ShortcutSync - Synchronize Shortcuts

[felixkmh]

A small plugin that syncs a folder of shortcuts of (installed) games inside the Playnite database. Mainly so that I can use the Windows search for installed games from launchers which do not maintain start menu shortcuts, so maybe it is useful to others as well. The created shortcuts also get custom tiles when pinned to the Start Menu.

Settings:

• Shortcut Path:
  Path to the folder the shortcuts are placed in. Folder will be created if it does not exist. By default set to a folder in the user's Start Menu folder. (Changing it does not delete the old one)
  
• Update on Startup: (off by default)
  Synchronize shortcuts when starting Playnite. Otherwise shortcuts can be synchronized manually using the "Update Start Menu Shortcuts" extension function.
  
• Force Update: (off by default)
  Creates shortcuts even if they already exist, overwriting the original. Also updates the icon path if that changed. (Deprecated since version 1.12, should be disabled)
  
• Installed Only: (on by default)
  Only create and keep shortcuts to games that are marked as installed. Deletes existing shortcuts of unistalled games when updated.
  
• Exclude Hidden: (on by default)
  Ignore hidden games.
  
• Use PlayAction: (off by default)
  Use PlayActions of games if available instead of the playnite:// url.
  
• Use Separate Folders For Each Source: (off by default)
  Puts each Shortcut into a subfolder inside the Shortcut Path with the name of their Source.
  
• Sources:
  Select for which sources shortcuts should be created. None are selected by default.
  

Drag-and-Drop the .pext file onto the Playnite window to install.

If you encounter any errors please supply an excerpt of %APPDATA%\Playnite\playnite.log concerning the error and the version number of the used plugin version.

Github

Help by contributing translations: https://crowdin.com/project/shortcutsync-for-playnite





Change log:
v1.15.5 - ShortcutSync_1_15_5.pext
- fixed shortcuts not being created in some cases

v1.15.4 - ShortcutSync_1_15_4.pext
- updated to QuickSearchSDK 1.3
- added settings to QuickSearch

v1.15.3 - ShortcutSync_1_15_3.pext
- fixed error if icon files have wrong extension
- added support for QuickSearch

v1.15.2 - ShortcutSync_1_15_2.pext
- fixed extension not loading in fullscreen mode
- added support for ExtensionUpdater plugin in yaml file

v1.15.1 - ShortcutSync_1_15_1.pext
- split text toggle game menu function up into "on" and "off" functions
- added game menu entry to reset a shortcut (delete + create)
- fade option for 150x150 tiles is now only applied if the title is enabled for that game
- fade amount adapts if the title spans over more than one line

v1.15.0 - ShortcutSync_1_15_0.pext
- added game menu entries to edit shortcuts
- added option to fade out the bottom of 150x150 tiles to improve readability of the titles

v1.14.2 - ShortcutSync_1_14_2.pext
- use a Playnite icon as default icon if no other icon can be found
- fixed crash when "Shortcut Path" is set to a folder that already contains some .lnk files without description

v1.14.1 - ShortcutSync_1_14_1_Playnite8.pext
- added Id to manifest.yaml
- menu items are now placed in Extensions menu entry

v1.14 - ShortcutSync_1_14_Playnite7.pext, ShortcutSync_1_14_Playnite8.pext
- Added (game) menu functions to manually create and maintain shortcuts, bypassing the other filtering settings.
   - Those games are added to a list that can be seen in the settings view and can be removed there or with the corresponding (game) menu function.
- Added (game) menu functions to exclude games completely, bypassing the other filtering settings.
   - Those games are added to a list that can be seen in the settings view and can be removed there or with the corresponding (game) menu function.

v1.13 - ShortcutSync_1_13.pext
- added per Source options for the "Use PlayAction" option
- moved launch scripts and tile icons into plugin data folder instead of the shortcut folder itself

v1.12.3 - ShortcutSync_1_12_3.pext
- fixed shortcuts not being updated when a game's installation status changes
- fixed emulators not starting correctly when having "Use PlayAction" option enabled

v1.12.2 - ShortcutSync_1_12_2.pext
- fixed not all files being moved when "Shortcut Path" is changed
- removed reference to Playnite.Common in compliance with Playnite 8 changes

v1.12.1 - ShortcutSync_1_12_1.pext
- Refactored internal Shortcut management (which is why I would recommend to delete the old shortcut folder before updating).
- Fixed some bugs, maybe created some new ones.
- Added option to group Shortcuts into folders by their Source.
- Force Update option is kind of obsolete, because Shortcuts should now properly update, only when necessary (e.g. Icon or Name changed, or settings changed).
- Tiled Shortcuts: Shortcuts now point to a .vbs file, which enables custom tiles when Shortcuts are pinned on the start menu . Requested by IngwiePhoenix.
- Shortcuts are now created using ShellLink, which solves the problem of Shortcuts being created at the wrong path if they contained non-ascii characters.
- Icon conversion is handled by LibIcon.

v1.11 - ShortcutSync_1_11.pext
- Fixed crash when assigning categories.

v1.10 - ShortcutSync_1_10.pext
- Check for updates in settings view.
- Use Database.BufferedUpdate() instead of Begin/EndBufferedUpdate() (caused weird behaviour with other plugins)
- Index is rebuild when path changed.
- Smaller fixes

v1.9 - ShortcutSync_1_9.pext
- Fixed a Dead Lock when new games are added and Force Update is enabled on start up.

v1.8 - ShortcutSync_1_8.pext
- Handle games that don't have a Source attached by assuming their source to be "Undefined".
  - Always get a playnite link, bypassing the "Use PlayAction" option.

v1.7 - ShortcutSync_1_7.pext
- Check settings for null when loading.

v1.6 - ShortcutSync_1_6.pext
- Verify shortcut folder accessibility.

v1.5 - ShortcutSync_1_5.pext
- Handle more possible errors.
- Ignore non-valid shortcuts instead of deleting them.

v1.4 - ShortcutSync_1_4.pext
[WARNING] Because of the way the plugin works right now, .lnk shortcuts not created by it will be deleted when it updates. Thus don't choose a folder for it that contains other shortcuts, like your desktop. Ideally choose an empty folder.
- Changes in this version cause old shortcuts to be deleted, if they don't contain a gameId in their description.
- Source name tags are only added if multiple shortcuts with the same name would be created otherwise.
- Shortcut description include Playnite gameId to identify which exact game it points to.
- Fixed placeholder Icon not being used properly if no other icon is available.

v1.3 - ShortcutSync_1_3.pext
- Fixed Xbox Shortcuts not working correctly when using PlayActions
- Added function to force update selected games
- Update shortcuts in seperate thread and buffer game-updates while doing so
- Added Info Logs

v1.2 - ShortcutSync_1_2.pext
- Always use playnite:// url for uninstalled games

v1.1 - ShortcutSync_1_1.pext
- Fixed an issue that would remove shortcuts that should not be removed.
    - As such shortcut names now include their source name.
- Added option to use PlayAction directly instead of using playnite:// urls if available
- Using .lnk instead of .url files
- If updating from the previous version, old shortcuts need to be removed manually

v1.0 - ShortcutSync_1_0.pext

[Bluscream]

this does crash my playnite

[felixkmh]

this does crash my playnite

Hi, do you mind posting the exception causing the crash, if there is one? It should be logged in the playnite.log file.
Edit: I released a new verision (1.5) that handles most of the possible IO errors and should not crash that easily. Check your playnite.log file to see what is going wrong.

[mariano198596]

this does crash my playnite

Hi, do you mind posting the exception causing the crash, if there is one? It should be logged in the playnite.log file.
Edit: I released a new verision (1.5) that handles most of the possible IO errors and should not crash that easily. Check your playnite.log file to see what is going wrong.

hello me too crashea when starting

[felixkmh]

It would be helpful to me to see the entries in %APPDATA%\Playnite\playnite.log around the time of the crash. I am not able to reproduce that behaviour on any of my machines so it is difficult to pin down the cause without further information.

[plW0lf]

Hi, your latest version (1.6) of extension makes my Playnite crash. Here's part of log:

2020-06-19 17:32:37.2202|DEBUG:Invoking extension function Update All Shortcuts
2020-06-19 17:32:37.2282|ERROR:Unhandled exception occured.System.NullReferenceException: Odwołanie do obiektu nie zostało ustawione na wystąpienie obiektu.
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.ShouldKeepShortcut(Game game)
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.<>c__DisplayClass37_0.<UpdateShortcuts>b__0()
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

[felixkmh]

Hi, your latest version (1.6) of extension makes my Playnite crash. Here's part of log:

2020-06-19 17:32:37.2202|DEBUG:Invoking extension function Update All Shortcuts
2020-06-19 17:32:37.2282|ERROR:Unhandled exception occured.System.NullReferenceException: Odwołanie do obiektu nie zostało ustawione na wystąpienie obiektu.
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.ShouldKeepShortcut(Game game)
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.<>c__DisplayClass37_0.<UpdateShortcuts>b__0()
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I messed up the settings along the way. You could try to delete the config.json in %appdata%\Playnite\ExtensionsData\8e48a544-3c67-41f8-9aa0-465627380ec8 and try restarting Playnite to create a new one and tell me if that fixed it. If the issue is what I think it is, version 1.7 should not crash anymore, but you might have to redo your settings for this plugin.

[plW0lf]

Hi, your latest version (1.6) of extension makes my Playnite crash. Here's part of log:

2020-06-19 17:32:37.2202|DEBUG:Invoking extension function Update All Shortcuts
2020-06-19 17:32:37.2282|ERROR:Unhandled exception occured.System.NullReferenceException: Odwołanie do obiektu nie zostało ustawione na wystąpienie obiektu.
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.ShouldKeepShortcut(Game game)
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.<>c__DisplayClass37_0.<UpdateShortcuts>b__0()
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I messed up the settings along the way. You could try to delete the config.json in %appdata%\Playnite\ExtensionsData\8e48a544-3c67-41f8-9aa0-465627380ec8 and try restarting Playnite to create a new one and tell me if that fixed it. If the issue is what I think it is, version 1.7 should not crash anymore, but you might have to redo your settings for this plugin.

Updated and recreated config. The issue is unfortunately exactly the same.

[felixkmh]

Hi, your latest version (1.6) of extension makes my Playnite crash. Here's part of log:

2020-06-19 17:32:37.2202|DEBUG:Invoking extension function Update All Shortcuts
2020-06-19 17:32:37.2282|ERROR:Unhandled exception occured.System.NullReferenceException: Odwołanie do obiektu nie zostało ustawione na wystąpienie obiektu.
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.ShouldKeepShortcut(Game game)
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.<>c__DisplayClass37_0.<UpdateShortcuts>b__0()
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I messed up the settings along the way. You could try to delete the config.json in %appdata%\Playnite\ExtensionsData\8e48a544-3c67-41f8-9aa0-465627380ec8 and try restarting Playnite to create a new one and tell me if that fixed it. If the issue is what I think it is, version 1.7 should not crash anymore, but you might have to redo your settings for this plugin.

Updated and recreated config. The issue is unfortunately exactly the same.

Could you send me the output when using the attached debug build?

[plW0lf]

Here you are

2020-06-19 21:33:06.5556|DEBUG:Invoking extension function Update All Shortcuts
2020-06-19 21:33:06.5556|DEBUG:game.Source was null.
2020-06-19 21:33:06.5556|ERROR:Unhandled exception occured.System.NullReferenceException: Odwołanie do obiektu nie zostało ustawione na wystąpienie obiektu.
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.ShouldKeepShortcut(Game game) w C:\Users\Felix\AppData\Roaming\Playnite\ShortcutSync\ShortcutSync.cs:wiersz 263
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.<>c__DisplayClass37_0.<UpdateShortcuts>b__0() w C:\Users\Felix\AppData\Roaming\Playnite\ShortcutSync\ShortcutSync.cs:wiersz 522
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

So... is error because you used your location of roaming instead of %APPDATA%?

[felixkmh]

Here you are

2020-06-19 21:33:06.5556|DEBUG:Invoking extension function Update All Shortcuts
2020-06-19 21:33:06.5556|DEBUG:game.Source was null.
2020-06-19 21:33:06.5556|ERROR:Unhandled exception occured.System.NullReferenceException: Odwołanie do obiektu nie zostało ustawione na wystąpienie obiektu.
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.ShouldKeepShortcut(Game game) w C:\Users\Felix\AppData\Roaming\Playnite\ShortcutSync\ShortcutSync.cs:wiersz 263
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.<>c__DisplayClass37_0.<UpdateShortcuts>b__0() w C:\Users\Felix\AppData\Roaming\Playnite\ShortcutSync\ShortcutSync.cs:wiersz 522
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

So... is error because you used your location of roaming instead of %APPDATA%?

That's just info from the debug build so I know where the error happens. The important thing is that a Game object apparantly does not always have a Source, which I didn't expect and thus I did not check for it. Thanks for the help. Although I wonder why that is. Does that happen if you add games manually, like emulators for example? Anyway, I should be able to fix this particular issue now.

---

Just uploaded a new version that should fix your issue. For games that don't have a Source, the source "Undefined" was added to the plugin settings. Thanks again for helping me figure that one out.

[plW0lf]

Here you are

2020-06-19 21:33:06.5556|DEBUG:Invoking extension function Update All Shortcuts
2020-06-19 21:33:06.5556|DEBUG:game.Source was null.
2020-06-19 21:33:06.5556|ERROR:Unhandled exception occured.System.NullReferenceException: Odwołanie do obiektu nie zostało ustawione na wystąpienie obiektu.
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.ShouldKeepShortcut(Game game) w C:\Users\Felix\AppData\Roaming\Playnite\ShortcutSync\ShortcutSync.cs:wiersz 263
   w ShortcutSync.ShortcutSync.<>c__DisplayClass37_0.<UpdateShortcuts>b__0() w C:\Users\Felix\AppData\Roaming\Playnite\ShortcutSync\ShortcutSync.cs:wiersz 522
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   w System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
   w System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

So... is error because you used your location of roaming instead of %APPDATA%?

That's just info from the debug build so I know where the error happens. The important thing is that a Game object apparantly does not always have a Source, which I didn't expect and thus I did not check for it. Thanks for the help. Although I wonder why that is. Does that happen if you add games manually, like emulators for example? Anyway, I should be able to fix this particular issue now.

---

Just uploaded a new version that should fix your issue. For games that don't have a Source, the source "Undefined" was added to the plugin settings. Thanks again for helping me figure that one out.

Everything works fine now. BTW the source of problem was Minecraft, as for emulator games I add source manually. Thx for fixing

[IngwiePhoenix]

Hello!

I absolutely love this extension and definitively recommend it if you organize your games in your start menu. The only downside to this aproach is, however, that just like many other "standard" apps, they do not get fancy tiles. In fact, not even Playnite itself has that.

Therefore I would like to propose a feature request: Create custom tiles.
Using the "${shortcutName}.visualelementsmanifest.xml" style file, one is able to create custom tiles quite easily. This here is an example taken (and re-formatted by hand) from an application that creates those:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Application xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
  <VisualElements
    BackgroundColor="#000000"
    ShowNameOnSquare150x150Logo="off"
    ForegroundText="dark"
    Wide150x300Logo="tile.png"
    Wide150x310Logo="tile.png"
    Square300x300Logo="tile.png"
    Square310x310Logo="tile.png"
    Wide300x150Logo="tile.png"
    Wide310x150Logo="tile.png"
    Square150x150Logo="MyTile-mytile.png"
    Square70x70Logo="MyTile-mytile.png"
  />
</Application>

The attributes are quite self-explanatory, and since this extension operates off of Playnite, it also has access to covers, wallpapers and icons, which can be used to make custom tiles quite easily.

I'd love to see tiles with a background image set according to the most prominent color featured in the icon. If it has mainly green colors, the most used shade should be picked. There are, quite surely, whole libraries that provide an easy access to this feature (I have seen them in PHP, even...).

In order for this to work, and from what I understand so far, you'd just have to generate "thatGame.lnk" and "thatGame.visualelementsmanifest.xml" in the same location for this to work. However, those tiles are, sadly, limited.

This is all I found in terms of documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previou...n_xml_file ...but it mentions having to place it next to an *executable* which is not exactly the same as a shortcut. But considering that apps attached through Edge also properly do this, and those are URLs too just like the Playnite ones, I don't think the difference should be big.


Kind regards,

Ingwie

[felixkmh]

Hi Ingwie,

turned out it was not as simple as just putting the xml file next to the shortcut. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be working without some executable file. I tried compiling a minimal .exe that just launches each game using a Playnite url. But for some reason that triggered my Windows Defender for some game, so this approach is not ideal. I found another approach used in https://github.com/Jonno12345/TileIconifier that uses visual basic scripts, which seem to do the trick.

There are still things to fix, but if you want you can try what I got so far and tell me if it works for you. If you encouter any crashes or errors, please supply an excerpt from the playnite.log file describing the error.

[IngwiePhoenix]

Hi Ingwie,

turned out it was not as simple as just putting the xml file next to the shortcut. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be working without some executable file. I tried compiling a minimal .exe that just launches each game using a Playnite url. But for some reason that triggered my Windows Defender for some game, so this approach is not ideal. I found another approach used in https://github.com/Jonno12345/TileIconifier that uses visual basic scripts, which seem to do the trick.

There are still things to fix, but if you want you can try what I got so far and tell me if it works for you. If you encouter any crashes or errors, please supply an excerpt from the playnite.log file describing the error.

Hey!

I'll give this a shot and see what happens and let you know what turned up! But it's 4am here, so I will go take a nap. Once I have something, I'll let you know by editing this post. =) Untill then - later! ^.^

[felixkmh]

Hey Ingwie,

I improved uppon the last version, though it is still not quite finalized. If you want you can give it a try. I refactored a lot of stuff, so I would not be suprised if things went wrong unexpectedly, although I did not encounter any critical errors yet

Also I would advise you to delete the folder the generated shortcuts are in before updating, just in case. Otherwise the automation (granted the Update On Startup option is enabled) may not work immediately.

Edit: I already polished it up and released the new version, see the first post .

[IngwiePhoenix]

Heya!

Sorry for having gone dead silent. Had all Playnite emails suddenly go into my junk folder, so I neve rnoticed there was a new post here. Sorry!

Have you been able to update the extension to work with the newest Playnite? A lot of the SDK has been renewed so you might want to take a look. I'll have to see where I can find extension specific error logs to pick out what exactly is making the extension fail for now.

I'll keep a better eye on this convo now, fixed my spam rules too

[felixkmh]

Hi,

the latest Version should be compatible with the latest Playnite version (8.9) as far as I can tell. I made the necessary changes when Planite 8 was released and I don't think there were breaking changes after that.
In what way does it fail for you? Does it fail installing or is it not being loaded when Playnite is launched?

[IngwiePhoenix]

Just installed it and subscribed to the Github releases. No more missing updates =)

The new tiles look phenominal! Some of them have the wrong text color applied, making it hard to read. But other than that, it looks absolutely gorgeous!

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/5...nknown.png

[felixkmh]

Thanks, good thing it turned out to work after all

Unfortunately since a recent Windows 10 Update, neither the custom background colors nor the text color I set in the visualelementsmanifest.xml make any difference, which is kind of a bummer. Windows now automatically chooses one of two options: light background + dark text or dark background + light text, depending on the background image. The dumb thing about it seems to be that if the background image fills the whole tile and is bright, the background is chosen dark and the text light, and vice versa.

Maybe I can try adding an option to fade out the background images at the bottom.