Comments on: How to create shortcuts with a relative path for use on USB drives

By: Wouter Lievens

Wouter Lievens — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:52:24 +0000

This is not good enough, unfortunately. Virus scanners will not pick up on the shortcut, but they will complain about the executable you create

By: CMedina

CMedina — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:45:15 +0000

I’ve found another way.. it is pretty simple but will leave you a cmd window opened until main application is closed.

1. Create a Shortcut

2. Just write in “Traget:”
%windir%\system32\cmd.exe /c cd “__RELPATH_TO_MY_WORKING_DIR__” & “__APP_NAME__”

3. In the “Start In:” (Leave it blank)

Note:
I dont know if using the command cd approach will work for you as “Start In:” does but it worked for me.

Also, you can set “Run:” to minimized but will leave window still opened… I hate that window!

By: James

James — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:29:24 +0000

Best comment by Joe. This works flawlessly; no bat files, no extra applications to download. Of course, I only need these shortcuts for Vista/Win7. I have an autorun.inf in the root for shell integration in XP. (Best to mark it as read only.)

shell=0cmd shellcmd=CMD NAME shellcmd\command=explorer \PATH\Path #clicking on the drive launches a window to specified folder.


shell=1KPX

shell\1KPX=1. KeePassX

shell\1KPX\command=PATH\Path\KeePassX.exe

#right click drive, click on '1. KeePassX' to launch KeePassX
shell=2True

shell\2True=2. TrueCrypt

shell\2True\command= PATH\Path\TrueCrypt.exe /v PATH\Path\volume

#right click drive, click on '2. TrueCrypt' to launch TrueCrypt to a

#specified volume.

shell=3dismounttc shell\3dismounttc=3. Dismount shell\3dismounttc\command=PATH\Path\TrueCrypt.exe /d /q #right click drive, click on '3. Dismount' to dismount TrueCrypt #volumes and exit program.

By: Help?

Help? — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:35:48 +0000

on some public computers the cmd is disabled and you cant use it. any way to get past that?

By: Adam

Adam — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:12:23 +0000

My mistake, I pasted the debug code. All you need is:

@echo off
“Program Files\Support Tools\setx.exe” %*

By: Adam

Adam — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:11:38 +0000

I have improved on this slightly so that you can use command line options with the batch file, and pass it on. This also works with spaces, you just need to enclose them with quotations.

Simply use this template, and replace the 4th line down with your path from above, remembering the %* at the end.

@echo off
set count=0
call :loop %*
“Program Files\Support Tools\setx.exe” %*
goto :EOF
:loop
if !%1!==!! goto :EOF
shift
set /a count+=1
goto :loop

By: Vladimir Orlovsky

Vladimir Orlovsky — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:29:28 +0000

I do it in a much more simpler way:
RelativePathForUSB.1.bat ->
start \usb\T\Test\Test1\Test1.txt

‘usb’ is a main directory.
You can store *.bat files in any directory on your usb drive, .. it will find any file/application on your usb drive.
Thanks, Vladimir Orlovsky

By: Moman256

Moman256 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:40:49 +0000

Ok, if you guys don’t want a black DOS windows to pop up. Then, when you are making the conversion, check invisible application instead of visible application (the default)

By: Jedi_Master_Revan@yahoo.ca

Jedi_Master_Revan@yahoo.ca — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:53:44 +0000

The scary part is, though I’ll never use this for what the article explains, but I’ll probably find a hundred other uses. Especially the icon thing. Thanks

By: Firestorm

Firestorm — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 01:37:18 +0000

Help please.
Won’t work for Launchy.
Here’s what I typed in:
“\PortableApps\Launchy\Launchy.exe”

I tested it with the portableapps menu and that one works
This is what I typed in for that one:
“\PortableApps\PortableAppsMenu\PortableAppsMenu.exe”

I’m stumped, why won’t ot work for launchy? The only dif is the last folder name and obviously the exe . I can run launchy manualy from there or from the portableapps menu but not from the bat/exe. :’(

By: 10 Tips To Make A USB Drive More Functional Than Just Storing Data

10 Tips To Make A USB Drive More Functional Than Just Storing Data — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:01:03 +0000

[...] To get around this problem, freewaregenius.com has a nice solution using a batch file and converting it to an executable. For the complete how-to, check out How To Create Shortcuts For Use On USB Drives. [...]

By: ran

ran — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:32:13 +0000

what if i want to run some .exe with command line?
like “abc\game” -console

By: suuk

suuk — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:19:16 +0000

when i tried to make the .bat file executable, my antivirus jumped right over it screaming it was a trojan horse. i don’t like this solution!

By: Relatieve paden in een Windows snelkoppeling « fransmarks.nl

Relatieve paden in een Windows snelkoppeling « fransmarks.nl — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:56:50 +0000

[...] is een perfecte en relatief eenvoudige oplossing, die ik heb gevonden op Freewaregenius.com. Je hebt 2 eenvoudige gratis tooltjes nodig. Eén om het ikoontje van de toepassing op te halen uit [...]

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:39:54 +0000

Doesn’t work for me. My batch file reads:
“\PDFV_Portable\PDFXCview.exe”
(quotes included)
Upon executing it, it launches PDF Viewer as expected.
After “compiling” it to EXE, I get a flashing window. Both EXE and BAT are in T:\

If I run the exe from the command prompt, I get the following result:
C:\DOKUME~1\Alex\LOKALE~1\Temp\232.tmp>”\PDFV_Portable\PDFXCview.exe”
Das System kann den angegebenen Pfad nicht finden.

First line suggests that the exe is launched from a temp directory (and not from t:\ where the exe resides)
Second line says that the system could not find the specified path (i.e. \PDFV_Portable), which is understandable, given the fact that it starts from C:\ and not T:\
So, while the problem is clear (program is executed from a different place), I don’t know the solution.

By: dave

dave — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:05:37 +0000

When I do this, the command doesn’t know that it has opened the program so the script stays open. Any thoughts?

By: Stumpy

Stumpy — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:55:58 +0000

Joe’s Solution (5 up) is working great for me, and is the simplest.
Change the double quotes if you cut and paste his example, as they come out funny.

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:32:46 +0000

Seems to work pretty well, except that I ran it on the GUI for JkDefrag and it put the INI in the root of the drive.

I find that the drive letter shifts to the correct letter if you use a shortcut anyway, though. Just doesn’t show the icon until the path changes.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:27:47 +0000

This worked great for me. Thanks a ton!!! Also, I found if you run the Bat To Exe Converter and, above the “Compile” button, if you select “Ghost application” instead of “Console application”, no DOS Shell popped up. Knityster, you might want to try this.

By: Wyatt

Wyatt — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:59:24 +0000

THANKYOU SO MUCH!!!!!