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Questions tagged [windows-shell]

The Windows Shell is the main graphical user interface in Windows hosted by Windows Explorer. It also implements a shell namespace that enables computer programs running on Windows to access the computer's resources via the hierarchy of shell objects.

The Windows Shell is the main graphical user interface in Windows hosted by Windows Explorer. Important features of Windows Shell include the Desktop, Taskbar, Start Menu, et cetera. Extending functionality of Windows Shell is possible using shell extensions.

In the shell namespace hierarchy "Desktop" is the top object; below it there are a number of files and folders stored on the disk, as well as a number of special folders whose contents are either virtual or dynamically created like the Recycle Bin, Libraries, Control Panel, This PC and Network.

Read more regarding the Windows Shell here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_shell

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How to query OneDrive sync status for a given file

Now that Microsoft have reinstated OneDrive in the file system in Windows 10 (and assuming they don't drop it again in 6 months time), I'm looking for how to determine the sync status of an arbitrary file. There are at least five different states…
Jonathan Potter
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taskkill to differentiate 2 images by path

How to kill a process by name and orginiated from a particular path using taskkill? taskkill /F /IM certainly it cant differentiate 2 process started from two different locations C:\Dir1 and C:\Dir2 Does tasklist has any switch to get the path name
NSN
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how to set environment variable from file contents?

On windows/cygwin, i want to be able save the PATH variable to file on one machine and load it onto the other machine; for storing the variable i am doing: echo %PATH% > dat however, not sure how to load it later. set PATH=??????? Thanks Rami
sramij
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Windows 7: Prevent application from losing focus

I have a self-made fullscreen application for Windows 7 written in C++ which should run for a long time on its own as a public presentation. Problem is, there are several applications or drivers or Windows itself that steal focus from time to time…
Ole Dittmann
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Get the Windows Download folder's path

I have some Excel VBA code that requires knowing the Downloads folder path. How could I do it? Since you can move around the Downloads folder (and also Documents and most of those folders, via the folder properties), the environmental variables like…
s_a
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Windows [cmd.exe] command to display a messagebox with timeout?

Note: This is a question-with-answer in order to document a technique that others might find useful, and in order to perhaps become aware of others’ even better solutions. Do feel free to add critique or questions as comments. Also do feel free to…
Cheers and hth. - Alf
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How to enter Windows Flip 3D mode on Windows Vista and above?

Is it possible to trigger the Flip 3D mode on Windows Vista above systems programmatically? It is the same as if you manually press CTRL + WIN + TAB
TLama
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Creating a special folder in Windows Explorer like DropBox or OneDrive

I know there are a couple other questions as to pinning the Favorites folder but I wanted to do something where I have a folder like OneDrive or Drop box (where it acts almost like another drive). Cannot quite find what I'm looking for. I realize…
Chris
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Accessing thumbnails that don't exist

I have made an application that presents you a list of files in your computer. Whenever you click any item in the list, a small PictureBox next to it should show the thumbnail of the corresponding file. I am using C# on Windows 7. To obtain the…
Tironosaurus
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Change the icon on windows 7 taskbar for a pinned application

My software Pomodoro Timer is going to display a dynamic icon on Windows 7 taskbar. You may wonder why the application icon need to be dynamic. It's actually a counting down timer for me to help me focus on current task, so called the pomodoro…
Mason Zhang
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how to get file properties?

I want an application which displays the some file properties of a mediafile if available, like (don't know the exact english words used in windows for it) FileName, Length/Duration, FileType(.avi .mp3 etc.) I tried taglib and windowsapishell but I…
ComputerIntelligentAgent
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What's the difference between *.bat and *.cmd file?

Possible Duplicate: Windows batch files: .bat vs .cmd? Hi, I am learning Windows Batch programming and come across this question: What's the difference between .bat and .cmd file? If they are the same, why need 2 of them? BTW, what's the…
smwikipedia
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How to use SHCreateItemFromParsingName with names from the shell namespace?

I am using SHCreateItemFromParsingName to turn a path into a IShellItem: IShellItem ParseName(String path) { IShellItem shellItem; HRESULT hr = SHCreateItemFromParsingName(path, null, IShellItem, out shellItem); if (Failed(hr)) …
Ian Boyd
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Select a file for renaming in SharpShell context menu

I'm using SharpShell to write a tiny new shell context menu item that copies the currently selected files to a new subfolder, then prompts the user for the directory's new name. Searching StackOverflow, I found this answer. However, I'd like to do…
Lynn
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What are all of the well-known virtual folder GUIDs?

There seem to be a few virtual folders which have GUIDs associated to them (control panel, desktop) - ::{00021400-0000-0000-c000-000000000046} // desktop Where the blazes are these defined? When are they used? What I want is a way to have a…
Mordachai
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