How to monitor file changes via Win API





.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ height:90px;width:728px;box-sizing:border-box;
}







1















I need to monitor changes of particular set of files (or just one file) and let Windows report to my application.
It's likely, that most of the files will be in same directory, but I'd prefer per-file monitoring system.



I found this example http://codewee.com/view.php?idx=20
but the example monitors only special, Desktop folder.



First by calling SHGetSpecialFolderLocation, then using resultant LPITEMIDLIST
in SHChangeNotifyRegister function (via SHChangeNotifyEntry struct)



I was not able to generalize it to arbitrary directory.
MS Docs says that SHGetSpecialFolderLocation will not be supported in future anyway,
SHGetFolderLocation should be used instead.



But again, SHGetFolderLocation is deprecated, not even mentioning it has no string/path
parameter.



Is there any convenient function which takes directory path or complete file name
and produces LPITEMIDLIST, which can be then sticked into SHChangeNotifyRegister?






c++ winapi







share|improve this question





























    1















    I need to monitor changes of particular set of files (or just one file) and let Windows report to my application.
    It's likely, that most of the files will be in same directory, but I'd prefer per-file monitoring system.



    I found this example http://codewee.com/view.php?idx=20
    but the example monitors only special, Desktop folder.



    First by calling SHGetSpecialFolderLocation, then using resultant LPITEMIDLIST
    in SHChangeNotifyRegister function (via SHChangeNotifyEntry struct)



    I was not able to generalize it to arbitrary directory.
    MS Docs says that SHGetSpecialFolderLocation will not be supported in future anyway,
    SHGetFolderLocation should be used instead.



    But again, SHGetFolderLocation is deprecated, not even mentioning it has no string/path
    parameter.



    Is there any convenient function which takes directory path or complete file name
    and produces LPITEMIDLIST, which can be then sticked into SHChangeNotifyRegister?






    c++ winapi







    share|improve this question

























      1












      1








      1








      I need to monitor changes of particular set of files (or just one file) and let Windows report to my application.
      It's likely, that most of the files will be in same directory, but I'd prefer per-file monitoring system.



      I found this example http://codewee.com/view.php?idx=20
      but the example monitors only special, Desktop folder.



      First by calling SHGetSpecialFolderLocation, then using resultant LPITEMIDLIST
      in SHChangeNotifyRegister function (via SHChangeNotifyEntry struct)



      I was not able to generalize it to arbitrary directory.
      MS Docs says that SHGetSpecialFolderLocation will not be supported in future anyway,
      SHGetFolderLocation should be used instead.



      But again, SHGetFolderLocation is deprecated, not even mentioning it has no string/path
      parameter.



      Is there any convenient function which takes directory path or complete file name
      and produces LPITEMIDLIST, which can be then sticked into SHChangeNotifyRegister?






      c++ winapi







      share|improve this question














      I need to monitor changes of particular set of files (or just one file) and let Windows report to my application.
      It's likely, that most of the files will be in same directory, but I'd prefer per-file monitoring system.



      I found this example http://codewee.com/view.php?idx=20
      but the example monitors only special, Desktop folder.



      First by calling SHGetSpecialFolderLocation, then using resultant LPITEMIDLIST
      in SHChangeNotifyRegister function (via SHChangeNotifyEntry struct)



      I was not able to generalize it to arbitrary directory.
      MS Docs says that SHGetSpecialFolderLocation will not be supported in future anyway,
      SHGetFolderLocation should be used instead.



      But again, SHGetFolderLocation is deprecated, not even mentioning it has no string/path
      parameter.



      Is there any convenient function which takes directory path or complete file name
      and produces LPITEMIDLIST, which can be then sticked into SHChangeNotifyRegister?






      c++ winapi




      c++ winapi






      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question











      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question










      asked Jan 3 at 15:07









      quantumfoamquantumfoam

      134




      134
























          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          5














          FindFirstChangeNotification et al.



          ReadDirectoryChangesW, ReadDirectoryChangesExW



          SHParseDisplayName can be used to convert a file path to PIDL, for use with SHChangeNotifyRegister






          share|improve this answer
























            Your Answer






            StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
            StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function () {
            StackExchange.using("snippets", function () {
            StackExchange.snippets.init();
            });
            });
            }, "code-snippets");

            StackExchange.ready(function() {
            var channelOptions = {
            tags: "".split(" "),
            id: "1"
            };
            initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

            StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
            // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
            if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
            StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
            createEditor();
            });
            }
            else {
            createEditor();
            }
            });

            function createEditor() {
            StackExchange.prepareEditor({
            heartbeatType: 'answer',
            autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
            convertImagesToLinks: true,
            noModals: true,
            showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
            reputationToPostImages: 10,
            bindNavPrevention: true,
            postfix: "",
            imageUploader: {
            brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
            contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
            allowUrls: true
            },
            onDemand: true,
            discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
            ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
            });


            }
            });














            draft saved

            draft discarded


















            StackExchange.ready(
            function () {
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fstackoverflow.com%2fquestions%2f54024915%2fhow-to-monitor-file-changes-via-win-api%23new-answer', 'question_page');
            }
            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown

























            1 Answer
            1






            active

            oldest

            votes








            1 Answer
            1






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes









            5














            FindFirstChangeNotification et al.



            ReadDirectoryChangesW, ReadDirectoryChangesExW



            SHParseDisplayName can be used to convert a file path to PIDL, for use with SHChangeNotifyRegister






            share|improve this answer




























              5














              FindFirstChangeNotification et al.



              ReadDirectoryChangesW, ReadDirectoryChangesExW



              SHParseDisplayName can be used to convert a file path to PIDL, for use with SHChangeNotifyRegister






              share|improve this answer


























                5












                5








                5







                FindFirstChangeNotification et al.



                ReadDirectoryChangesW, ReadDirectoryChangesExW



                SHParseDisplayName can be used to convert a file path to PIDL, for use with SHChangeNotifyRegister






                share|improve this answer













                FindFirstChangeNotification et al.



                ReadDirectoryChangesW, ReadDirectoryChangesExW



                SHParseDisplayName can be used to convert a file path to PIDL, for use with SHChangeNotifyRegister







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered Jan 3 at 15:30









                Igor TandetnikIgor Tandetnik

                33.2k33558




                33.2k33558
































                    draft saved

                    draft discarded




















































                    Thanks for contributing an answer to Stack Overflow!


                    • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                    But avoid …



                    • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                    • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                    To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                    draft saved


                    draft discarded














                    StackExchange.ready(
                    function () {
                    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fstackoverflow.com%2fquestions%2f54024915%2fhow-to-monitor-file-changes-via-win-api%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                    }
                    );

                    Post as a guest















                    Required, but never shown





















































                    Required, but never shown














                    Required, but never shown












                    Required, but never shown







                    Required, but never shown

































                    Required, but never shown














                    Required, but never shown












                    Required, but never shown







                    Required, but never shown







                    Popular posts from this blog

                    'app-layout' is not a known element: how to share Component with different Modules

                    Image
                    0 My application was working fine until I decided to go with lazy loading: So, my shared component looks like this: import { Component, Renderer2 } from '@angular/core'; export interface FormModel { captcha?: string; } @Component({ selector: 'app-layout', templateUrl: './app-layout.component.html', styleUrls: ['./app-layout.css'] }) export class FullLayoutComponent { } app-layout.component.ts I am using this component in my Another component say school-home.component.html like this: <app-layout> </app-layout> and it was working fine until I created a Module school-home.module.ts like this: import { NgModule } from '@angular/core'; import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common'; import { SchoolhomeRoutingModule ...
                    Read more

                    android studio warns about leanback feature tag usage required on manifest while using Unity exported app?

                    Image
                    .everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ height:90px;width:728px;box-sizing:border-box; } 0 This is a simple project showing cubes on Unity, exported to android project and imported on Android studio. On maifest file it showed following warning: Expecting <uses-feature android:name="android.software.leanback" android:required="false" /> tag I have no information about it. And also on default emptyview android project does not use/mention this feature. I know it is required by TV's and such but why its not added by default? Why is this? And Should I concern about it? android unity3d ...
                    Read more

                    WPF add header to Image with URL pettitions [duplicate]

                    Image
                    up vote 0 down vote favorite This question already has an answer here: Image source URI requiring authorization 3 answers Add header to all* HTTP requests on a machine 1 answer first of all sorry for my english. Recently I added some security in the backend of my project, and now I need to send a validation code(apiKey) inside the headers to retrieve the images. I have a problem with ALL images in my project that I had attached in my UI. For example, before I had: <Image Height="90" Source="{Binding Video.Thumbnail}"/> Now I need to change my code to create a CUSTOM petition add the apiKey in the header:...
                    Read more