How to make the target of a shortcut file open in target dir

[J Smith]

This problem requires some explanation.

I start with three directories, 1) index, 2) foo, and 3) bar.

Directory foo contains two jpg files, "foo photo 1" and "foo photo 2."

Directory bar contains two jpg files, "bar photo 1" and "bar photo 2."

Directory index contains two Windows shortcut/.lnk files. The first points to "foo photo 1", and the second, to "bar photo 1."

XnView is my default program for .jpg files.

In Windows Explorer, I open directory index.

I click on the first short cut file to "bar photo 1." The file "bar photo 1" opens in XnView. In XnView, I key next page to look at the next file and I see "bar photo 2." I do file, browser twice and I see the thumbnails for both photos. This is good.

I close XnView.

Next, in Windows Explorer in directory index, I click on the second short cut file to "foo photo 1." The file "foo photo 1" opens in XnView. I key next page to look at the next file and I see "bar photo 2." I do file, browser twice and I see the thumbnails for both photos. This is good.

I close XnView.

I then open XnView. I go to directory index. I see two thumbnails for "bar photo 1" and "foo photo 1." That is good too. XnView displays a thumbnail of the target file.

In XnView and in directory index, I click on the shortcut to "bar photo 1." I see "bar photo 1." This is good.

But then I type page down to look at the next file in the directory hoping to see "bar photo 2," as I did coming from Windows Explorer, but instead I see "foo photo 1." This is bad, real bad. I want to see bar not foo.

When I do file, browse, I see the two thumbnails in directory index.

It appears that in XnView when you click on a Windows shortcut/.lnk file with a target .jpg file in another directory, XnView opens the file but remains in the directory of the source shortcut/.lnk file, not that of the target file. When you do a next/previous file function, you see the next/previous file in the source directory, not in the target directory. XnView should have an option to follow the shortcut to the target directory and open the target photo there.

If you click on a shortcut link to a directory, XnView does go to the target and change the directory. However the image for the shortcut to a directory shows only a folder image. You would think the program would pull the directory image from the thumbnail cache.

I have checked options, browser, thumbnails, show thumbnail for the file shortcut. It didn't make any difference on shortcuts to folders.

I am trying to use XnView and Windows shortcut files to develop a network database structure, i.e. a hierarchial data structure with multiple top level entry points into the structure, for some of my photos. However, this idea won't work with XnView opening target files in the source directory.

Is there any way to get XnView to open in the target directory so I can browse it with page up and page down and view it with file, browse?

Is this an enhancement request?

The story continues.

I opened Xplorer2 and went to directory index. I saw two thumbnails for the "foo picture 1" and "bar picture 1" shortcuts. I clicked on the bar shortcut thumbnail, and Xnview opened the photo in the bar directory where I could use page up and page down to browse the directory. In other words, this works in Xplorer2.

However, using Xplorer2 is not an ideal solution. XnView does thumbnails better. Also it would mean using two programs browsing: Xnview for the physical hierarchial structure because it shows intermediate directory thumbnails and Xplorer2 for entering on the other network shortcut paths. Also Xploer2 has no cache and draws thumbnails anew each time.