How to generate media item link with id instead of path in Sitecore - sitecore

Question

Anyone knows how to generate links in sitecore with ID instead of item path?
If you use GetMediaUrl method from the API, I can get this URL:
/~/media/Images/Archive/content/News and Events/News_and_Events_Level2/20070419162739/iwhiz3.jpg
The problem with this approach is that if someone changes the media item name, removes it somewhere or deletes it, the above link will break.
I notice if I insert a media link from rich text editor, I get the link as below:
/~/media/14BDED00E4D64DFD8F74019AED4D74EB.ashx
The second link is better because it's using the item id, so if the actual media item is renamed, removed, or deleted, all related links will be updated too. On top of that, when Sitecore renders the page, it will actually convert the above link and display the item path so it's readable.
I'm using Sitecore 6.5 and currently doing content migration so I need to make sure all internal links are updated properly.
May I know if there is a method to generate the second link by using sitecore API?
Thanks!

Answer 1

The GetMediaItemUrl extension method seems to give you what you want.
public static class ItemExtensions
{
public static string GetMediaItemUrl(this Item item)
{
var mediaUrlOptions = new MediaUrlOptions() { UseItemPath = false, AbsolutePath = true };
return Sitecore.Resources.Media.MediaManager.GetMediaUrl(item, mediaUrlOptions);
}
}
[TestFixture]
public class when_using_items_extensions
{
[Test]
public void a_url_based_on_media_item_id_can_be_generated()
{
// Arrange
Database db = global::Sitecore.Configuration.Factory.GetDatabase("master");
Item item = db.GetItem("/sitecore/media library/Images/MyImage");
// Act
var mediaUrl = item.GetMediaItemUrl();
// Assert
Assert.That(mediaUrl, Is.EqualTo("/~/media/17A1341ABEEC46788F2159843DCEAB03.ashx"));
}
}

Answer 2

These are called dynamic links and you can normally generate them using the LinkManager e.g:
Sitecore.Links.LinkManager.GetDynamicUrl(item)
.. but I'm not sure of the method to do this with Media links (there probably is one but I cant seem to find it and its not on MediaManager) but the basic syntax is:
"/~/media/" + item.ID.ToShortID() + ".ashx"

Answer 3

If you always want to use ID's instead of paths, you can change this setting in webconfig to false (like this):
<setting name="Media.UseItemPaths" value="false"/>`
Here is what the webconfig describes about it:
MEDIA - USE ITEM PATHS FOR URLS
This setting controls if item paths are used for constructing media URLs.
If false, short ids will be used.
Default value: true
Then you can use the default implementation (without additional parameters):
Sitecore.Resources.Media.MediaManager.GetMediaUrl(item);

Answer 4

This is what I use:
var imgField = ((Sitecore.Data.Fields.ImageField)currentItem.Fields["Icon"]);
MediaUrlOptions opt = new MediaUrlOptions();
opt.AlwaysIncludeServerUrl = true;
// Absolute Path works as well. So either use AbsolutePath or AlwaysIncludeServerUrl
opt.AbsolutePath = true;
string mediaUrl = MediaManager.GetMediaUrl(imgField.MediaItem, opt);