when you download executables from the Internet. (DOpus only shows me those when I download to my Iomega Rev Drive, which uses the UDF file system).

My best guess is that maybe you drug a system folder to another location once (which can re-route system folders like My Documents or My Pictures), or somehow re-routed one of your folders once, and that created a junction point.

There is next to no documentation on these either Googling for target.lnk Site:microsft.com only get four hits.