Types of objects
Specifically, the Shell namespace consists of two basic types of objects, namely files and folders. Folder objects, which are containers for file objects and other folders called subdirectories, are the nodes of the tree, while file objects are the leaves of the namespace tree. Objects in the Shell namespace can represent physically stored file system objects such as files and folders, or can be virtual objects such as the My Network Places and Recycle Bin "virtual folders".
The folders and data files that reside on physical computer disk drives are the most numerous and familiar of these objects; although, through extensions the Shell also provides access to various virtual objects that may not involve physical storage at all. Consequentially, there are folders that do not reside on the physical file system, which are referred to as virtual folders. Likewise, there are virtual file objects that do not reside on the physical file system. Virtual Shell objects are used throughout the Windows Shell. On the Desktop, Shell launchers are implemented through a built-in shell extension. The Windows Shell utilizes virtual Shell objects to conceptually represent computer peripherals and network devices, such as printers and routers. Virtual Shell objects can function as Shell links and execute commands when invoked by the user. For example, in Windows XP and other versions, "rundll32.exe" shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 0 is executed on the command line when a user launches the "Folder Options" applet in the Control Panel.
The user's Desktop is a special folder that resides at the root of the Shell namespace. Although this folder maps by default to a physical folder stored in the user's profile folder, the special desktop folder is represented as a distinct object from the physical desktop folder. The same holds true with the "My Documents" (Windows 95 through XP) or user "Documents" (Windows Vista+) folder.
A computer file is a computer resource for recording data in a computer storage device, primarily identified by its file name. Just as words can be written to paper, so can data be written to a computer file. Files can be shared with and transferred between computers and mobile devices via removable media, networks, or the Internet.
VBScript is an Active Scripting language developed by Microsoft that is modeled on Visual Basic. It allows Microsoft Windows system administrators to generate powerful tools for managing computers with error handling, subroutines, and other advanced programming constructs. It can give the user complete control over many aspects of their computing environment.
In computing, a symbolic link is a term for any file that contains a reference to another file or directory in the form of an absolute or relative path and that affects pathname resolution.
In computing, an icon is a pictogram or ideogram displayed on a computer screen in order to help the user navigate a computer system. The icon itself is a quickly comprehensible symbol of a software tool, function, or a data file, accessible on the system and is more like a traffic sign than a detailed illustration of the actual entity it represents. It can serve as an electronic hyperlink or file shortcut to access the program or data. The user can activate an icon using a mouse, pointer, finger, or recently voice commands. Their placement on the screen, also in relation to other icons, may provide further information to the user about their usage. In activating an icon, the user can move directly into and out of the identified function without knowing anything further about the location or requirements of the file or code.
Windows File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file systems. It is also the component of the operating system that presents many user interface items on the screen such as the taskbar and desktop. Controlling the computer is possible without Windows Explorer running.
WinFS was the code name for a canceled data storage and management system project based on relational databases, developed by Microsoft and first demonstrated in 2003 as an advanced storage subsystem for the Microsoft Windows operating system, designed for persistence and management of structured, semi-structured and unstructured data.
The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores low-level settings for the Microsoft Windows operating system and for applications that opt to use the registry. The kernel, device drivers, services, Security Accounts Manager, and user interfaces can all use the registry. The registry also allows access to counters for profiling system performance.
The Control Panel is a component of Microsoft Windows that provides the ability to view and change system settings. It consists of a set of applets that include adding or removing hardware and software, controlling user accounts, changing accessibility options, and accessing networking settings. Additional applets are provided by third parties, such as audio and video drivers, VPN tools, input devices, and networking tools.
In computing, a file shortcut is a handle in a user interface that allows the user to find a file or resource located in a different directory or folder from the place where the shortcut is located. Similarly, an Internet shortcut allows the user to open a page, file or resource located at a remote Internet location or Web site.
In computing, a virtual folder generally denotes an organizing principle for files that is not dependent on location in a hierarchical directory tree. Instead, it consists of software that coalesces results from a data store, which may be a database or a custom index, and presents them visually in the format in which folder views are presented. A virtual folder can be thought of as a view that lists all files tagged with a certain tag, and thus a simulation of a folder whose dynamic contents can be assembled on the fly, when requested. It is related in concept to several other topics in computer science, with names including saved search, saved query, and filtering.
As the next version of Windows NT after Windows 2000, as well as the successor to Windows Me, Windows XP introduced many new features but it also removed some others.
The Windows NT booting process is the process by which Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 operating systems initialize. In Windows Vista and later, this process has changed significantly; see Windows NT 6 startup process for information about what has changed.
My Documents is the commonly recognized name of a special folder in Microsoft Windows. The folder functions both as an area for the user to store their personal data and as a repository for application data, such as configuration files and saved games.
On Microsoft Windows, a special folder is a folder that is presented to the user through an interface as an abstract concept instead of an absolute folder path. Special folders make it possible for any application to ask the operating system where an appropriate location for certain kinds of files can be found; independently of which version or user language of Windows is being used.
The Windows shell is the graphical user interface for the Microsoft Windows operating system. Its readily identifiable elements consist of the desktop, the taskbar, the Start menu, the task switcher and the AutoPlay feature. On some versions of Windows, it also includes Flip 3D and the charms. In Windows 10, the Windows Shell Experience Host interface drives visuals like the Start Menu, Action Center, Taskbar, and Task View/Timeline. However, the Windows shell also implements a shell namespace that enables computer programs running on Windows to access the computer's resources via the hierarchy of shell objects. "Desktop" is the top object of the hierarchy; below it there are a number of files and folders stored on the disk, as well as a number of special folders whose contents are either virtual or dynamically created. Recycle Bin, Libraries, Control Panel, This PC and Network are examples of such shell objects.
In computing, a directory is a file system cataloging structure which contains references to other computer files, and possibly other directories. On many computers, directories are known as folders, or drawers, analogous to a workbench or the traditional office filing cabinet. The name derives from books like a telephone directory that lists the phone numbers of all the people living in a certain area.
A roaming user profile is a file synchronization concept in the Windows NT family of operating systems that allows users with a computer joined to a Windows domain to log on to any computer on the same domain and access their documents and have a consistent desktop experience, such as applications remembering toolbar positions and preferences, or the desktop appearance staying the same, while keeping all related files stored locally, to not continuously depend on a fast and reliable network connection to a file server.
Microsoft Windows profile refers to the user profile that is used by the Microsoft Windows operating system to represent the characteristics of the user.
GMail Drive was a free third-party Windows Shell namespace extension ("add-on") for Google's Gmail. GMail Drive was not supported by Google. It allowed a user to access a virtual drive stored in a Gmail account by causing the contents of the Gmail account to appear as a new network share on the user's workstation. In order to use this add-on, the user needed a Gmail e-mail account. The add-on enabled the user to use the standard Windows desktop file copy and paste commands to transfer files to and from the Gmail account as if it were a drive on the user's computer. Gmail Drive was based upon GmailFS, a file system developed by Richard Jones. GMail Drive was published in 2004 and functional as early as 2005 which predates Google's later implementation of Google Drive released on April 24, 2012. As of 2015, the official extension page declares the project dead.
