Can a Windows application intercept a clicked link in an email? - windows

I understand about Windows allowing a single "editor" for the http "file" type; I don't want to fight with the browsers over that.
Does Windows have any other mechanism for processing links?

It is called asynchronous pluggable protocols.

I think this is a doomed experiment, however I will leave you with these links:
[Custom] protocols can be registered via a Protocol Handler. URIs opened with the "Open verb" will be resolved through these handlers. Similarly, files opened with the "Open verb" can be handled by registering a Verb for the given file extension.
Of course the above does not affect the "Choose File" dialogs nor is it absolute; for instance, a browser may choose to always "Save As.." a file instead of "Open"ing it based on user preference.
Happy coding.

Related

Windows API hook, custom save as file dialog to save directly to webserver via POST

I want to write a custom save as dialog that is hooked into the File -> "Save As" of most Windows program. This custom dialog will allow the user to enter their username, password, destination folder and uploads the file to the web server via a POST. If the user clicks cancel, it will call the original file dialog.
I've been reading up about Windows API hooking and this is vaguely how I think I would approach this:
Intercept "Save As"
Display my custom dialog, return some temporary path on the drive
Let the program write file to the temporary path, assume it calls WINAPI CreateFile(...) for now
Read the temporary file and upload to web server
Clean up temporary file
But I still can't get my head around the steps required to pull this off. Assuming I can intercept the "Save As" and CreateFile function, how do I detect the CreateFile was called from a "Save As" and not just any random file creation? I can think of a hack where I keep track of the time difference of when the File dialog got open and CreateFile got called.
My alternative solution is to use the existing file dialog and create a special folder on the disk, that is constantly monitored. When a file gets written there it will call an external program that uploads the file. I haven't looked into how to do this yet. I suspect this is easier.
UPDATE
As a first baby step, I wrote a .NET task tray application that allows the user to enter their login details and a folder to monitor. Whenever a file gets dropped in there there it will upload to the web server. So far it seems to work. Now I just need to figure out how to add a nice shortcut to the left pane of the file dialog. Once that's done I think I got a solution I'm happy with.
There is no need to hook or patch anything. Create a shell namespace extension that supports IStorage::CreateStream and implements it by returning a stream that POSTs its data to the Web server. The user can then choose to save the file to your namespace extension in order to upload the file.
Hooking the standard save dialog requires you to inject a DLL into every running process and have it replace the import stub of the the Win32 API GetSaveFileName() function in the process's PE header (something anti-virus and anti-malware apps are not likely to be happy about).
Then there is the new-style save dialog that was introduced in Vista using the new IFileSaveDialog COM interface instead of GetSaveFileName(). For that, you would have to uninstall and replace Microsoft's default FileDialog COM object with a custom implementation.
That does not count custom-made save dialogs, which you are not likely to hook.
If, by some miracle, you can hook the dialog and have it return a custom path of your own creation, you don't need to hook CreateFile() itself, Just monitor the folder that you create for your purposes. Place it where it is unlikely that any other app (or user) besides you will write files to. You can create a custom subfolder in the user's or system'ss AppData folder for that purpose. You can use SHGetSpecialFolderPath() and/or SHGetKnownFolderPath() to find those folders.
The tricky part will be detecting when the file is finished being written to and has been closed. You will have to monitor the folder for changes, such as with ReadDirectoryChangesW() or SHChangeNotifyRegister(), and periodically open new/modified files for exclusive access. If a file is still open by someone else, you won't be able to open it yourself. But once you do open it, you can do whatever you want with it.

Is there an API in Windows 7 for creating "split menu items"?

I don't know what their official name is, but I mean these things:
Is there an official API for creating those in my own program?
And related question: Did you ever see these "split menu items" used anywhere other than the start menu? Where? This could point at an API.
Glancing at my own start menu, I'm guessing that most are generated the same way "Recent Documents" used to be done. i.e., observing the files that programs open.
As for new APIs, this page might be a good place to start sniffing around: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee461765%28VS.85%29.aspx
To create tasks like internet explorer etc, use ICustomDestinationList->AddUserTasks(), the recent items should show up for file types you are registered to handle (They are added by the open/save dialog or manually by calling SHAddToRecentDocs())

Open TFS Work Item Attachment in Image Viewer not Web Browser

Is there a way to open an attachment for a TFS work item by double clicking on it (or rather just opening it from the IDE) in your computer's default image viewer, rather than opening it in a web browser? I'd love to be able to change this setting (if it is a setting).
Edit: after reviewing Kate Gregory's response, I looked into this option and realized that the trouble is that VS is launching a url (a handler file to respond with the attachment), which results in the default web browser being launched. A potential work around i'm considering is writing a custom mapper for all web based calls (as in, when going to start->run and enter a URL) that the mapper would determine what kind of call it is (TFS, etc) and use an appropriate program, based on the MIME type responded with, with a second phase to be incorporate this as a VS add-in.
I'm reasonably sure VS just uses your default program. Word for .doc files, IE for .htm files, and (in your case I bet) IE for .jpg files. Try changing the default program you're using in Windows and see what happens.
All files saved in TFS are saved in a path that starts with the following address:
http ://{YourServerName}TFS01:8080/tfs/.../.../...&FileName={YourFileName}.{YourExt}
This means that all files are opened using the default program defined for HTTP protocol, regardless of the extension for your file.
You can probably change the default program for your HTTP protocol (if you have permissions, and usually you wouldn't) but this would also affect opening any regular web page or URL, which is probably not recommended.
I still haven't found a workaround this issue too.
Some kind of preview function in VST/Team Explorer would be nice. Then, only a minor of attachments must be opened in the browser.
http://visualstudio.uservoice.com/forums/121579-visual-studio/suggestions/6224713-preview-attachments-in-team-explorer

Customizable Windows right-click file uploader?

I'm looking for a "right-click upload" application like RightLoad - an application that can upload media files to a remote FTP server from the Windows Explorer's context menu. I want to customize the application to serve as a customized image uploading tool to a PHP-based CMS.
The user would upload images and other media files to a defined FTP account (I'm also very open for other methods of transport, as long as they are supported by run-off-the-mill web hosting stacks) that they could then use in the CMS they log in to.
For me to be able to do these customizations, the application would have to be Open Source - RightLoad is "only" Freeware. Alternatively, I'm open for closed-source and commercial suggestions as long as they allow "pre-packaged" server settings that can easily be deployed to the user.
Does anybody know such a tool compatible with at least the most current versions of Windows (XP, Vista, 7)?
Bounty
Thanks all for the great input. In the case at hand, I decided it's easiest for me to stick with RightLoad and create a workflow in which the URL presented by RightLoad after the upload is copy+pasted into the CMS. I am putting a bounty on this because I think it's a worthy question for future generations, and I want to be the first one to put up a 500 bounty under the new bounty system :)
You could just use the send to menu using window's My network Places like this http://techie-buzz.com/how-to/right-click-and-send-to-ftp.html
I think WinSCP might have everything you want:
Open Source under GNU GPL
Windows Explorer's 'Send To' Context Menu
Drag 'n Drop Shell Extension
lots of additional features
and it can be scripted and is more secure than FTP due to using SSH
If you insist on open source, why not create a custom context menu handler and send it using some open source FTP client?
I would have to check the details, if it's really viable, but I would start with it.
I just had an idea, tested and working:
use regedit to edit HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/*/Shell
add a key in shell called FTP to Mysite, in the default value set it to FTP to Mysite.
then add a key to the FTP key you just created called command, in the command default value use:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe http://www.mysite.com?file=%1
what this will do is open IE and the address www.mysite.com?file=C:\path\to\file.jpg
now using $_GET you can get the file address, upload it via php to where ever, even add an interface...
now when the user right clicks on any file, they can upload it via your web site by clicking FTP
1) another software is RightLoad , i use it that this moment!
2) The nice software I used over years, was FLING. It adds Right Click menu in windows explorer... However, I have left the software, because till today (version 2.35) fling DOESNT support SFTP (And nowadays on all sites I use SFTP!!)
3) I DONT like SEND-TO menu! (because I think passwords saved in WINDOWS can be easily stolen by virus..)

Controlling multiple Internet Explorer windows?

We've got several web-based applications that are launched from our ERP system (SAP R/3 in this case, but since we're using ShellExec, I don't consider this a SAP issue). The problem is that we can either set the IE to "open every URL passed from the ERP system in a new window" or to "reuse any one of the existing IE windows" (same problem with tabs). Both settings are not acceptable for our users: one of the web applications is a rather bulky medical image viewer applet that wreaks havoc if invoked multiple times. The other option is a no-go either because this way opening the image browser for a patient automatically displaces the lab result display for the very same patient and vice versa.
I'd like to have some control over which window may or may not be reused. My idea would be a kind of "window tag" and a helper program that checks if a window with that tag exists - if it does, reuse it, if not create it. So basically
IELauncher SEARCH http://www.google.com
would open a new window and tag it as SEARCH.
IELauncher DEVEL http://stackoverflow.com
would open a second window, tagging it as DEVEL. Then
IELauncher SEARCH http://www.wikipedia.org
would replace the contents of the first (google) window only.
Is this possible at all? Do you have any pointers for me where to start? I don't even know what to look for...
I had to resort to some rather ugly methods - dynamically assembling a HTML page that uses JavaScript and window.open() to open and access a window by name, then close the page executing the JavaScript. Ugly, but at least this way you get the additional benefit of being able to control certain aspects of the browser window like switching of the menu bar, toolbar and location bar.

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