In
Windows Shell programming, the Windows Shell namespace is an organized tree-structured
hierarchical representation that
Windows Explorer
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file ...
facilitates to graphically present
file system contents and other objects to the end user. Conceptually, the Shell namespace may be regarded as a larger and more inclusive version of the file system.
The Shell namespace is a hierarchical tree that consists of the wide variety of objects that make up the system.
Types of objects
Specifically, the Shell namespace consists of two basic types of objects, namely files and folders. Folder objects, which are containers for file objects and other folders called subdirectories, are the nodes of the tree, while file objects are the leaves of the namespace tree. Objects in the Shell namespace can represent physically stored file system objects such as files and folders, or can be virtual objects such as the
My Network Places and
Recycle Bin "
virtual folder
In computing, a virtual folder generally denotes an organizing principle for files that is not dependent on location in a hierarchical directory tree. Instead, it consists of software that coalesces results from a data store, which may be a databa ...
s".
The folders and data files that reside on physical computer disk drives are the most numerous and familiar of these objects; although, through
extensions
Extension, extend or extended may refer to:
Mathematics
Logic or set theory
* Axiom of extensionality
* Extensible cardinal
* Extension (model theory)
* Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate
* E ...
the Shell also provides access to various virtual objects that may not involve physical storage at all. Consequentially, there are folders that do not reside on the physical file system, which are referred to as
virtual folder
In computing, a virtual folder generally denotes an organizing principle for files that is not dependent on location in a hierarchical directory tree. Instead, it consists of software that coalesces results from a data store, which may be a databa ...
s. Likewise, there are virtual file objects that do not reside on the physical file system. Virtual Shell objects are used throughout the Windows Shell. On the
Desktop
A desktop traditionally refers to:
* The surface of a desk (often to distinguish office appliances that fit on a desk, such as photocopiers and printers, from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor)
Desktop may refer to various compu ...
, Shell launchers are implemented through a built-in
shell extension. The Windows Shell utilizes virtual Shell objects to conceptually represent computer
peripherals and network devices, such as printers and routers. Virtual Shell objects can function as
Shell links and execute commands when invoked by the user. For example, in Windows XP and other versions,
"rundll32.exe" shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 0 is executed on the command line when a user launches the "Folder Options"
applet
In computing, an applet is any small application that performs one specific task that runs within the scope of a dedicated widget engine or a larger program, often as a plug-in. The term is frequently used to refer to a Java applet, a program ...
in the Control Panel.
The
user's Desktop is a
special folder
On Microsoft Windows, a special folder is a folder that is presented to the user through an interface as an abstract concept instead of an absolute folder path. (The synonymous term shell folder is sometimes used instead.) Special folders mak ...
that resides at the root of the Shell namespace. Although this folder maps by default to a physical folder stored in the user's profile folder, the special desktop folder is represented as a distinct object from the physical desktop folder. The same holds true with the "
My Documents
My Documents is the commonly recognized name of a special folder in Microsoft Windows (starting with Windows Vista, it is called Documents only, and the actual name of the folder might be different when the language of the installed copy of Wi ...
" (Windows 95 through XP) or user "
Documents" (Windows Vista+) folder.
See also
*
Windows Explorer
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file ...
*
Special folder
On Microsoft Windows, a special folder is a folder that is presented to the user through an interface as an abstract concept instead of an absolute folder path. (The synonymous term shell folder is sometimes used instead.) Special folders mak ...
*
My Documents
My Documents is the commonly recognized name of a special folder in Microsoft Windows (starting with Windows Vista, it is called Documents only, and the actual name of the folder might be different when the language of the installed copy of Wi ...
External links
Creating Shell Extension HandlersUnderstanding Shell Namespace ExtensionsIntroduction to the Shell NamespaceWindows Shell functionsat codebot
{{Windows Components
Windows administration