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The information in this article applies to:
SUMMARY
A shortcut is a link to a Windows Explorer shell object that is used to
access that shell object without creating an actual copy of the object.
You can create shortcuts for any items that you use often, including
files, folders, disk drives, other computers, or printers.
If you create a shortcut to an object and the name or location of that
object then changes, Windows 95 automatically attempts to update, or
resolve, the shortcut the next time you try to use it. The process of
resolving a shortcut works for shortcuts that reference an object on
your local computer, as well as for shortcuts that reference an object
on another computer on the network, although resolution of a network
shortcut may be restricted by the access rights that you have on the
remote computer.
This article describes the process that Windows 95 uses to resolve local
and network shortcuts.
MORE INFORMATION
Local Shortcuts
Windows 95 uses the following process to resolve local shortcuts:
- Windows 95 looks for the object in the static location specified in
the shortcut. This location, along with all the other properties for
that shortcut, are stored in a corresponding .LNK file and can be
viewed by using the right mouse button to click the shortcut and then
clicking Properties on the menu that appears.
The static location is specified using the standard drive and directory
path naming convention. For example,
C:\WINDOWS\FILENAME.EXT
- If the object is not found in the static location, Windows 95 looks in
the same target directory for an object that has the same creation time
and attributes as the original object, but a different name. This logic
allows Windows 95 to find the object if it is in the same location as
it was originally, but has been renamed.
- Windows 95 then searches the subdirectories of the original target
directory for an object with the same name or creation time as the
original object. If no such object is found, Windows 95 proceeds with
a recursive search of the original target drive for an object that
meets one of these criteria. If a matching object is found, a dialog
box is displayed, allowing you to verify that the found object is in
fact the correct object.
NOTE: Only the original target drive is searched. For example, if the
shortcut originally referenced an object on local drive C, only drive C
is searched for an object with the same name or creation time as the
original object. No other local drives are searched.
- Finally, if Windows 95 is unable to find the object using the methods
described above, a dialog box is displayed in which you must enter the
correct location and name of the object.
Network Shortcuts
If you attempt to open a shortcut that references an object on another
computer on the network, and that object cannot be found at the static
location specified in the shortcut, Windows 95 attempts to resolve that
shortcut using a process similar to that described above. However, the
following additional considerations should be taken into account when
Windows 95 attempts to resolve a network shortcut:
- For network shortcuts, the static location may be specified using a
Universal Naming Convention (UNC) name, rather than the standard drive
and directory path naming convention. For example, the location might
look like "\\REMOTE_COMPUTER\WINDOWS\FILENAME.EXT."
- Windows 95 searches the subdirectories of the original target directory
only if you have access to those subdirectories. If the target computer
uses share-level security, you have access to all the subdirectories of
the target directory, assuming that you have access to the target
directory itself. If the target computer uses user-level security, you
may not have access to subdirectories of the target directory.
- When it is performing a recursive search of the original target drive,
Windows 95 starts from the original target directory and moves up the
directory tree to the highest parent directory that it has access to.
This parent directory essentially becomes the root directory of the
recursive search, as Windows 95 searches all subdirectories of this
directory that you have access to.
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