I want to be able to right click on a file and then choose a menu item where that very same file is copied over another file. So I would right click a file (an Excel file) and highlite the menu item that would say “Copy To test_setup.xls” This would immediately copy the contents of that file over the current contents of test_setup.xls I use test_set.xls all day long and it would save a lot of time if I could easily copy over that file in one click.
I have looked online about messing with the context menu for winxp but it seems like the more i looked the more complicated it got. I was hoping someone could shed some light on how to do this manually if possible?
In the file menu, choose “save as” then highlight the file you want replaced.
On the other hand, if you don’t want to mess with wuss menus like that, you can write an autoexec.bat file in Notepad, make a shortcut to it, then click on the shortcut when you want the operation done.
If all else fails, you can overwrite files pretty quickly using the ALT F + A keyboard shortcut. It doesn’t sound that much faster than clicking Save As with the mouse, but if you do it all day, you’ll see a difference (personally I like it because it gives my right hand a break).
Open the file to be copied
Press Alt F + A
Find and highlight test_setup.xls to overwrite it, as Superhal suggested.
If test_setup.xls is not in the same directory, you can click the “My Recent Documents” button and quickly sort by most recent to find it, or put it somewhere you can easily access it (Desktop).
Whilst overkill for this single task Directory Opus has a million options, you could bind this operation to a context menu, or a toolbar button, hot key etc.
Not to mention a host of other file management features that when you’ve become accustomed to using them, make Explorer look like Xtree.
If I choose to save as the file that I am copying now becomes test_setup.xls, and I lose out on having the convience.
Let’s say I have a file named red.xls and in the same directory I have test_setup.xls. I want to be able to right click on the red.xls and choose an option that will copy the contents of red.xls into test_setup.xls while still keeping red.xls in the directory. I have dozens of diffferent files in the same directory that I want to keep.
And I can’t install any programs to do this as it is a work computer and they frown on that. It has to be done via the registry for winxp…
The first thing I thought of was adding something new to the ‘Send to’ folder, but this doesn’t let you copy to a specific file name, just to a folder, and it’ll prompt for overwrite if you have already sent a file of the same name.
You don’t need the registry, though, just:
Create your destination folder, if necessary.
Copy a shortcut to this folder into c:\documents and settings[your username]\SendTo
Rename the shortcut as you’d like it to appear in the send to context menu
When you right click on any file, one of the menu options should be send to, which has a submenu including default destinations and any that may have been added by installed programs, and your new destination
Combine chrisk’s suggestion above with a simple batch/vbscript file executed via the scheduler, and you could have most of what you need:
have a Sent To shortcu that sends things to a specific folder.
Create a batch/vbscript file that searches the contents of that folder. If there are 2 files, it shoudl delete test_setup.xls and rename the remaining file to test_setup.xls. If there is one file, it leaves it alone. If there are 3 or more files, it punches you in the weiner.
Set that batch/vbs to run every couple of minutes.
I ended up asking a guru at work and what I did was to get into the registry and do the following:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Scrolled down to Excel.Sheet.8
Clicked on the shell folder…
Added a Key and named it ‘Copy_to_Test_Setup.xls’
Added another Key under Copy_to_Test_Setup.xls named ‘command’
Then I modified the command-key to be cmd.exe /c copy %1 Test_Setup.xls
Hope that makes sense…people who mess with the registry will be better at explaining it than me I am sure.
Now all I gotta do is right click on the file I want copied over Test_Setup.xls and I am done. It copies the contents of the original file over test_setup.xls and keeps my original file intact in just 2 clicks…very handy.