com objects and the shell

[bedazzled]

Hello...

From the new beta ... information on COM, I have the COM/OLE viewer... (thanks)

However i really need to work out/find out what things i can do with the shell (specifically windows explorer folders) with the COM interface...

Im afraid i can quite work out (or find any real 'hard' info via google) what things i can ask for/make it do now that i have the COM interface...

eg:

Am i able to detect mouse events on a folder window?

AM i able to get the column widths of the details listview thru COM at all...

Can anyone point me at some info about this .. as although i have scanned the MSDN shell topics, im still adrift as to what/and how i would go about getting anything to actually do anything.

I cant really work out from the COM/OLE viewer what bits of the shell i can "plug into" there either ...

Thanks...

[bedazzled]

sort of topic you dont get many replies too

[DaleHohm]

Unfortunately, you didn't say what you had already tried, so I'll point you to the spot I start with and perhaps it is new to you. The Shell object is a very strange beast because it has many personalities and seperate sets of properties and methods for each. Anyway, I suggest you start here and dig to the shell variant you want to work with:

Scriptable Shell Objects

Dale

[bedazzled]

Thanks Dale:

im just not sure exactly where i look to find out what i can do:

for example i got this off the web:

$oShell = ObjCreate("Shell.Application") ; Get the Windows Shell Object

$oShellWindows=$oShell.windows ; Get the collection of open shell Windows

if Isobj($oShellWindows) then ; yes we have some shell windows

$string="" ; String for displaying purposes

for $Window in $oShellWindows ; Count all existing shell windows

;$String = $String & $window.LocationName & @CRLF

$String = $String & $window.LocationURL & @CRLF

next

Msgbox(0,"Shell Windows","You have the following shell windows:" & @CRLF & @CRLF & $String);

endif

where the key bit is using the $window.LocationURL to get the full path of a folder (shell) window...

However i have no idea where that particular method/property is documented either in MSDN or where i would find it using the OLE viewer...

I of course would like a list of all the things i can get/set in shell folders...

Im particularly interested in how i would go about:

getting the listview type (ie thunbs, details etc)

and if details, getting info on which details and the column withs etc etc...

and also being able to set these back into an open listview...

getting/setting/trapping and handling any message events on a shell window would also be good...

Any further pointers at all?

Thanks Howard

[DaleHohm]

Im particularly interested in how i would go about:

getting the listview type (ie thunbs, details etc)

and if details, getting info on which details and the column withs etc etc...

and also being able to set these back into an open listview...

getting/setting/trapping and handling any message events on a shell window would also be good...

Any further pointers at all?

Thanks Howard

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't know anything other than what is available from that page... there are references there to a tremendous number of objects, all with their own set of attributes and methods.

I have been focusing on the IE instances of the Shell and not on the Folder instances so I have not really studied them. Click on the links on that page that say "Shell object", "Folder object", "FolderItem object" etc to see a breakdown of the attributes for each. In MSDN fashion you may wear out your first mouse button before you drill to the right spot.

good luck.

Dale

[bedazzled]

thanks dale ...

am drilling down thru MSDN....

will look at your stuff as well