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Finding the path to the pictures

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Visual Basic
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  • Richard DeemingR Richard Deeming

    I don't think the names would be localized, but I don't have a non-English version of Windows to check. I've just added a link to a blog post from Raymond Chen, who explains that the "Shell Folders" key exists solely to permit four programs written in 1994 to continue running on the RTM version of Windows 95. :wtf:


    "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

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    Lost User
    wrote on last edited by
    #8

    The names are localized. I got a folder "My Pictures", one called "Pictures" and one "Mijn Afbeeldingen". To make things worse, this does not say anything about the actual location, as my "Mijn Afbeeldingen" points to a completely different harddrive. More on Wikipedia[^].

    Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^][](X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett)

    Richard DeemingR 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • J JR212

      indeed. This is not working for us:( this is a working pc and all data folders are on a nas server. thanks for the responses anyway. maybee I can find it in the registry? but where? Jan

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      Lost User
      wrote on last edited by
      #9

      Alternatively, you could ask the user for the location.

      Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^][](X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett)

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      • L Lost User

        The names are localized. I got a folder "My Pictures", one called "Pictures" and one "Mijn Afbeeldingen". To make things worse, this does not say anything about the actual location, as my "Mijn Afbeeldingen" points to a completely different harddrive. More on Wikipedia[^].

        Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^][](X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett)

        Richard DeemingR Offline
        Richard DeemingR Offline
        Richard Deeming
        wrote on last edited by
        #10

        I'd expect the names of the folders to be localized. But what about the names of the values in the "User Shell Folders" registry key?


        "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

        "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined" - Homer

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        • Richard DeemingR Richard Deeming

          I'd expect the names of the folders to be localized. But what about the names of the values in the "User Shell Folders" registry key?


          "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

          L Offline
          L Offline
          Lost User
          wrote on last edited by
          #11

          Richard Deeming wrote:

          I'd expect the names of the folders to be localized

          Yup.

          Richard Deeming wrote:

          But what about the names of the values in the "User Shell Folders" registry key?

          Yes, my apologies for not thinking. English, both on a Dutch and a German machine. Called "CommonPictures" on this machine, pointing to the correct physical path. Keys are usually not translated, because that would defeat the purpose of having one. ..so, remotely reading the registry as an admin, just to find a path? Still sounds like a bad idea :)

          Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^][](X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett)

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          • Richard DeemingR Richard Deeming

            I don't think the names would be localized, but I don't have a non-English version of Windows to check. I've just added a link to a blog post from Raymond Chen, who explains that the "Shell Folders" key exists solely to permit four programs written in 1994 to continue running on the RTM version of Windows 95. :wtf:


            "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

            D Offline
            D Offline
            Dave Kreskowiak
            wrote on last edited by
            #12

            Ow! I just fell out of my chair laughing. :laugh: That's one hell of a "fix". :wtf:

            A guide to posting questions on CodeProject

            Click this: Asking questions is a skill. Seriously, do it.
            Dave Kreskowiak

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            • L Lost User

              Richard Deeming wrote:

              I'd expect the names of the folders to be localized

              Yup.

              Richard Deeming wrote:

              But what about the names of the values in the "User Shell Folders" registry key?

              Yes, my apologies for not thinking. English, both on a Dutch and a German machine. Called "CommonPictures" on this machine, pointing to the correct physical path. Keys are usually not translated, because that would defeat the purpose of having one. ..so, remotely reading the registry as an admin, just to find a path? Still sounds like a bad idea :)

              Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^][](X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett)

              D Offline
              D Offline
              Dave Kreskowiak
              wrote on last edited by
              #13

              Eddy Vluggen wrote:

              nglish, both on a Dutch and a German machine. Called "CommonPictures" on this machine, pointing to the correct physical path. Keys are usually not translated, because that would defeat the purpose of having one.

              Considering the "fix" that this key was created for, would it really surprise anyone if someone at MS did something that stupid?

              A guide to posting questions on CodeProject

              Click this: Asking questions is a skill. Seriously, do it.
              Dave Kreskowiak

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              • D Dave Kreskowiak

                Ow! I just fell out of my chair laughing. :laugh: That's one hell of a "fix". :wtf:

                A guide to posting questions on CodeProject

                Click this: Asking questions is a skill. Seriously, do it.
                Dave Kreskowiak

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                L Offline
                Lost User
                wrote on last edited by
                #14

                His blog is filled with those kind of examples. Well worth the read if you have some time to kill :)

                Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^][](X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett)

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                • L Lost User

                  His blog is filled with those kind of examples. Well worth the read if you have some time to kill :)

                  Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^][](X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett)

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                  Dave Kreskowiak
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #15

                  "Time"? What is this "time" you speak of? I'm in the middle of a 6 week stint of being a single parent while the wife travels for work. 24 hours in a day isn't enough. I have to give credit to those who do this full-time. It ain't easy.

                  A guide to posting questions on CodeProject

                  Click this: Asking questions is a skill. Seriously, do it.
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                  • Richard DeemingR Richard Deeming

                    For VBA, you'll need to use either SHGetFolderPath[^] or the newer SHGetKnownFolderPath[^]. How To Use the SHGetFolderPath Function from Visual Basic[^]

                    Option Explicit

                    Private Const S_OK = &H0
                    Private Const S_FALSE = &H1
                    Private Const E_INVALIDARG = &H80070057

                    Private Const MAX_PATH = 260
                    Private Const SHGFP_TYPE_CURRENT = 0
                    Private Const CSIDL_MYPICTURES = &H27

                    Private Declare Function SHGetFolderPath Lib "shfolder" _
                    Alias "SHGetFolderPathA" _
                    (ByVal hwndOwner As Long, ByVal nFolder As Long, _
                    ByVal hToken As Long, ByVal dwFlags As Long, _
                    ByVal pszPath As String) As Long

                    Private Function GetFolderPath(ByVal csidl As Long) As String
                    Dim path As String
                    Dim returnValue As Long

                    path = String(MAX\_PATH, 0)
                    returnValue = SHGetFolderPath(0, csidl, 0, SHGFP\_TYPE\_CURRENT, path)
                    
                    Select Case returnValue
                        Case S\_OK
                            GetFolderPath = Left(path, InStr(1, path, Chr(0)) - 1)
                        
                        Case S\_FALSE
                            ' The CSIDL in nFolder is valid, but the folder does not exist.
                            ' Use CSIDL\_FLAG\_CREATE to have it created automatically
                            GetFolderPath = vbNullString
                        
                        Case E\_INVALIDARG
                            ' nFolder is invalid
                            Err.Raise 5, "csidl", "Invalid folder"
                    End Select
                    

                    End Function

                    Public Function GetPicturesFolderPath() As String
                    GetPicturesFolderPath = GetFolderPath(CSIDL_MYPICTURES)
                    End Function

                    For script running locally, you could read the folder path from the registry (HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders). However, there is a warning in that key telling you not to do that! :) Since you can't call Windows functions directly from script, you'd need to create a COM object to call the Windows API, and invoke that object from your script. For script running in the browser, there is no way to

                    J Offline
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                    JR212
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #16

                    i'll give this a try thanks to all btw I already found that reg key:) Jan

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                    • J JR212

                      i'll give this a try thanks to all btw I already found that reg key:) Jan

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                      JR212
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #17

                      I've got this mail

                      Your message 'Re: Finding the path to the pictures' has been marked as potentially being spam and is currently in the moderation queue pending approval.

                      Why????

                      D 1 Reply Last reply
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                      • J JR212

                        I've got this mail

                        Your message 'Re: Finding the path to the pictures' has been marked as potentially being spam and is currently in the moderation queue pending approval.

                        Why????

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                        Dave Kreskowiak
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #18

                        Because the site spam filters don't trust you nor your message. Yes, it does come up with a bunch of false positives. No, there's nothing you can do about it.

                        A guide to posting questions on CodeProject

                        Click this: Asking questions is a skill. Seriously, do it.
                        Dave Kreskowiak

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                        • D Dave Kreskowiak

                          Because the site spam filters don't trust you nor your message. Yes, it does come up with a bunch of false positives. No, there's nothing you can do about it.

                          A guide to posting questions on CodeProject

                          Click this: Asking questions is a skill. Seriously, do it.
                          Dave Kreskowiak

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                          J Offline
                          JR212
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #19

                          thx Dave

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