Registry context menu, pass multiple files issue

[Kyan]

Hi, this problem is driving me nuts.

Every time I select more than one file>Context Menu>Select my context entry, it opens one instance for each file selected

How do I pass all the select files as parameters?

This guy had the same problem (see the given example 2)

I think it is somehow related to this https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/hh127436(v=vs.85).aspxbut I can't find a way to make it work

===========

My registry keys:

to add them:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\TESTING]
@="TESTING"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\TESTING\command]
@="cmd /c echo %1 %*&pause"

to remove it:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\TESTING]

==

If you select multiple files, right click and click in "TESTING" you will see it opens one instance for each file :s

EDIT: I also tried this

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\TESTING]
@="TESTING"
"Position"="Top"
"MultiSelectModel"="Player"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\TESTING\command]
@="cmd /c echo %L&pause"

Edited April 4, 2015 by Kyan

[Deye]

when you select multiple items this way it will always process each file at a time

the only way you can achieve doing this at one time is using a send-to item getting all the ~dp1 files as parameters

[MilesAhead]

From the MSDN link you posted I get the impession that is for COM interaction.  For using command I believe the way it works is that the program handles single instance behavior.  In other words, the shell opens a copy of the exe for every file selected, but you don't see it because the exe sees it has a command line argument, knows it has an instance already open, so it passes the argument to the open instance, then closes without creating a visible window.  If it is an editor and you open a zillion files then you may see it flicker as it opens, sees it has an arg, passes it to the first instance, then closes.

I had a similar issue with a program I wrote that calculates MD5 Sums for files.  I used a message only window for instance control.  But I found out when I selected a bunch of files in Explorer that by the time the first instance created the window, explorer already launched about a dozen copies of my program.  That method was too slow.  Usually a named mutex is used to declare an instance of the program as the "first instance."  Other copies launched later cannot create the mutex since the first copy already did and owns it etc..

See Named Kernel Objects

In my case the way to fix my program would be to create a named mutex first, then create the message only window so secondary instances can pass the arguments using messages to the window.  Unfortunately I lost the source code anyway.  

Edited April 4, 2015 by MilesAhead

[guinness]

I provided a solution like 2 years ago. Search WM_COPYDATA, my username and multiple files. You will need to tweak it probably.

[Kyan]

@Deye, I guess is the easiest solution ^ ^

@MilesAhead Is this https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/System.Threading.Mutex(v=vs.110).aspx? Can it be used using autoit or vbs? didn't see any COM call :

@guinness I was using autoit to make a subrotine that renamed all the selected file to a new name with the specified text, but since autoit is a bit slow I saw vbscript as a good solution, less that 1kb of code, that can be directly start by the OS, but found this obstacle. 

Dim args: Set args = WScript.Arguments
if args.Count = 0 then WScript.Quit
Dim fso:   Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
toReplace = InputBox("Insert the text to be removed from the selected files (case sensitive)","File name text remover")
If (toReplace = Empty) Then WScript.Quit
path = fso.GetParentFolderName(args.Item(0))
For each item in args
    FileName = fso.GetBaseName(item)
    NewName = Replace(FileName,toReplace,"")
    Extension = fso.GetExtensionName(item)
    MsgBox FileName & vbCrLf & NewName 'TESTING 
    'fso.MoveFile item,path & "\" & NewName & "." & Extension 
Next
WScript.Quit

Gonna try using your udf, looks complicated 

EDIT: Guinness, it works, but scary code I wonder if it can be translated to vbs 

EDIT2: Deye, is so easy that I don't want to code for this anymore xD,(worked at the first attempt) thanks

Edited April 4, 2015 by Kyan

[MilesAhead]

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/f55ddskf(v=vs.110).aspx

That looks fine.  What I did to guarantee a unique name for kernel objects was to use a Guid generator.  Then paste it as a constant.  That ensures only instances of your application are trying to create a mutex with that name.  Don't use a method that generates a guid because it will be different for every instance that starts up.  You need to paste in a literal Guid string.

Example:

Mutex m = new Mutex(true, "e2b3cbc2-f4a5-405e-8b8d-b0d62ae7fc08");

To use AutoIt3 instead of ,NET DllCall can be used to call the WinAPI to create the mutex

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms682411%28v=vs.85%29.aspx

Edited April 4, 2015 by MilesAhead

[guinness]

What's the link (to my code)? As I can't find it.

[Kyan]

@guinness, here it is '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>>(from your signature)

@MilesAhead, and how do you know that GUID is unique since you're hardcoding it? After you successful created a mutex how does the new created instance passes the execution arguments/parameters? (I'm not understanding how it handles other threads and passes the arguments to the main thread)

[guinness]

Okay, but that's not exactly what I was talking about. Anyway good luck, the code is out there, you just need to find it.

Edit: This >>

But it needs some re-tweaking.

Edited April 4, 2015 by guinness

[MilesAhead]

@guinness, here it is '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>>(from your signature)

@MilesAhead, and how do you know that GUID is unique since you're hardcoding it? After you successful created a mutex how does the new created instance passes the execution arguments/parameters? (I'm not understanding how it handles other threads and passes the arguments to the main thread)

 

IIt depends if you believe Microsoft has perfected generating unique identifiers.  I never had a name collision using one.  The idea is to create a Guid using a guid generator and use it as the name for a kernel object for one application.

How to pass the command tail info.. there are many ways.  They call it Interprocess Communication or IPC.  On Windows you can use a file, a named memory mapped file, WM_COPYDATA, shared memory etc..

This article may be of interest:

http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/2263/Single-Instance-App-with-Command-Line-Parameters

There are similar schemes for other programming languages.  I liked to use a named memory mapped file(again using a Guid string as the name) backed by the page store.  I only made it 4 KB.  But for most practical purposes that was enough to store the command tail.  The application instances wrote to the shared memory and read from it.  Just search for "single instance command line" and yo'll find many techniques.

Edit: the memory mapped file is in memory globally accessible in the system once you get a handle to it.  That's why I call it "shared memory."

Edited April 5, 2015 by MilesAhead

[Kyan]

I saw yesterday an example of IPC, but is as complicated as WM_COPYDATA. Looks easy using VB   

Thank you

[MilesAhead]

WM_COPYDATA is an IPC method.  Which one to use depends on many factors.  But there's nothing wrong with using WM_COPYDATA until you feel the need for something different.  

In my MD5 Sum utility the message only window has its own thread.  Even if the main thread is busy calculating the MD5 for a multiGB file the message only window thread can still process the WM_COPYDATA to get the command line of an additional file path to process and add it to the queue.  Programming languages that are not truly multi-thread capable you have to beware of deadlock conditions, especially.the UI failing to respond.  Even through the program is not hung the user thinks it is because he clicks stuff and nothing seems to happen etc..

Enjoy.