How to Restart the Windows Shell Programmatically

Last reviewed: October 2, 1995
Article ID: Q137572

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Win32 Software Development Kit (SDK) version 4.0

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);

Additional reference words: 4.00 Windows 95
KBCategory: kbprg kbcode
KBSubcategory: UsrShell

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Last reviewed: October 2, 1995
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