5 Appendix A: Product Behavior
The information in this specification is applicable to the following Microsoft products or supplemental software. References to product versions include updates to those products.
Windows NT 3.1 operating system
Windows NT 3.5 operating system
Windows NT 3.51 operating system
Windows NT 4.0 operating system
Windows 2000 operating system
Windows XP operating system
Windows Server 2003 operating system
Windows Vista operating system
Windows Server 2008 operating system
Windows 7 operating system
Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system
Windows 8 operating system
Windows Server 2012 operating system
Windows 8.1 operating system
Windows Server 2012 R2 operating system
Windows 10 operating system
Windows Server 2016 operating system
Windows Server operating system
Windows Server 2019 operating system
Windows Server 2022 operating system
Windows 11 operating system
Windows Server 2025 operating system
Exceptions, if any, are noted in this section. If an update version, service pack or Knowledge Base (KB) number appears with a product name, the behavior changed in that update. The new behavior also applies to subsequent updates unless otherwise specified. If a product edition appears with the product version, behavior is different in that product edition.
Unless otherwise specified, any statement of optional behavior in this specification that is prescribed using the terms "SHOULD" or "SHOULD NOT" implies product behavior in accordance with the SHOULD or SHOULD NOT prescription. Unless otherwise specified, the term "MAY" implies that the product does not follow the prescription.
<1> Section 2.3: In Windows, Unicode characters are stored in this structure if the data cannot be represented as ANSI characters due to truncation of the values. In this case, the value of the LinkInfoHeaderSize field is greater than or equal to 36.
<2> Section 2.5.1: In Windows environments, this is commonly known as a "command prompt" window.
<3> Section 2.5.2: In Windows environments, this is commonly known as a "command prompt" window.
<4> Section 2.5.3: In Windows, this is a Windows Installer (MSI) application descriptor. For more information, see [MSDN-SHELLLINKS].
<5> Section 2.5.11: The VistaAndAboveIDListDataBlock structure is not supported on Windows NT operating system, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003.