How To Restart the Windows Shell Programmatically (137572)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Platform Software Development Kit (SDK) 1.0

This article was previously published under Q137572

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);

Modification Type:	Minor	Last Reviewed:	7/11/2005
Keywords:	kbhowto KB137572