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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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Minimize/restore windows programmatically skipping the animation effect

I need to perform several operations on a list of windows (minimize some of them, restore others) in order to switch between two or more set of windows at once. The problem with this are those animations you can see when minimizing and restoring a…
GetFree
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Get a file's size through `IShellItem`

I've implemented a directory walking algorithm for the Windows Shell using IShellItem, IShellFolder, IStorage, IStream, etc. All is well and good. I can even walk inside shell namespace extensions (e.g. .zip) files. However, I have problems…
André Caron
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Trying to determine printer status always returns 0 for offline & online printers

My goal is to determine the current status of a printer. I found the following code. Here's a slightly modified version to fix memory leaks & bugs: #include int GetPrinterStatus( char* szPrnName ) { HANDLE hHandle = 0; //…
c00000fd
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How do you drag and drop a file from Explorer Shell into a VirtualTreeView control in a Delphi application?

There is extensive drag and drop support in VirtualTreeView by Mike Lischke, and I am using TVirtualStringTree, which has some on-drag-and-drop events, but I can not figure out how to get it to accept a shell drag-and-drop of some files from the…
Warren P
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How to tell Windows Explorer not to request file details and thumbnails in certain folder?

Is there a way (via shell extension or registry setting) to tell Windows Explorer that it shouldn't read files in the folder being shown in order to extract metadata or create thumbnails? The problem is that when the user navigates to the folder,…
Eugene Mayevski 'Callback
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C#: How to use SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems

Could someone give an example on how to use the shell function SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems from C#? I don't quite get how to use these kind of functions and couldn't find it on pinvoke.net... =/ Say I have three files…
Svish
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CommonAppData in vbscript

A customer's application "AppName" has its configuration files stored in CommonAppData. Under Windows XP that is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AppName Under Windows Vista that is C:\ProgramData\AppName How do I get the…
Mephisztoe
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API to toggle "Show hidden files, folders and drives"

Is there a function in Windows API to toggle the "Show hidden files, folders and drives" option in Windows Explorer (Tools >> Folder Options... >> View tab). I know of a related registry key, but changing that would not have immediate effect. The…
dbkk
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How to obtain the PIDL of an IShellFolder

If I have an IShellFolder interface pointer. How might I obtain its PIDL? I can see how to enumerate its children, and I can see how to use it to compare any two children. But how might I get its own pidl? I ask because I'd like to know: Is this…
Mordachai
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Handle file drop in TShellListView descendant

I am attempting to create a descendant of TShellListView that accepts files dropped from Windows Explorer. I want to handle the drag/drop in my component definition without having to implement it in any of the applications that use the component…
Larry Lustig
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Using 32-bit shell extensions in Windows 7 64-bit

I'd like to develop a shell extension (context menu handler) compatible with both Windows XP SP2 (32-bit) and Windows 7 64-bit. Is it possible to run 32-bit shell extensions in 64-bit Windows, or must the shell extension be ported/rebuilt to 64-bit…
Mr.C64
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how to open a service properties dialog

I would like to add a button to my application ( frontend to a service) that will open the service properties dialog (like in services mmc snapin ) for my service. There are numerous examples to open file properties, but that is not what i want. i…
Lawrence Ward
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How do I remove the "wrench" button on the balloon tooltip?

I want to hide the wrench button on the balloon tooltip Does anyone know how? Is it possible to disable/remove the wrench button next to the close button on the balloon tooltip in the system tray that is being called from…
dailyUnknown
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How to change path of an existing Windows Explorer window?

I have the handle of an opened Windows Explorer window. How can I send a command to it in order to change the path from example: m:\programs to d:\programs. Till now I was using ShellExecute() but it opens a new window. This is not good (user…
Panos Kalatzantonakis
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How to resize Windows Icon Overlay?

I made a icon overlay to my file, *.myfile, but the overlay size is wrong. When the icon shows in size 16x16, the overlay covers the icon. How can I change the overlay size? (IShellIconOverlayIdentifier)
iuwei
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