I am writing some code to create a file from a Windows 8 app in an standard way, the code looks like below:
using namespace Windows::Storage;
StorageFolder^ folder = KnownFolders::DocumentsLibrary;
String ^filename = ref new String(L"file.txt");
auto createFile = folder->CreateFileAsync(filename, CreationCollisionOption::ReplaceExisting);
concurrency::create_task(createFile).wait;
Now instead of using DocumentsLibrary, I want to write thid file to an customized file path, like:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\ExampleApp\ExampleFolder
How should I change the code to be able to do this? Thanks!
WinRT can only access a few folders. You have a few standard libraries like Pictures, Music, etc (Documents requires elevated rights) and you have the application data folders that you can find under \AppData\Local\Packages\yourpackage.
Inside of this package folder you have two main folders to store data: LocalState and RoamingState. As the names convey: the former is to store data locally while the latter will synchronize its contents whenever possible (according to the rules you define).
You can access these folders using the C++ equivalent of Windows.Storage.ApplicationData.Current.LocalFolder and Windows.Storage.ApplicationData.Current.RoamingFolder.
What you can do though is request explicit access through a FilePicker but this will prompt the user a window where he should target the directory himself.
Related
My application uses log4j but OkHttpClient uses java util logging. So apart from log4j.properties, I created a logging.properties file with the following contents:
handlers=java.util.logging.FileHandler
.level=FINE
okhttp3.internal.http2.level=FINE
java.util.logging.FileHandler.pattern = logs/%hjava%u.log
java.util.logging.FileHandler.limit = 50000
java.util.logging.FileHandler.count = 1
java.util.logging.FileHandler.formatter = java.util.logging.XMLFormatter
java.util.logging.ConsoleHandler.level = FINE
java.util.logging.ConsoleHandler.formatter = java.util.logging.SimpleFormatter
I then added this to jvm params used for starting the application -Djava.util.logging.config.file="file://${BASE_DIR}/logging.properties"
But I don't see any new folders being created as indicated by the Filehandler. Any one know why?
But I don't see any new folders being created as indicated by the Filehandler. Any one know why?
The FileHandler will not create any new folders. A directory must be created before the FileHandler will create a file.
The system property requires a path to file that is located on the filesystem It will not expand system properties or environment variables by using the dollar sign syntax.
You can use a relative path based off of the working directory or you have to use an absolute path to the logging.properties. The logging properties can not be packaged inside of an archive.
If you want to work around this limitation then you want to create a custom config class and use the java.util.logging.config.class property in conjunction with the java.util.logging.config.file property. You then write a class that reads the file://${BASE_DIR}/logging.properties and performs the needed transformation into a path to a file. Then update the configuration if you are using JDK9 or newer. On older versions you need to use readConfiguration and add code to work work around limitations of the LogManager
I'm trying to launch an image using WinRT API WIndows::System::Launcher::LaunchFileAsync().
Code snippet is as follows:
RoInitialize(RO_INIT_MULTITHREADED);
String^ imagePath = ref new String(L"C:\\Users\\GoodMan\\Pictures\\wood.png");
auto file = Storage::StorageFile::GetFileFromPathAsync(imagePath);
Windows::System::Launcher::LaunchFileAsync(file);
I'm getting this error from the LaunchFileAsync() API:
error C2665: 'Windows::System::Launcher::LaunchFileAsync' : none of
the 2 overloads could convert all the argument types
Can I please get help how to solve this. I'm very new to WinRT C++ coding .
The method GetFileFromPathAsync does not return a StorageFile, but it returns IAsyncOperation<StorageFile>^. What you have to do is convert the latter to the former, as follows:
using namespace concurrency;
String^ imagePath = ref new String(L"C:\\Users\\GoodMan\\Pictures\\wood.png");
auto task = create_task(Windows::Storage::StorageFile::GetFileFromPathAsync(imagePath));
task.then([this](Windows::Storage::StorageFile^ file)
{
Windows::System::Launcher::LaunchFileAsync(file);
});
Generally all Windows Store app framework methods that end in Async will return either an IAsyncOperation, or a task. These methods are what are known as asynchronous methods, and require some special handling. See this article for more info: Asynchronous programming in C++ .
So now everything is great, correct? Well, not quite. There is another issue with your code. It is that when you run the code above, you will get an access-denied error. The reason is that Windows Store Apps are sandboxed, and you cannot generally access just any file on the filesystem.
You are in luck, though, because you are trying to access a file in your Pictures folder. The Pictures folder is a special folder that Windows Store apps have access to. You can get at it using the KnownFolders class:
using namespace concurrency;
Windows::Storage::StorageFolder^ pictures =
Windows::Storage::KnownFolders::PicturesLibrary;
auto task = create_task(pictures->GetFileAsync("wood.png"));
task.then([this](Windows::Storage::StorageFile^ file)
{
Windows::System::Launcher::LaunchFileAsync(file);
});
Note that in order to access the Pictures folder your application has to declare it in the project manifest. To do so, double click on the Package.appmanifest file in the project "tree" in Visual Studio, and select the Capabilities tab. Then under Capabilities, check Pictures Library.
SHGetSpecialFolderPathA(NULL,buffer, CSIDL_APPDATA,FALSE );
C:\Users\guest\AppData\Roaming
SHGetSpecialFolderPathA(NULL,buffer, CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA,FALSE );
C:\Users\guest\AppData\Local
Is there way to get the path C:\Users\guest\AppData using windows API's?
The roaming and local folders exist for a reason, sometimes you might need to put something in the root of the profile but you are not really supposed to do it. This is what MSDN says about CSIDL_PROFILE:
Applications should not create files or folders at this level; they
should put their data under the locations referred to by CSIDL_APPDATA
or CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA. However, if you are creating a new Known
Folder the profile root referred to by CSIDL_PROFILE is appropriate.
On NT5 they don't even have the same parent folder and "Roaming" is in the root of the profile:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data
The user and/or domain admin can move and/or redirect those folders to anywhere, to the root of a different drive or a network share.
The only documented way I can think of to find the parent is to use IKnownFolderManager::GetFolder and then call IKnownFolder::GetFolderDefinition and look at KNOWNFOLDER_DEFINITION.fidParent (Keep in mind that there does not have to be a parent, IKnownFolderManager::Redirect takes a string as the target so a redirected folder can be anywhere)
If you want to exclude files under a special shell folder you should compare the path with something like PathCommonPrefix or IKnownFolderManager::FindFolderFromPath.
I'm new to MFC, once I create my first app, in myApp::InitInstance() . I have
SetRegistryKey(_T("Local AppWizard-Generated Applications"));
Can I delete this and save settings to my own ini construct ?
Edit: After further testing, the solution below does not work if your app class is derived from CWinAppEx ! It does work if your app is directly derived from CWinApp.
To store values in an .ini file instead of the registry:
Omit the call to SetRegistryKey.
In your app class, set m_pszProfileName to the full path of your .ini file. The filename string must be allocated using malloc, because the framework will call free on it when your app shuts down. First free the existing value, then assign your new string:
free((void*)m_pszProfileName);
m_pszProfileName = ::_tcsdup(_T("C:\\somedir\\myini.ini"));
Call CWinApp::GetProfileInt, CWinApp::WriteProfileInt and similar functions as usual.
I strongly recommend using a path under APPDATA for storing your .ini file.
Yes you can. CWinApp::SetProfileXXX() does this for you, actually - but I wouldn't use these methods anymore in 2010, they were OK when ppl moved from .ini to the registry.
I am not sure if this is possible as a .ini file has only strings for your program. You can create an operating system script (.bat for windows, .sh for unix etc) and call it using system() call.
Use win32 APIs WriteProfileString (write to INI file) and GetProfileString (read from INI file)
For more help
ms-help://MS.MSDNQTR.v90.en/sysinfo/base/writeprofilestring.htm
I would like to know the cleanest way of registering a file extension with my C++ application so that when a data file associated with my program is double clicked, the application is opened and the filename is passed as a parameter to the application.
Currently, I do this through my wix installer, but there are some instances where the application will not be installed on ths user's computer, so I also need the option of creating the registry key through the application.
Additionally, will this also mean that if the application is removed, unused entries in the registry will be left lying around?
Your basic overview of the process is found in this MSDN article. The key parts are at the bottom of the list:
Register the ProgID
A ProgID (essentially, the file type registry key) is what contains your important file type properties, such as icon, description, and context menu items including applications used when the file is double clicked. Many extensions may have the same file type. That mapping is done in the next step:
Register the file name extension for the file type
Here, you set a registry value for your extension, setting that extension's file type to the ProgID you created in the previous step.
The minimum amount of work required to get a file to open with your application is setting/creating two registry keys. In this example .reg file, I create a file type (blergcorp.blergapp.v1) and associate a file extension (.blerg) with it.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\blergcorp.blergapp.v1\shell\open\command]
#="c:\path\to\app.exe \"%1\""
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.blerg]
#="blergcorp.blergapp.v1"
Now, you probably want to accomplish this programmatically. To be absolutely kosher, you could check for the existence of these keys, and change your program behavior accordingly, especially if you're assuming control of some common file extension. However, the goal can be accomplished by setting those two keys using the SetValue function.
I'm not positive of the exact C++ syntax, but in C# the syntax looks something like this:
Registry.SetValue(#"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\blergcorp.blergapp.v1\shell\open\command", null, #"c:\path\to\app.exe \"%1\"");
Registry.SetValue(#"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.blerg", null, "blergcorp.blergapp.v1");
Of course you could manually open each sub key, manually create the ProgID and extension subkey, and then set the key value, but a nice thing about the SetValue function is that if the keys or values don't exist, they will automatically be created. Very handy.
Now, a quick word about which hive to use. Many file association examples online, including ones on MSDN, show these keys being set in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. I don't recommend doing this. That hive is a merged, virtual view of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes (the system defaults) and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes (the per-user settings), and writes to any subkey in the hive are redirected to the same key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes. Now, there's no direct problem doing this, but you may run into this issue: If you write to HKCR (redirected to HKLM), and the user has specified the same keys with different values in HKCU, the HKCU values will take precedence. Therefore, your writes will succeed but you won't see any change, because HKEY_CURRENT_USER settings take precedence over HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE settings.
Therefore, you should take this into consideration when designing your application. Now, on the flip side, you can write to only HKEY_CURRENT_USER, as my examples here show. However, that file association setting will only be loaded for the current user, and if your application has been installed for all users, your application won't launch when that other user opens the file in Windows.
That should be a decent primer for what you want to do. For further reading I suggest
Best Practices for File Association
File Types and File Association, especially
How File Associations Work
And see also my similar answer to a similar question:
Associating file extensions with a program
This is a two step process:
1. Define a program that would take care of extension: (unless you want to use existing one)
1.1 create a key in "HKCU\\Software\\Classes\\" for example
"Software\\Classes\\YourProgramName.file.ext"
1.2 create subkey "Software\\Classes\\YourProgramName.file.ext\\DefaultIcon"
1.2.1 set default value ("") to your application full path to get
icon from resources
1.3 create a subkey "Software\\Classes\\YourProgramName.file.ext\\Shell\\OperationName\\Command"
OperationName = for example Open, Print or Other
1.3.1 set default value ("") to your application full path +optional runtime params (filename)
2.Associate file extension with program.
2.1 create a key HKCU\\Software\\Classes\\.ext - here goes your extension
2.2 set default value to the program definition key
("YourProgramName.file.ext")
Below is part of the program written in c# which associate file extension. It is not c++ but i think it is simple enought to explain itself and AFAIK it is verv simmilar if not identical to the code in c++
1.
RegistryKey keyPFCTExt0 = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Software\\Classes\\PFCT.file.enc", true);
if (keyPFCTExt0 == null)
{
keyPFCTExt0 = Registry.CurrentUser.CreateSubKey("Software\\Classes\\PFCT.file.enc");
keyPFCTExt0.CreateSubKey("DefaultIcon");
RegistryKey keyPFCTExt0ext = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Software\\Classes\\PFCT.file.enc\\DefaultIcon", true);
keyPFCTExt0ext.SetValue("", Application.ExecutablePath +",0");
keyPFCTExt0ext.Close();
keyPFCTExt0.CreateSubKey("Shell\\PFCT_Decrypt\\Command");
}
keyPFCTExt0.SetValue("", "PFCT.file.enc");
keyPFCTExt0.Close();
2.
RegistryKey keyPFCTExt1 = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Software\\Classes\\PFCT.file.enc\\Shell\\PFCT_Decrypt\\Command", true);
if (keyPFCTExt1 == null)
keyPFCTExt1 = Registry.CurrentUser.CreateSubKey("Software\\Classes\\PFCT.file.enc\\Shell\\PFCT_Decrypt\\Command");
keyPFCTExt1.SetValue("", Application.ExecutablePath + " !d %1"); //!d %1 are optional params, here !d string and full file path
keyPFCTExt1.Close();
I don't know why people keep saying that HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\<.ext>'s Default value (which will redirect you into another (software-created) class.
It does work, but it will be overridden by
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\<.ext>\UserChoice
And I believe Microsoft recommends the second practice- because it's what the built-in "open with" is doing. The value of Progid" key is equal to default value of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\<.ext> in this case.
I found the following while trying to manipulate associations using C#:
hkcu\software\microsoft\windows\currentVersion\explorer\fileexts.reg\userchoice -> for user specific settings. The values in the openWithProgIds
key point to the keys in the hkcr.
hkcr\xfile\shell\open\muiVerb value or hkcr\xfile\shell\open\command\default value -> affects open handler. This is the value that contains the path to a program.
hkcr\ .x -> affects context menu (new x) among other things related to the menus.
I don't know the C++ code, but given these info you must be able to manipulate the registry using the registry API.