IShellFolder
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8/28/2008
This interface is used to manage folders. All shell namespace folder objects expose this interface.
When to Implement
Implement this interface for objects that extend the shell's namespace. For example, implement this interface to create a separate namespace that requires a rooted Windows Explorer or to install a new namespace directly within the hierarchy of the system namespace. You are most familiar with the contents of your namespace, so you are responsible for implementing everything needed to access your data.
Methods
The following table shows the methods for this interface by functional grouping. Like all COM interfaces, this interface inherits the methods for the IUnknown interface.
| Grouping | Method |
|---|---|
Working with objects |
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Information retrieval |
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Item identifiers |
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Obtaining a Pointer
To retrieve a folder's IShellFolder interface, you typically start by calling SHGetDesktopFolder. This function returns a pointer to the desktop's IShellFolder interface. You can then use its methods to retrieve an IShellFolder interface for a particular namespace folder.
Remarks
Use this interface when you need to display or perform an operation on the contents of the shell's namespace. Other shell folder objects usually create objects that support IShellFolder.
IShellFolder methods only accept pointers to item identifier list (PIDLs) that are relative to the folder. Some IShellFolder methods, such as IShellFolder::GetAttributesOf, only accept single-level PIDLs. In other words, the PIDL must contain only a single SHITEMID structure, plus the terminating NULL. When you enumerate the contents of a folder with IEnumIDList, you receive PIDLs of this form. Other methods, such as IShellFolder::CompareIDs, accept multi-level PIDLs. These PIDLs can have multiple SHITEMID structures and identify objects one or more levels below the parent folder. Check the reference to be sure what type of PIDL can be accepted by a particular method.
Requirements
| Header | shobjidl.h, shobjidl.idl |
| Library | Developer Implemented |
| Windows Embedded CE | Windows CE .NET 4.2 and later |