Title: Getting the path of the Start Menu directory
Question: How do I get the path of the Start Menu's Programs directory?
Answer:
System directory info is held in the registry at 'HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders\', so its very easy to get them.
The code to do this is:
function GetStartMenuDir: String;
var
Reg: TRegistry;
tempstr: String;
begin
Reg := TRegistry.Create;
try
Reg.RootKey := HKey_Current_User;
if Reg.OpenKey('\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion'
+ '\Explorer\Shell Folders', FALSE) then
tempstr := Reg.ReadString('Start Menu');
finally
Reg.Free;
end;
Result := tempstr;
end;
The list of of all the values in that key are (brackets are description of the not so obvious ones):
Desktop
Programs (Start Menu\Programs)
Fonts
SendTo
Start Menu
Startup
Recent
Favorites
Personal (My Documents)
Templates (Windows\ShellNew)
NetHood
AppData (Windows\Application Data)
Cache (Temporary Internet Files)
Cookies
History
My Pictures
Local AppData (Local Settings\Application Data)
Tested on Windows 95 with Delphi 4. Should work fine on any 32bit version of windows or delphi.