HOWTO: Restart the Windows Shell Programmatically

ID: Q137572

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Win32 Software Development Kit (SDK)

SUMMARY

Creating and updating shell extensions in Windows requires that the shell be restarted. This may be accomplished by having the user manually perform this task; however, in many cases, you may find it is better to do it programmatically.

MORE INFORMATION

To restart the shell programmatically, find the shell window, post it a quit message, and then call WinExec() with explorer.exe. For Example:


   HWND hwndShell = FindWindow("Progman", NULL);
   PostMessage(hwndShell, WM_QUIT, 0, 0L);
   WinExec("Explorer.exe",SW_SHOW);


Keywords          : kbLib kbNTOS kbWinOS kbGrpShell 
Version           : 
Platform          : 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: March 5, 1999