How to follow a .lnk file programmatically

Question

We have a network drive full of shortcuts (.lnk files) that point to folders and I need to traverse them programmatically in a C# Winforms app.

What practical options do I have?

Answer 1

Add IWshRuntimeLibrary as a reference to your project. Add Reference, COM tab, Windows Scripting Host Object Model.

Here is how I get the properties of a shortcut:

IWshRuntimeLibrary.IWshShell wsh = new IWshRuntimeLibrary.WshShellClass();
IWshRuntimeLibrary.IWshShortcut sc = (IWshRuntimeLibrary.IWshShortcut)wsh.CreateShortcut(filename);

The shortcut object "sc" has a TargetPath property.

Answer 2

If you do not wish to reference COM, and distribute the Interop.IWshRuntimeLibrary.dll with your product (remembering Jay Riggs "Embed Interop Types": False)

You can use the new dynamic COM instead.

private void Window_Drop(object sender, DragEventArgs e)
{
    if (e.Data.GetDataPresent(DataFormats.FileDrop))
    {
        string[] files = (string[])e.Data.GetData(DataFormats.FileDrop);
        dynamic shortcut;
        dynamic windowsShell;
        try
        {
            var file = files[0];
            if (Path.GetExtension(file)?.Equals(".lnk",StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) == true)
            {
                Type shellObjectType = Type.GetTypeFromProgID("WScript.Shell");
                windowsShell = Activator.CreateInstance(shellObjectType);
                shortcut = windowsShell.CreateShortcut(file);
                file = shortcut.TargetPath;
                // Release the COM objects
                shortcut = null;
                windowsShell = null;
            }
            //
            // <use file>...
            //
        }
        finally
        {
            // Release the COM objects
            shortcut = null;
            windowsShell = null;
        }
    }
}