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POHow to listen to the directory change and selection change of the file manager (Explorer.exe)?
 

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  1. POHow to listen to the directory change and selection change of the file manager (Explorer.exe)?
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    <p><strong><a href="http://www.listary.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Listary</a></strong> is an awesome file browsing &amp; searching tool for Windows. Some of the third party reviews can be found in <strong><a href="http://www.listary.com/faq" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Listary's FAQ</a></strong>.</p> <p>As shown in the following figure, <strong>Listary</strong> offers <strong>"Copy Folder Path to Clipboard"</strong> (The convenient <strong>"Switch to Last Opened Folder in File Manager"</strong> might be derived from this function) and <strong>"Copy Paths of Selected Items to Clipboard"</strong>. <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/H9d63.png" alt="Smart Shortcut"></p> <p><strong>Listary</strong> seems to place certain hook into certain process to instantly monitor the directory change of the file manager (Explorer.exe) to provide <strong>"Copy Folder Path to Clipboard"</strong>, and selection change to provide <strong>"Copy Paths of Selected Items to Clipboard"</strong>.</p> <p>I am wondering how to implement these two behaviors (in Delphi), for example, which process to hook and how to hook the very process? Any information is appreciated!</p> <p><strong>[Edit]</strong> TLama has been kind to point out Raymond's <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2004/07/20/188696.aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Querying information from an Explorer window</a>. However, the behavior in the linked article seems to be active querying instead of passive listening. For example, if I open three Explorer instances and then do something else like writing in Word, can the active quering approach identify the last folder path? Listary remembers the last folder path, indicating it is passively listening to every single folder change of certain process. Furthermore, <strong>Listary</strong> works with several file managers, as shown in the following figure. I wonder if the <code>ShellWindows</code> approach is even available for xplorer2, TotalCmd, or DirectoryOpus? <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/7Wfbn.png" alt="AppCompatibility"></p>
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      1. USEdwin Yip
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    1. COJust [`for inspiration`](http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2004/07/20/188696.aspx) for those having time to answer :-) I don't know if it's still valid for Vista+ systems though.
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    2. COThe "ShellWindows approach" is available for anyone wanting to use it, so of course it's available for xplorer2, TotalCmd, and DirectoryOpus.
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      1. USKen White
    3. CO@Ken White: Thank you for the helpful comment! Could you please also share your opinions about "keeping the last visited folder path" (maybe by "hook certain process to listening to certain event")?
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      1. USSOUser
 

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