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Thread Connection to a Desktop

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After a process connects to a window station, the system assigns a desktop to the thread making the connection. The system determines the desktop to assign to the thread according to the following rules:

  1. If the thread has called the SetThreadDesktop function, it connects to the specified desktop.
  2. If the thread did not call SetThreadDesktop, it connects to the desktop inherited from the parent process.
  3. If the thread did not call SetThreadDesktop and did not inherit a desktop, the system attempts to open for MAXIMUM_ALLOWED access and connect to a desktop as follows:
    • If a desktop name was specified in the lpDesktop member of the STARTUPINFO structure that was used when the process was created, the thread connects to the specified desktop.
    • Otherwise, the thread connects to the default desktop of the window station to which the process connected.

The desktop assigned during this connection process cannot be closed by calling the CloseDesktop function.

When a process is connecting to a desktop, the system searches the process's handle table for inherited handles. The system uses the first desktop handle it finds. If you want a child process to connect to a particular inherited desktop, you must ensure that the only the desired handle is marked inheritable. If a child process inherits multiple desktop handles, the results of the desktop connection are undefined.

Handles to a desktop that the system opens while connecting a process to a desktop are not inheritable.

Process Connection to a Window Station