New Shell Integration PowerToy: Copy as UNC by RamblingGeekUK · Pull Request #46056 · microsoft/PowerToys

RamblingGeekUK · 2026-03-10T20:28:33Z

Adds Copy as UNC as a Shell Integration toggle under File Explorer Add-ons.
When enabled, right-clicking a file or folder on a mapped network drive shows a
"Copy as UNC path" entry in the Windows 11 context menu. Invoking it resolves the
drive letter to its UNC path (via WNetGetUniversalNameW) and copies it to the
clipboard.

Implemented as a Windows 11 sparse MSIX IExplorerCommand shell extension,
following the FileLocksmith pattern. The toggle lives in Settings → File Explorer
Add-ons → Shell Integration, per feedback from the PowerToys team.

PR Checklist

Detailed Description of the Pull Request / Additional comments

New files:

src/modules/CopyAsUNC/CopyAsUNCContextMenu/ — IExplorerCommand COM DLL
registered via sparse MSIX package. Reads enabled/extended-menu settings,
checks the selected item is on a mapped network drive (DRIVE_REMOTE), resolves
UNC via WNetGetUniversalNameW, and writes the result to the clipboard. Icon
returned from GetIcon as a multi-size .ico (BMP-encoded 16/32/48px + PNG
256px) following the FileLocksmith pattern.
src/modules/CopyAsUNC/CopyAsUNCExt/ — PowertoyModuleIface DLL loaded by the
runner. Calls RegisterSparsePackage on enable, deregisters on disable.
src/modules/CopyAsUNC/CopyAsUNCLib/ — static lib with settings model/singleton.
installer/PowerToysSetupVNext/CopyAsUNC.wxs — WiX installer fragment.

Settings UI changes:

EnabledModules.cs — added CopyAsUNC bool property
([JsonPropertyName("Copy as UNC")]).
PowerPreviewViewModel.cs — added IsCopyAsUNCEnabled backed by
GeneralSettings.Enabled.CopyAsUNC, sends OutGoingGeneralSettings IPC.
PowerPreviewPage.xaml — added Shell Integration SettingsGroup with toggle.
No separate settings file, ViewModel page, or navigation entry — the on/off
toggle is the only control needed.

Questions:

AppxManifest.xml uses Executable="PowerToys.exe" as a placeholder — Copy
as UNC has no UI executable. Is this the correct value, or should it differ?
GPO support is currently stubbed as GpoRuleConfigured.Unavailable. Happy to
add a proper gpo.h + GPOWrapper entry if the team points to the right
pattern.
A build post-build step signs the MSIX with a local self-signed cert so I could get
it to run, should be removed, guidance required.
Added custom Icon on context menu, this would need changing to follow Win 11
design guidelines.
In the File Explorer Pane, the toggle enable is at the bottom of the page, not sure how discoverable
this is, maybe it would be better at the top, suggestions welcome.

Validation Steps Performed

Enabled the toggle in Settings → File Explorer Add-ons → Shell Integration.
Right-clicked a file on a mapped network drive (e.g. Z:\folder\file.txt) in
Windows 11 File Explorer.
Confirmed "Copy as UNC path" appears in the modern context menu with the correct
icon.
Confirmed clipboard contains the resolved UNC path
(e.g. \\server\share\folder\file.txt).
Right-clicked a local file — confirmed the menu entry is hidden (drive type ≠
DRIVE_REMOTE).
Disabled the toggle — confirmed the menu entry is hidden entirely.
Confirmed CopyAsUNCContextMenu is included in the sparse package uninstall
cleanup list in CustomAction.cpp.

Adds a new PowerToys utility that copies the UNC path of files and folders on mapped network drives to the clipboard via the shell context menu. When a user right-clicks a file on a mapped drive, the command resolves the drive letter to its full UNC path using WNetGetUniversalNameW and writes it to the clipboard. Components added: - CopyAsUNCLib: static lib with settings model and singleton - CopyAsUNCContextMenu: COM shell extension DLL (IExplorerCommand) registered via MSIX sparse package - CopyAsUNCExt: PowertoyModuleIface DLL loaded by the runner - Settings UI: Library types, ViewModel, XAML page, nav entry, localization strings, and serialization context registrations GPO support is stubbed (returns Unavailable) pending a formal GPO policy entry. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Remove _enabledGpoRuleConfiguration field that was assigned but never read (GPO is stubbed to Unavailable; no conditional logic reads the field). Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Register CopyAsUNCContextMenu sparse package for removal during uninstall alongside the other context menu packages. The DLLs and MSIX are automatically included in the installer via the existing WinUI3ApplicationsFiles component group. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

- Drop 'path' from all display strings for a cleaner, shorter name - Add CopyAsUNC.png to Assets/Settings/Icons/ so the navigation item shows the module icon Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Per PowerToys team feedback, Copy as UNC is not a standalone utility. Instead, integrate it as a 'Shell Integration' section on the File Explorer Add-ons settings page. - Remove CopyAsUNCPage, CopyAsUNCViewModel, nav entry, module PNGs - Remove ModuleType.CopyAsUNC (no longer a top-level module type) - Add IsCopyAsUNCEnabled property to PowerPreviewViewModel, writing to GeneralSettings.Enabled.CopyAsUNC via OutGoingGeneralSettings IPC - Add 'Shell Integration' SettingsGroup to PowerPreviewPage.xaml with a toggle for Copy as UNC - Replace CopyAsUNC-specific resource strings with FileExplorerPreview_ShellIntegration and FileExplorerPreview_CopyAsUNC_Enable entries The C++ module, runner integration, and settings library types are unchanged — only the Settings UI surface is affected. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

The CopyAsUNC module's enable/disable state is held in GeneralSettings, so no module-specific settings file or types are needed. Remove CopyAsUNCSettings, CopyAsUNCProperties, CopyAsUNCLocalProperties and their JsonSerializable registrations. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Convert SVG icon to multi-size ICO (16/32/48/256px) and wire up the post-build copy step so GetIcon() can locate it at runtime from WinUI3Apps\Assets\CopyAsUNC\CopyAsUNC.ico. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Regenerated CopyAsUNC.ico with BMP-encoded DIB entries for 16/32/48px and PNG for 256px. Windows shell requires BMP encoding for small icon sizes in context menus; PNG-only ICOs fail to render. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

- ESRPSigning_core.json: add CopyAsUNCExt.dll, CopyAsUNCContextMenu.dll, CopyAsUNCContextMenuPackage.msix for code signing - CopyAsUNC.wxs: new installer fragment for Assets\CopyAsUNC\ folder (mirrors FileLocksmith.wxs pattern) - Product.wxs: reference CopyAsUNCComponentGroup - PowerToysInstallerVNext.wixproj: compile CopyAsUNC.wxs, restore .bk on post-build - generateAllFileComponents.ps1: generate file components for CopyAsUNC assets Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

RamblingGeekUK · 2026-03-10T20:55:03Z

@microsoft-github-policy-service agree

Adds COPYASUNCCONTEXTMENU, COPYASUNCEXT, WNet, and INFOW to the spell-check expect list. These are preprocessor macro names and Windows API identifiers flagged as false positives by CI. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

michaeljolley · 2026-03-11T01:57:03Z

/azp run

azure-pipelines · 2026-03-11T01:57:14Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 1 pipeline(s).

michaeljolley · 2026-03-11T02:19:47Z

@RamblingGeekUK errored with:

C:\a_work\1\s.pipelines\applyXamlStyling.ps1 : XAML Styling is incorrect, please run .\.pipelines\applyXamlStyling.ps1 -Main locally.

Run clang-format on CopyAsUNC C++ files and XamlStyler on PowerPreviewPage.xaml to comply with repo style enforcement rules. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

michaeljolley · 2026-03-11T21:22:10Z

/azp run

azure-pipelines · 2026-03-11T21:22:20Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 1 pipeline(s).

- Add ConfigureEnabledUtilityCopyAsUNC GPO policy to gpo.h, GPOWrapper.h/.idl/.cpp and wire up in PowerToysModule.cpp - Remove hardcoded self-signed cert signtool post-build step from CopyAsUNCContextMenu.vcxproj (CI pipeline handles signing) - Remove TODO comment from AppxManifest.xml (PowerToys.exe confirmed as correct placeholder for modules with no UI executable) Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

michaeljolley · 2026-03-12T03:17:39Z

/azp run

azure-pipelines · 2026-03-12T03:17:51Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 1 pipeline(s).

michaeljolley · 2026-04-15T23:46:04Z

@copilot resolve the merge conflicts in this pull request

michaeljolley · 2026-04-21T14:57:50Z

/azp run

azure-pipelines · 2026-04-21T14:58:01Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 1 pipeline(s).

github-actions · 2026-04-30T13:03:05Z

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Unrecognized words (4)

HREDRAW
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RamblingGeekUK and others added 9 commits March 8, 2026 09:00

Fix unused field compiler error in CopyAsUNCViewModel

cb78fa1

Remove _enabledGpoRuleConfiguration field that was assigned but never read (GPO is stubbed to Unavailable; no conditional logic reads the field). Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Rename 'Copy as UNC path' to 'Copy as UNC', add nav icon

8661924

- Drop 'path' from all display strings for a cleaner, shorter name - Add CopyAsUNC.png to Assets/Settings/Icons/ so the navigation item shows the module icon Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Add icon to Copy as UNC context menu entry

51fada2

Convert SVG icon to multi-size ICO (16/32/48/256px) and wire up the post-build copy step so GetIcon() can locate it at runtime from WinUI3Apps\Assets\CopyAsUNC\CopyAsUNC.ico. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

RamblingGeekUK requested a review from a team as a code owner March 10, 2026 20:28

michaeljolley changed the title ~~Users/wtt/copy as unc~~ New Shell Extension PowerToy: Copy as UNC Mar 10, 2026

michaeljolley changed the title ~~New Shell Extension PowerToy: Copy as UNC~~ New Shell Integration PowerToy: Copy as UNC Mar 10, 2026

github-advanced-security AI found potential problems Mar 10, 2026

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RamblingGeekUK and others added 2 commits March 11, 2026 17:52

Apply clang-format and XamlStyler formatting

e36980a

Run clang-format on CopyAsUNC C++ files and XamlStyler on PowerPreviewPage.xaml to comply with repo style enforcement rules. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Trigger CI re-run

8e6b7f5

daverayment mentioned this pull request Mar 13, 2026

Path copy copy integration #1998

Closed

Merge branch 'main' into users/wtt/copy-as-unc

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michaeljolley requested a review from niels9001 April 21, 2026 14:58

niels9001 added the Product-File Explorer Power Toys that touch explorer like Preview Pane label Apr 29, 2026

Merge branch 'main' into users/wtt/copy-as-unc

cbc8ba0

michaeljolley requested a review from yeelam-gordon April 30, 2026 18:59

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RamblingGeekUK commented Mar 10, 2026 •

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