IShellDispatch object

Represents an object in the Shell. Methods are provided to control the Shell and to execute commands within the Shell. There are also methods to obtain other Shell-related objects.

Note

IShellDispatch is implemented and accessed through the Shell object.

 

Members

The IShellDispatch object has these types of members:

• Methods
• Properties

Methods

The IShellDispatch object has these methods.

Method	Description
BrowseForFolder	Creates a dialog box that enables the user to select a folder and then returns the selected folder's Folder object.
CascadeWindows	Cascades all of the windows on the desktop. This method has the same effect as right-clicking the taskbar and selecting Cascade windows.
ControlPanelItem	Runs the specified Control Panel application. If the application is already open, it will activate the running instance. Note: As of Windows Vista, most Control Panel applications are Shell items and cannot be opened with this function. To open those Control Panel applications, pass the canonical name to control.exe. For example: control.exe /name Microsoft.Personalization
EjectPC	Ejects the computer from its docking station. This is the same as clicking the Start menu and selecting Eject PC, if your computer supports this command.
Explore	Opens a specified folder in a Windows Explorer window.
FileRun	Displays the Run dialog to the user.
FindComputer	Displays the Search Results: Computers dialog box. The dialog box shows the result of the search for a specified computer.
FindFiles	Displays the Find: All Files dialog box. This is the same as clicking the Start menu and then selecting Search.
Help	Displays the Windows Help and Support window. This method has the same effect as clicking the Start menu and selecting Help and Support.
MinimizeAll	Minimizes all of the windows on the desktop. This method has the same effect as right-clicking the taskbar and selecting Minimize All Windows on older systems or clicking the Show Desktop icon on the taskbar.
NameSpace	Creates and returns a Folder object for the specified folder.
Open	Opens the specified folder.
RefreshMenu	Refreshes the contents of the Start menu. Used only with systems preceding Windows XP.
SetTime	Displays the Date and Time dialog box. This method has the same effect as right-clicking the clock in the taskbar status area and selecting Adjust date/time.
ShutdownWindows	Displays the Shut Down Windows dialog box. This is the same as clicking the Start menu and selecting Shut Down.
Suspend	td
TileHorizontally	Tiles all of the windows on the desktop horizontally. This method has the same effect as right-clicking the taskbar and selecting Show windows stacked.
TileVertically	Tiles all of the windows on the desktop vertically. This method has the same effect as right-clicking the taskbar and selecting Show windows side by side.
TrayProperties	Displays the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box. This method has the same effect as right-clicking the taskbar and selecting Properties.
UndoMinimizeALL	Restores all desktop windows to the state they were in before the last MinimizeAll command. This method has the same effect as right-clicking the taskbar and selecting Undo Minimize All Windows (on older systems) or a second clicking of the Show Desktop icon in the taskbar.
Windows	Creates and returns a ShellWindows object. This object represents a collection of all of the open windows that belong to the Shell.

 

Properties

The IShellDispatch object has these properties.

Property	Access type	Description
Application	Read-only	Contains an object that represents an application.
Parent	Read-only	Retrieves an object that represents the parent of the current object.

 

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server	Windows 2000 Server [desktop apps only]
Header	Shldisp.h
IDL	Shldisp.idl
DLL	Shell32.dll (version 4.71 or later)

See also

IDispatch

Shell Object