How to programmatically create a shortcut using Win32 - c++

Question

I need to programmatically create a shortcut using C++.
How can I do this using Win32 SDK?
What API function can be used for this purpose?

Answer 1

Try Windows Shell Links. This page also contains a C++ example. Descriptive Snippet:
Using Shell Links
This section contains examples that
demonstrate how to create and resolve
shortcuts from within a Win32-based
application. This section assumes you
are familiar with Win32, C++, and OLE
COM programming.
EDIT: Adding the code sample in case the link dies (and MSDN links do die often.)
// CreateLink - Uses the Shell's IShellLink and IPersistFile interfaces
// to create and store a shortcut to the specified object.
//
// Returns the result of calling the member functions of the interfaces.
//
// Parameters:
// lpszPathObj - Address of a buffer that contains the path of the object,
// including the file name.
// lpszPathLink - Address of a buffer that contains the path where the
// Shell link is to be stored, including the file name.
// lpszDesc - Address of a buffer that contains a description of the
// Shell link, stored in the Comment field of the link
// properties.
#include "stdafx.h"
#include "windows.h"
#include "winnls.h"
#include "shobjidl.h"
#include "objbase.h"
#include "objidl.h"
#include "shlguid.h"
HRESULT CreateLink(LPCWSTR lpszPathObj, LPCSTR lpszPathLink, LPCWSTR lpszDesc)
{
HRESULT hres;
IShellLink* psl;
// Get a pointer to the IShellLink interface. It is assumed that CoInitialize
// has already been called.
hres = CoCreateInstance(CLSID_ShellLink, NULL, CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER, IID_IShellLink, (LPVOID*)&psl);
if (SUCCEEDED(hres))
{
IPersistFile* ppf;
// Set the path to the shortcut target and add the description.
psl->SetPath(lpszPathObj);
psl->SetDescription(lpszDesc);
// Query IShellLink for the IPersistFile interface, used for saving the
// shortcut in persistent storage.
hres = psl->QueryInterface(IID_IPersistFile, (LPVOID*)&ppf);
if (SUCCEEDED(hres))
{
WCHAR wsz[MAX_PATH];
// Ensure that the string is Unicode.
MultiByteToWideChar(CP_ACP, 0, lpszPathLink, -1, wsz, MAX_PATH);
// Save the link by calling IPersistFile::Save.
hres = ppf->Save(wsz, TRUE);
ppf->Release();
}
psl->Release();
}
return hres;

Answer 2

Here is a c++ sample code based on William Rayer code on codeproject.com
header file (ShortcutProvider.h):
#include <Windows.h>
class ShortcutProvider
{
public:
/*
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Description:
Creates the actual 'lnk' file (assumes COM has been initialized).
Parameters:
pszTargetfile - File name of the link's target.
pszTargetargs - Command line arguments passed to link's target.
pszLinkfile - File name of the actual link file being created.
pszDescription - Description of the linked item.
iShowmode - ShowWindow() constant for the link's target.
pszCurdir - Working directory of the active link.
pszIconfile - File name of the icon file used for the link.
iIconindex - Index of the icon in the icon file.
Returns:
HRESULT value >= 0 for success, < 0 for failure.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
*/
HRESULT Create(LPSTR pszTargetfile, LPSTR pszTargetargs,
LPSTR pszLinkfile, LPSTR pszDescription,
int iShowmode, LPSTR pszCurdir,
LPSTR pszIconfile, int iIconindex);
};
Source File (ShortcutProvide.cpp):
#include "ShortcutProvider.h"
#include <Windows.h>
#include <shlobj.h>
#include <winnls.h>
#include <shobjidl.h>
#include <objbase.h>
#include <objidl.h>
#include <shlguid.h>
HRESULT ShortcutProvider::Create(LPSTR pszTargetfile, LPSTR pszTargetargs,
LPSTR pszLinkfile, LPSTR pszDescription,
int iShowmode, LPSTR pszCurdir,
LPSTR pszIconfile, int iIconindex)
{
HRESULT hRes; /* Returned COM result code */
IShellLink* pShellLink; /* IShellLink object pointer */
IPersistFile* pPersistFile; /* IPersistFile object pointer */
WCHAR wszLinkfile[MAX_PATH]; /* pszLinkfile as Unicode
string */
int iWideCharsWritten; /* Number of wide characters
written */
CoInitialize(NULL);
hRes = E_INVALIDARG;
if (
(pszTargetfile != NULL) && (strlen(pszTargetfile) > 0) &&
(pszTargetargs != NULL) &&
(pszLinkfile != NULL) && (strlen(pszLinkfile) > 0) &&
(pszDescription != NULL) &&
(iShowmode >= 0) &&
(pszCurdir != NULL) &&
(pszIconfile != NULL) &&
(iIconindex >= 0)
)
{
hRes = CoCreateInstance(
CLSID_ShellLink, /* pre-defined CLSID of the IShellLink
object */
NULL, /* pointer to parent interface if part of
aggregate */
CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER, /* caller and called code are in same
process */
IID_IShellLink, /* pre-defined interface of the
IShellLink object */
(LPVOID*)&pShellLink); /* Returns a pointer to the IShellLink
object */
if (SUCCEEDED(hRes))
{
/* Set the fields in the IShellLink object */
hRes = pShellLink->SetPath(pszTargetfile);
hRes = pShellLink->SetArguments(pszTargetargs);
if (strlen(pszDescription) > 0)
{
hRes = pShellLink->SetDescription(pszDescription);
}
if (iShowmode > 0)
{
hRes = pShellLink->SetShowCmd(iShowmode);
}
if (strlen(pszCurdir) > 0)
{
hRes = pShellLink->SetWorkingDirectory(pszCurdir);
}
if (strlen(pszIconfile) > 0 && iIconindex >= 0)
{
hRes = pShellLink->SetIconLocation(pszIconfile, iIconindex);
}
/* Use the IPersistFile object to save the shell link */
hRes = pShellLink->QueryInterface(
IID_IPersistFile, /* pre-defined interface of the
IPersistFile object */
(LPVOID*)&pPersistFile); /* returns a pointer to the
IPersistFile object */
if (SUCCEEDED(hRes))
{
iWideCharsWritten = MultiByteToWideChar(CP_ACP, 0,
pszLinkfile, -1,
wszLinkfile, MAX_PATH);
hRes = pPersistFile->Save(wszLinkfile, TRUE);
pPersistFile->Release();
}
pShellLink->Release();
}
}
CoUninitialize();
return (hRes);
}

Answer 3

This MSDN artice, Shell Links, provide a comprehensive tutorial about the subject with code example.

Answer 4

You can use system function to execute mklink command.
system("mklink /d shortcut_name Target_file");