What is this Windows mca file and how do you make a shortcut to it?

[Larry Wolff]

I installed the "mca" thing that is called WhatsApp located here.
https://www.whatsapp.com/download

I clicked on the black button saying "Get it from Microsoft".

That "mca" thing ended up just being a stub.
https://get.microsoft.com/installer/download/9NKSQGP7F2NH?ocid=sideload_experiment_test
Name: WhatsApp Installer.exe
Size: 573320 bytes (559 KiB)
SHA256: FB804BB2DB6B51F6D05319355B36D99FD1FBD7806D085DBC22377BFEAB8C51F0

When I run that executable it opens up the Microsoft Store and says
"Starting download..." even though I have no Microsoft Account set up.

When I installed that, I couldn't find where it went on Windows.
There's no desktop icon. There's only a start menu item.

But I never use the default start menu so I tried to find it.
You can't rightclick and find the shortcut target to check the path.

So while it was running I went to the task manager.
"C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\5319275A.WhatsAppDesktop_2.2403.10.0_x64__manycharacters\WhatsApp.exe" -ServerName:App.Ap-Manymorecharacters.mca

But how do I put that as a shortcut into my taskbar menu?
I tried making that the target of a rightclick on the desktop
to create a shortcut but it failed to work.

I even added "%comspec% /k" to make it work but it failed.

How do you turn that "mca" thing into a shortcut so you can put
it into your Windows 10 taskbar toolbar directory menu?

[Patrick]

At the risk of sounding like an absolute buffoon/asshole/whatever, have
you tried just dragging WhatsApp from the default start menu to your
taskbar? (assuming we're talking Windows's default taskbar here and not
some shell replacement)

[Paul]

Try looking in:

explorer.exe shell:AppsFolder

for the icon, make a shortcut to it.

There are a variety of icons in that folder view. They
are not necessarily all the same type.

Only certain things work in that view, so it's a kind
of "subset" environment, and subject to change as time passes.

Paul

[Larry Wolff]

On 2/12/2024 2:28 AM, Paul wrote:

> explorer.exe shell:AppsFolder

> Only certain things work in that view, so it's a kind
> of "subset" environment, and subject to change as time passes.

Now you're making me mad. I spent hours tryign to create a shortcut that I
could put into a menu folder, and in one fell swoop you prove me wrong! :)
https://www.minitool.com/news/shellappsfolder-windows-10-11.html

Win+R > explorer.exe shell:AppsFolder
or
Win+R > shell:AppsFolder

I right clicked on WhatsApp icon and selected "Create a shortcut".
Question "Windows can't create a shortcut here. Do you want to create a
shortcut on the desktop instead?" Answer "Yes please, dammit!"

Oddly, while it had the WhatsApp icon when the shortcut was created on the
desktop, it lost that nice green icon when I moved the shortcut to the menu
folder pinned to the taskbar. It was a nondescript paper icon.

I couldn't find the shellapps folder (wherever it really is) when I tried
to right click on the shortcut in the menu folder and then said "Change
icon" so I created the icon on the desktop again and looked where the icon
came from, which was
C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\numbersA.WhatsAppDesktop_2.2403.10.0_x64__letters
But every time I tried a file in that folder it said
"The file whatever contains no icons".

Then I thought I'd be clever like you are, and find the WhatsApp icon
inside the icon on the desktop but it also didn't show any icons.

So I gave up on being clever like you are and just chose any old icon.
https://www.freepik.com/premium-vector/whatsapp-icon-concept_3049288.htm

I'm mad at you (smiley) because I spent hours trying to make that shortcut
and then you make it look so easy to do. And you make me look bad. In front
of thousands upon thousands of my Usenet friends.

How the heck did you know about that location?
And where the heck is that location in the file system anyway?

How did you know it would be there in that special place?
And how did you know that all the normal methods don't work?

[Larry Wolff]

On 2/12/2024 2:41 AM, Patrick wrote:

> At the risk of sounding like an absolute buffoon/asshole/whatever, have
> you tried just dragging WhatsApp from the default start menu to your
> taskbar? (assuming we're talking Windows's default taskbar here and not
> some shell replacement)

See Paul's answer. All the normal methods fail.
This mca file is some kind of strange alien being from another world.
Try it. You'll see.

[Paul]

The topic came up here once before.

You can see how the whole thing just fits in with existing windows
so perfectly -- NOT.

shellapps is a projection, so it's not a real folder as far as I know.
I indicated it has all sorts of junk in it, but I'm not going to trace
down what vats of rendered material it used for that. Simply because
the integration is so poor on some of the shortcuts. Can't do anything
to them. Hard to work with. Who needs this exactly ? The aggravation.

Paul

[Larry Wolff]

I forgot to elucidate that putting it in the task bar wasn't the problem.
The problem was putting it in a folder menu pinned to the task bar.
Which required creating the shortcut. Which was the problem.

Anyways, Paul's answer to find it deep in the system shell:AppsFolder
was the trick because you just make a shortcut to that (and then you have
to make your own icon which is the easiest part of the task).

Now it's in my hierarchical personal pullout menu pinned to the taskbar.
Whew! Thanks to Paul's genius, all is good.