Program Manager is the shell

Shell (computing)

A shell is a piece of software that provides an interface for users of an operating system which provides access to the services of a kernel. However, the term is also applied very loosely to applications and may include any software that is "built around" a particular component, such as web...

 of Windows 3.x

Windows 3.x

Windows 3.x can refer to either an individual or all of the following versions of Microsoft Windows:*Windows 3.0*Windows 3.1x*Windows 3.2...

 and Windows NT

Windows NT

Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...

 3.x operating system

Operating system

An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

s. This shell exposed a task-oriented graphical user interface

Graphical user interface

In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...

 (GUI), consisting of icon

Icon (computing)

A computer icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen and used to navigate a computer system or mobile device. The icon itself is a small picture or symbol serving as a quick, intuitive representation of a software tool, function or a data file accessible on the system. It functions as an...

s (shortcut

Computer shortcut

A file shortcut in Microsoft Windows is a small file containing a target URI or GUID to an object, or the name of a target program file that the shortcut represents. The shortcut might additionally specify parameters to be passed to the target program when it is run. Each shortcut can have its own...

s for programs) arranged into program groups. It replaced MS-DOS Executive, a file manager

File manager

A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files are: create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, search/find, and modify file attributes, properties...

, as the default Windows shell.

The program derives from the OS/2

OS/2

OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...

 1.2 program PMShell. This had the same icons as the Windows 3.0 program. Unlike the Windows versions, which are meant to illustrate the Multiple document interface

Multiple document interface

Graphical computer applications with a multiple document interface are those whose windows reside under a single parent window , as opposed to all windows being separate from each other . Such systems often allow child windows to embed other windows inside them as well, creating complex nested...

, one can place groups or icons in a group, the groups in OS/2 were presented in a list. Running the OS/2 version in Presentation Manager for Windows will cause PMShell to read all of Windows groups, via DDE.

The DOS Shell

DOS Shell

The DOS Shell is a file manager, debuted in MS-DOS and IBM DOS 4.0 . It was discontinued after version 6.0, but retained as part of the "Supplemental Disk" until 6.22 for MS-DOS; as such, it was not a core part of the operating system throughout its evolution, but rather an add-on...

 (DOSSHELL) program in PC-DOS and MS-DOS has a File Manager and a Program Manager, this program being run on the Windows DOSX extender. This program also supports nested groups inside groups. It is in part because of this that programs like Norton Commander offer a program launch menu.

In later versions of Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

, starting with Windows 95

Windows 95

Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...

 and Windows NT 4.0

Windows NT 4.0

Windows NT 4.0 is a preemptive, graphical and business-oriented operating system designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor computers. It was the next release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on 31 July 1996...

, Program Manager was replaced by Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer

This article is about the Windows file system browser. For the similarly named web browser, see Internet ExplorerWindows 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...

 as the shell, though Windows 95 gave the user an opportunity to choose which shell they preferred during setup. For backward compatibility

Backward compatibility

In the context of telecommunications and computing, a device or technology is said to be backward or downward compatible if it can work with input generated by an older device...

 with old applications, Program Manager was still included in later versions of Windows. It can be accessed by executing PROGMAN.EXE from the command line or Run dialog. The file is located in the Windows directory in older versions, or the System32 directory in Windows 2000

Windows 2000

Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...

 and Windows XP

Windows XP

Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...

. On any Windows version, it can be used as the default shell by specifying the Shell value in the registry

Windows registry

The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains settings for low-level operating system components as well as the applications running on the platform: the kernel, device drivers, services, SAM, user...

 at either HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon (per machine) or HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon (per user).

Today, Program Manager has little practical use beyond compatibility with pre-Windows 95 programs. Since Windows XP Service Pack

Service pack

A service pack is a collection of updates, fixes or enhancements to a software program delivered in the form of a single installable package. Many companies, such as Microsoft or Autodesk, typically release a service pack when the number of individual patches to a given program reaches a certain ...

 2, it has been reduced to a stub and a converter for Program Manager shortcuts to Windows Explorer shortcuts. Beginning with Windows Vista, PROGMAN.EXE, the executable, is no longer included with the system.

It is still possible to use the Program Manager in Windows XP Service Pack 2 or 3 (and Windows Vista or 7) by copying and replacing the Progman.exe executable with the executable from Service Pack 1 or the Windows XP original retail release. With the SP1 (or original release) CD, one can expand it by typing expand -r D:\i386\progman.ex_ %Windir% at the command prompt (replacing D: with the CD-ROM drive letter). It is also possible to bypass the Windows File Protection

Windows File Protection

Windows File Protection , a sub-system included in Microsoft Windows operating systems of the Windows 2000 and Windows XP era, aims to prevent programs from replacing critical Windows system files. Protecting core system files mitigates problems such as DLL hell with programs and the operating system...

 and overwrite the SP2/SP3 version of Program Manager completely. Alternatively, the file can be saved to a different location or using a different filename. If Service Pack 3 has backed up previous files on an RTM or SP1 Windows XP installation, the backed up version can be accessed from: %Windir%\$NtServicePackUninstall$\Progman.exe

The Program Manager from ReactOS

ReactOS

ReactOS is an open source computer operating system intended to be binary compatible with application software and device drivers made for Microsoft Windows NT versions 5.x and up...

has most of the features of the Microsoft version.