Using Environment Variables in Links?

[Steve M in San Diego 2]

Hi, I am new to Evernote, but having trouble using Windows environment variables in Evernote links.

For example: file:%APPDATA% works in Windows explorer to get to C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming in Windows, but this link fails in Evernote.  I have tried a bunch of variations on the syntax but no love.  Is this possible in Evernote?

Thanks!

[CalS 5,280]

Precede with file:///

file:///C:/Users/.......

[Steve M in San Diego 2]

Hi CalS,

I had tried all forms of this and could not get any of them to work.  Could you give me specific syntax with an environment variable?

I have tried:

file:///%APPDATA%

file:///%APPDATA%/

file:///APPDATA/

file:%APPDATA%

None of these or other permutations and combinations work.  I reached the conclusion that Evernote does not support environment variables, but if they are working for you I would be very interested in knowing the exact syntax!

Thanks!

Steve

[dconnet 529]

As far as I know, we do not support environment variables in a link. (For one thing, they're not cross platform so that link could not work on any platform other than Windows)

[Steve M in San Diego 2]

Ok, thanks.  I kind of figured.  Perhaps you could put it on a wishlist?  Although environment variables are not platform specific, many of the variables themselves are, so Evernote could infer the platform from the variable?  Or they would simply fail on the wrong platform which would probably not matter, because most users are likely to have a single platform within the scope of their note sharing and the note itself would be platform-specific by definition anyhow if it were using environment variables in the first place.

Thanks again,

Steve

[dconnet 529]

I shudder to implement this because of ambiguity (yes, I'd be the one on the Windows platform)... You realize %APPDATA%.txt is a valid windows file name?

[CalS 5,280]

57 minutes ago, Steve M in San Diego said:

I had tried all forms of this and could not get any of them to work.  Could you give me specific syntax with an environment variable?

Sorry, didn't catch the environmental variable.  All my links are local per se.  I have duplicated Windows User Name and DropBox folders on multiple PCs thereby enabling the links from within EN (looks the same no matter the machine).  I find larger spreadsheets with pivot tables are better off not stored in EN.

[Steve M in San Diego 2]

16 minutes ago, dconnet said:

I shudder to implement this because of ambiguity (yes, I'd be the one on the Windows platform)... You realize %APPDATA%.txt is a valid windows file name?

Sure, and of course you can come up with theoretical anecdotes that would not work.  My point is that in the real world no sane person would name a file %APPDATA%.txt and the real-world benefits of allowing ambiguous environment variables far outweigh the (largely theoretical) costs.

[Steve M in San Diego 2]

13 minutes ago, CalS said:

Sorry, didn't catch the environmental variable.  All my links are local per se.  I have duplicated Windows User Name and DropBox folders on multiple PCs thereby enabling the links from within EN (looks the same no matter the machine).  I find larger spreadsheets with pivot tables are better off not stored in EN.

Yeah, we use Evernote as an in-house knowledge base, and have a lot of articles on user settings, which are often on individual hard drives, and it would be nice to provide a link to them rather than have users typing and editing non-intuitive paths.  Thanks for the help though!

[CalS 5,280]

27 minutes ago, Steve M in San Diego said:

Yeah, we use Evernote as an in-house knowledge base, and have a lot of articles on user settings, which are often on individual hard drives, and it would be nice to provide a link to them rather than have users typing and editing non-intuitive paths.  Thanks for the help though!

You are welcome.  Well, putting the docs in a shared EN account (curated by someone) might fit the bill.  Or cloud links to a shared DropBox/Google Drive/whatever service could work.  Juice worth the squeeze at that point.  Good luck.

[Steve M in San Diego 2]

50 minutes ago, CalS said:

YWell, putting the docs in a shared EN account (curated by someone) might fit the bill.

Yeah, unfortunately the "docs" are actual software setting and/or backup files stored on the individual user's hard drive, in the current example in each user's .../Appdata/Roaming/eM Client folder.  Since each user has different setting preferences and stores different messages we can't all point to the same document...

[CalS 5,280]

1 hour ago, Steve M in San Diego said:

Yeah, unfortunately the "docs" are actual software setting and/or backup files stored on the individual user's hard drive, in the current example in each user's .../Appdata/Roaming/eM Client folder.  Since each user has different setting preferences and stores different messages we can't all point to the same document...

Got it.  Interesting use case.  The benefit of storing a link to the users eM Client profile in an EN note?  Just out of interest.

[Steve M in San Diego 2]

So they can backup the database before a purge, copy it to take it with them when leaving the company, restore lost email, comply with subpenas...

[Jotajo 0]

Maybe this can help..https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226/complete-guide-to-symbolic-links-symlinks-on-windows-or-linux/

[Steve M in San Diego 2]

Thanks Jotajo!  I'll have to give that a try when I can find the time.  Nice bag of tricks regardless.  Thanks for the post!

Steve