FFAStrans forum

What is the difference between file variables %s_original_full% and %s_pickup_file%? They behave identically in the brief experimenting I've done, returning identical results whether the file is on a local or UNC path. I just don't want to get burned not understanding why they are different.

Hi crispyjones,

I can see there might be some confusion on what the difference between these two variables might be. Normally, they're the same. However there are exceptions. Let me explain:
The %s_pickup_file% is ALWAYS the file that's being picked up by monitors, hence its name. But, this might be just a link to another file. Consider the case of for example a "c:\shortcut.lnk" file. This file just point to another file, say "\\server\share\cool.mp4"

This gives us the following different contents of the two variables:

%s_pickup_file% = c:\shortcut.lnk
%s_original_full% = \\server\share\cool.mp4

Hope this helps.

-steinar

That explains it perfectly, thank you.