directory - Reading the target of a .lnk file in Python?

Question

I'm trying to read the target file/directory of a shortcut (.lnk) file from Python. Is there a headache-free way to do it? The spec is way over my head. I don't mind using Windows-only APIs.

My ultimate goal is to find the "(My) Videos" folder on Windows XP and Vista. On XP, by default, it's at %HOMEPATH%My DocumentsMy Videos, and on Vista it's %HOMEPATH%Videos. However, the user can relocate this folder. In the case, the %HOMEPATH%Videos folder ceases to exists and is replaced by %HOMEPATH%Videos.lnk which points to the new "My Videos" folder. And I want its absolute location.

Answer 1

Create a shortcut using Python (via WSH)

import sys
import win32com.client 

shell = win32com.client.Dispatch("WScript.Shell")
shortcut = shell.CreateShortCut("t:\test.lnk")
shortcut.Targetpath = "t:\ftemp"
shortcut.save()

Read the Target of a Shortcut using Python (via WSH)

import sys
import win32com.client 

shell = win32com.client.Dispatch("WScript.Shell")
shortcut = shell.CreateShortCut("t:\test.lnk")
print(shortcut.Targetpath)