Library for parsing and creating Windows shortcut files (.lnk)
This is an implementation of Shell Link (.LNK) Binary File Format plus some reverse engineering. The library doesn't depend on any Windows-specific API, so it can be used in any environment.
This library allows opening existing .lnk files as well as creating new ones from scrath. You can set up many properties of the link such as working directory, command line arguments, icon, console text color, etc. The supported targets include:
- Files and directories on local filesystem with a drive letter as a root (absolute paths like
C:\path\to\target) - Files and directories in Samba shares (network paths like
\\host\share\path\to\target) - Files and directories in special Windows folders, such as Desktop, Documents, Downloads, etc. See available GUIDs
What is not supported (yet):
- Environment variables. They can be used in target path, but they are substituted at creation time, meaning the variables are taken from your (caller) environment, not the user's one
- Non-filesystem targets like Control Panel, Printers, etc
The composition of classes reflect the data layout described in the format specification, so it's recommended to take a look there if you are looking for something specific or want a detailed explanation of flags and constants. Otherwise, you can use ShellLinkHelper class that provides methods for some general tasks.
The easiest way to create a link with default parameters: ShellLinkHelper.createLink("targetfile", "linkfile.lnk")
The following example shows creation of a link for a local .bat file and sets up a working directory, icon and console font. Note that, the path has to be absolute and the drive letter has to be a separate parameter to enforce Windows-style paths. For simplicity, this example uses java.nio.file.Path to prepare the path assuming it runs on Windows. Take a look at Examples.java for a Linux compatible example.
package mslinks;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
var sl = new ShellLink()
.setWorkingDir(Paths.get("..").toAbsolutePath().normalize().toString())
.setIconLocation("%SystemRoot%\\system32\\SHELL32.dll");
sl.getHeader().setIconIndex(128);
sl.getConsoleData()
.setFont(mslinks.extra.ConsoleData.Font.Consolas)
.setFontSize(24)
.setTextColor(5);
Path targetPath = Paths.get("pause.bat").toAbsolutePath();
String root = targetPath.getRoot().toString();
String path = targetPath.subpath(0, targetPath.getNameCount()).toString();
new ShellLinkHelper(sl)
.setLocalTarget(root, path, Options.ForceTypeFile)
.saveTo("testlink.lnk");
}
}The next expmle shows creation of a link to a text file in a network share.
package mslinks;
import java.io.IOException;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
var link = new ShellLinkHelper(new ShellLink());
link.setNetworkTarget("\\\\host\\share\\testfile.txt", Options.ForceTypeFile);
link.saveTo("testlink.lnk");
}
}The next example shows the usage of special folders. This allows setting a path relative to a system-known location which can be deffrent for different users. See a list of available folders.
package mslinks;
import java.io.IOException;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
var link = new ShellLinkHelper(new ShellLink());
link.setSpecialFolderTarget(Registry.CLSID_DOCUMENTS, "pause.bat", Options.ForceTypeFile);
link.saveTo("testlink.lnk");
}
}