If I create a shortcut to a file and then subsequently move the file,
the shortcut no longer works (error message: "The item ... that this
shortcut refers to has been changed or moved, so this shortcut will no
longer work properly.") When I do this on my XP-Pro machine, XP will
generally find the moved file and update the shortcut; if it can't find
the file, it will give me the option to browse for the moved file. 
Vista, on the other hand, either makes no effort to find the file or
just isn't very good at finding it; furthermore, it doesn't give me the
option to browse; it just displays the error message with "Do you want
to delete this shortcut? Yes/No". Is there something that needs to be
set or turned on (a registry key, maybe?) to enable Vista to find the
moved file? 
(Vista Home Premium)


-- 
bonv
Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com

On Fri, 8 Aug 2008 00:02:49 +0100, bonv
 wrote:

>
>If I create a shortcut to a file and then subsequently move the file,
>the shortcut no longer works (error message: "The item ... that this
>shortcut refers to has been changed or moved, so this shortcut will no
>longer work properly.") When I do this on my XP-Pro machine, XP will
>generally find the moved file and update the shortcut;

No way.  You are competely wrong there.  It will NEVER find the moved
file.

> if it can't find
>the file, it will give me the option to browse for the moved file. 

True.  But it never looked for the file anyway.

>Vista, on the other hand, either makes no effort to find the file or
>just isn't very good at finding it; furthermore, it doesn't give me the
>option to browse; it just displays the error message with "Do you want
>to delete this shortcut? Yes/No". Is there something that needs to be
>set or turned on (a registry key, maybe?) to enable Vista to find the
>moved file? 
>(Vista Home Premium)

The PEBKAC needs to be turned off

Did you try it?
I have a shortcut to a game on my desktop.  I moved the exe file it was 
linked to into another folder, and the shortcut changed accordingly and 
opened the file correctly.
I also moved a folder to a different drive, and the shortcut to it changed 
accordingly.
It probably won't do it for most installed programs, but it should for 
simple .exe, .bat, folders etc.


-- 
Vista Home Premium 32 SP1
http://get.live.com/wlmail/overview


"Paul Montgomery"  wrote in message 
news:572n94hrel4l34hrd10gpk72k0rppehoov@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 8 Aug 2008 00:02:49 +0100, bonv
>  wrote:
>
>>
>>If I create a shortcut to a file and then subsequently move the file,
>>the shortcut no longer works (error message: "The item ... that this
>>shortcut refers to has been changed or moved, so this shortcut will no
>>longer work properly.") When I do this on my XP-Pro machine, XP will
>>generally find the moved file and update the shortcut;
>
> No way.  You are competely wrong there.  It will NEVER find the moved
> file.
>
>> if it can't find
>>the file, it will give me the option to browse for the moved file.
>
> True.  But it never looked for the file anyway.
>
>>Vista, on the other hand, either makes no effort to find the file or
>>just isn't very good at finding it; furthermore, it doesn't give me the
>>option to browse; it just displays the error message with "Do you want
>>to delete this shortcut? Yes/No". Is there something that needs to be
>>set or turned on (a registry key, maybe?) to enable Vista to find the
>>moved file?
>>(Vista Home Premium)
>
> The PEBKAC needs to be turned off
>

On Thu, 7 Aug 2008 21:16:32 -0400, "Dave" 
wrote:

>Did you try it?
>I have a shortcut to a game on my desktop.  I moved the exe file it was 
>linked to into another folder, and the shortcut changed accordingly and 
>opened the file correctly.

That won't work with shortcuts.  You probably had the actual .EXE file
on your desktop.  THAT would be followed when moved.

>I also moved a folder to a different drive, and the shortcut to it changed 
>accordingly.

That is just like the above.


>It probably won't do it for most installed programs, but it should for 
>simple .exe, .bat, folders etc.

It will not do with a SHORTCUT.

You no doubt have the arrow removed from shortcuts so you can't tell
the difference between a shortcut and the actual file/folder.

Nope.  It's a shortcut.
I don't remove the arrow.
And it works.
Try it.


-- 
Vista Home Premium 32 SP1
http://get.live.com/wlmail/overview


"Paul Montgomery"  wrote in message 
news:qv7n9411jld86osa26la0ppij008j3hkaj@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 7 Aug 2008 21:16:32 -0400, "Dave" 
> wrote:
>
>>Did you try it?
>>I have a shortcut to a game on my desktop.  I moved the exe file it was
>>linked to into another folder, and the shortcut changed accordingly and
>>opened the file correctly.
>
> That won't work with shortcuts.  You probably had the actual .EXE file
> on your desktop.  THAT would be followed when moved.
>
>>I also moved a folder to a different drive, and the shortcut to it changed
>>accordingly.
>
> That is just like the above.
>
>
>>It probably won't do it for most installed programs, but it should for
>>simple .exe, .bat, folders etc.
>
> It will not do with a SHORTCUT.
>
> You no doubt have the arrow removed from shortcuts so you can't tell
> the difference between a shortcut and the actual file/folder.

Well, let's see. In XP-Pro, I create a shortcut to a PDF file, then move
the PDF file to another folder. I look at the properties of the shortcut
and they say the file is in the original folder. Then I double click the
shortcut, and lo and behold, the file opens up in Acrobat. I look at the
properties of the shortcut again and they have changed to say that the
file is in the new folder. 

Gee, Paul, it sure -*seems*- like XP found the moved file. You might
want to consider getting a clue before you attempt to berate someone
else's post in the future. 


Paul Montgomery;944749 Wrote: 
> On Fri, 8 Aug 2008 00:02:49 +0100, bonv
>  wrote:
> 
> >
> >If I create a shortcut to a file and then subsequently move the file,
> >the shortcut no longer works (error message: "The item ... that this
> >shortcut refers to has been changed or moved, so this shortcut will no
> >longer work properly.") When I do this on my XP-Pro machine, XP will
> >generally find the moved file and update the shortcut;
> 
> No way.  You are competely wrong there.  It will NEVER find the moved
> file.
> 
> > if it can't find
> >the file, it will give me the option to browse for the moved file.
> 
> True.  But it never looked for the file anyway.
> 
> >Vista, on the other hand, either makes no effort to find the file or
> >just isn't very good at finding it; furthermore, it doesn't give me
> the
> >option to browse; it just displays the error message with "Do you want
> >to delete this shortcut? Yes/No". Is there something that needs to be
> >set or turned on (a registry key, maybe?) to enable Vista to find the
> >moved file?
> >(Vista Home Premium)
> 
> The PEBKAC needs to be turned off


-- 
bonv
Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com

In case anyone encounters the same problem...

After a little investigation, it turned out that the Distributed Link
Tracking Client was the culprit -- it was not running. Apparently this
is the Vista service that keeps track of files when they're moved. After
restarting it, Vista can now correctly find a moved file that a shortcut
points to and update the shortcut accordingly.  

:)


bonv;944715 Wrote: 
> If I create a shortcut to a file and then subsequently move the file,
> the shortcut no longer works (error message: "The item ... that this
> shortcut refers to has been changed or moved, so this shortcut will no
> longer work properly.") When I do this on my XP-Pro machine, XP will
> generally find the moved file and update the shortcut; if it can't find
> the file, it will give me the option to browse for the moved file. 
> Vista, on the other hand, either makes no effort to find the file or
> just isn't very good at finding it; furthermore, it doesn't give me the
> option to browse; it just displays the error message with "Do you want
> to delete this shortcut? Yes/No". Is there something that needs to be
> set or turned on (a registry key, maybe?) to enable Vista to find the
> moved file? 
> (Vista Home Premium)


-- 
bonv
Posted via http://www.vistaheads.com

Hi, I'm having this problem also. I've tried restarting the computer,
and went back to the file and opened it, yet I get the error again. 

THE ITEM \".....\" THAT THIS SHORTCUT REFERS TO HAS BEEN CHANGED OR
REMOVED, SO THIS SHORTCUT WILL NO LONGER WORK PROPERLY.

DO YOU WANT TO DELETE THIS SHORTCUT?

I also tried system restore, which did not work. 

Actually, what happened was I accidentally deleted my Pictures folder,
containing more folders. I went to the recycle bin and restored it,
thinking everything was fine. But instead, only a few folders were
restored. Then I searched the lost folders, which Vista found, but when
I tried opening it, I got the error. 

Does anyone know the solution to this problem? Maybe I can simply use a
free third party application to recover these folders? Thanks.


-- 
rustygrape
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