SAMPLE: Using DDE to Create Program Manager Groups and Items

• Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows version 3.1

Mkegroup: Uses DDE to Create Program Manager Groups and Items

The Mkegroup (Make Group) sample application demonstrates the ease of creating Microsoft(R) Windows(TM) Program Manager groups and items with dynamic data exchange (DDE).

The application displays a form from which the user can select a program group name (for example, Games) and a bunch of files. Clicking on the Make Group button either creates a new group with the specified name in the Program Manager or opens a group by that name, if one already exists. The application then creates program items in the group for each selected file.

Of course, the user can create groups and items manually using the Program Manager File New command or by dragging files from the File Manager to the Program Manager. However, as an added bonus, Mkegroup provides an Iterate button that scans all of the subdirectories below the current directory, looking for files that match the currently selected pattern (for example, *.EXE), and adds all matching files to the list of selected files.

For example, let's say you have a directory called C:\VB\VBSAMPLE on your hard disk that contains a subdirectory for each sample program you have written. If you want to create a program group that contains program items for all of the samples, open Mkegroup, select C:\VB\VBSAMPLE in the directory list box, and choose the Iterate button. This is much easier than opening each subdirectory individually.

Download MKEGROUP.EXE, a self-extracting file, from the Microsoft Software Library (MSL) on the following services:

• Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)

        Dial (206) 936-6735 to connect to MSDL
        Download MKEGROUP.EXE (size: 19632 bytes) 
  

• Internet (anonymous FTP)

        ftp ftp.microsoft.com
        Change to the \SOFTLIB\MSLFILES directory
        Get MKEGROUP.EXE (size: 19632 bytes)