1

I want to have a shortcut on the desktop that, upon being clicked, copies files from a network share to the local disk. This is easy enough with xcopy or the like, but is there some way to use the standard Explorer file copy progress dialog? I'm on Windows XP.

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

You can make a .NET application that receives two parameters and invoke windows copy dialog.

.NET app needs to implement code like this: 

using Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO;
...
FileSystem.CopyDirectory(
    sourcePath, destinationPath, UIOption.AllDialogs);

And from a Batchfile you can run:

CustomCopy "FileA.file" "FolderB"

And dialog can be invoked from your .NET app.

Got this from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163304.aspx

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    There was a vote -1 on this answer. I did vote for it because it does exactly was is asked: "Invoking Windows Explorer file copy dialog". I have downloaded the code and upgraded to VS 2013. It runs fine on Windows 8.1 x64. The Windows dialog opens and can be stopped/paused/etc... One gets also the common dialog to override/skip/cancel when the target file/folder exists, etc... ! (I am only still looking how to add a "copy" when a dialog is already opened, just like it occurs when copying from Windows Explorer). Once compiled, the exe can be called from a shortcut very easily (with parameters).
    – Valery Letroye
    Commented Oct 5, 2014 at 17:14
0

If you're already comfortable with xcopy, why not try making a batch file?

Just open a text editor, type in what you'd usually type in the console to achieve this, and save it as a .bat file either directly to your desktop or somewhere else (and then create a shortcut).

(As a side note, though, depending on why you're copying things from a network share en-masse, you might consider looking at various syncing solutions or try something like Dropbox.)

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    I've used the xcopy and batch file method, but I want to have a progress display (even if it's not 100% accurate) without having to use another application, preferably.
    – Smurf64
    Commented Jul 5, 2011 at 4:13
  • In that case, you might try something like QuickSync or using a free automator program to make the Explorer drag and drop into one click.
    – UtopiaLtd
    Commented Jul 5, 2011 at 4:16

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .