Windows Shell
Encyclopedia
The Windows shell is the main graphical user interface
in Microsoft Windows
, and since Windows 95
hosted by Windows Explorer
. The Windows shell includes well-known Windows components such as the Taskbar
and the Start menu
. The Windows shell is not the same as a "command-line shell
" , but the two concepts are related.
The Windows Shell is not to be confused with Windows' window manager (the Desktop Window Manager
in Windows Vista and forward or the USER subsystem in previous versions), which displays window
s and controls how they look.
Right-clicking on a blank area of the desktop displays a menu which contains, apart from the usual file management and organisation options, links to the Personalisation and Screen Resolution control panels (Display Properties in earlier versions), and gadget configuration.
The left pane of the start menu generally contains software-related shortcuts, including:
The right pane contains links to folders and settings, including:
When Windows 1.0
shipped in November 1985, it used the MS-DOS Executive as its shell. MS-DOS Executive was a simple file manager that differentiated between files and folders by bold type, since it lacked support for icons. Programs could be launched by double-clicking on them.
Windows 2.0
also shipped with MS-DOS Executive as the shell. This version bore little change from its predecessor.
, introduced in May 1990, shipped with a new shell, called Program Manager
. Based on Microsoft's work with OS/2 1.0's Desktop Manager, Program Manager sorted program shortcuts into groups (although unlike Desktop Manager, these were housed in a single window, in order to show off Microsoft's new Multiple Document Interface.
Program Manager in Windows 3.1 introduced the new Startup group, which Program Manager would check on launch and start any programs it found in it, and wrappable icon titles. Program Manager was also ported to Windows NT 3.1
, and retained in Windows NT 3.51
.
, the file manager for the operating system. The desktop was now a container for files, folders and system areas such as My Computer
, Network Neighborhood
, and the Recycle Bin, as well as shortcuts, which were now implimented as files. The taskbar
was introduced, with an area consisting of buttons representing open windows, a digital clock, a "notifications area" for background processes and system notifications, and the Start button, which harboured the Start menu
. The Start menu contained links to settings, recently-used files and, like Program Manager before it, shortcuts and program groups. Since it provided both shell and file management functions, Explorer replaced both Program Manager and File Manager.
Program Manager was also included in Windows 95 as an "escape hatch", in case the user disliked the new interface.
The new shell was also ported to Windows NT, first as the NewShell update for Windows NT 3.51 and then integrated fully into Windows NT 4.0
.
announced that the next release of its browser, codenamed "Constellation", would completely integrate with Windows and add a new shell, codenamed "HomePort", which would present the same files and shortcuts no matter which machine a user logged in to. Microsoft started working on a similar Internet Explorer release, codenamed "Nashville
". Internet Explorer 4.0 was redesigned and resulted in two products: the standalone IE4 and the Windows Desktop Update
, which updated the shell with features such as Active Desktop
, Active Channel
s, Web folders, desktop toolbars such as the Quick Launch bars, ability to minimize windows by clicking their button on the taskbar, HTML-based folder customization, single click launching, image thumbnails, folder infotips, web view in folders, Back and Forward navigation buttons, larger toolbar buttons with text labels, favorites, file attributes in Details view, and an address bar in Windows Explorer, among other features. It also introduced the My Documents
shell folder.
Future Windows releases, like Windows 95C (OSR 2.5) and Windows 98
, included Internet Explorer 4 and the features of the Windows Desktop Update already built in, and improvements were made in Windows 2000 and Windows Me, such as personalized menus, ability to drag and sort menu items, sort by name function in menus, cascading Start menu special folders, customizable toolbars for Explorer, auto-complete in Windows Explorer address bar and Run box, displaying comments in file shortcuts as tooltips, advanced file type association features, extensible columns in Details view (IColumnProvider interface), icon overlays, places bar in common dialogs, high-color notification area icons and a search pane in Explorer.
introduced a new Start Menu, with shortcuts to shell locations on the right and a list of most frequently used applications on the left. It also grouped taskbar buttons from the same program if the taskbar got too crowded, and hid notification icons if they had not been used for a while. For the first time, Windows XP hid most of the shell folders from the desktop by default, leaving only the recycle bin (although the user could get them back if they desired). Windows XP also introduced numerous other shell enhancements.
In the early days of the Longhorn project, an experimental sidebar, with plugins similar to taskbar plugins and a notifications history was built into the shell. However, when Longhorn was reset this was ditched in favour of a separate program that provided Web-enabled gadgets, replacing Active Desktop.
Windows Vista
introduced to the shell a searchable Start menu and live taskbar previews. It also introduced a redesigned Alt-Tab switcher, also with live previews. Windows 7 added 'pinned' shortcuts and 'jump lists' to the taskbar, and automatically grouped program windows into one icon (although this could be reversed.) The Windows 7 shell also re-absorbed the responsibility of rendering gadgets.
Windows Server 2008 introduced the possibility to have a Windows install without the shell, resulting in less services loaded and running.
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...
in 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...
, and since 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...
hosted 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...
. The Windows shell includes well-known Windows components such as the Taskbar
Taskbar
In computing, a taskbar is a bar displayed on a full edge of a GUI desktop that is used to launch and monitor running applications. Microsoft incorporated a taskbar in Windows 95 and it has been a defining aspect of Microsoft Windows's graphical user interface ever since. Some desktop environments,...
and the Start menu
Start menu
The Start Menu and Start Button are user interface elements used in the later versions of the Microsoft Windows operating systems and in some X window managers...
. The Windows shell is not the same as a "command-line 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...
" , but the two concepts are related.
The Windows Shell is not to be confused with Windows' window manager (the Desktop Window Manager
Desktop Window Manager
Desktop Window Manager is the window manager in Windows Vista and Windows 7 that enables the Windows Aero graphical user interface and visual theme. The Desktop Window Manager requires video cards supporting DirectX 9.0 and Shader Model 2.0. DWM is not included with Windows Vista Starter edition...
in Windows Vista and forward or the USER subsystem in previous versions), which displays window
Window (computing)
In computing, a window is a visual area containing some kind of user interface. It usually has a rectangular shape that can overlap with the area of other windows...
s and controls how they look.
Desktop
The Windows shell desktop is an array of icons, rendered behind all open windows and taking up the space left by the taskbar. The typical icons displayed on the desktop is as follows:- Shell folders, usually DocumentsMy DocumentsOn Microsoft Windows computer operating systems , My Documents is the name of a special folder on the computer's hard drive that the system commonly uses to store a user's documents, music, pictures, downloads, and other files.- Overview :Microsoft first introduced the "My Documents" folder in...
or the Profile folder, ComputerMy ComputerMy Computer may refer to:* A component of Windows Explorer, a Microsoft file system browser* My Computer , from Manchester, England...
, NetworkMy Network PlacesIn the Microsoft Windows operating systems, My Network Places is the network browser feature in Windows Explorer from Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, and Windows Me onwards...
and Recycle Bin. Since Windows XP, by default the only shell folder displayed on the desktop has been the Recycle Bin. - Shell launchers, special icons added through a shell extension. Examples include Internet Explorer and older versions of Microsoft Outlook.
- Common shortcuts, or shortcuts that have been installed to the common desktop, usually by a third-party program.
- User shortcuts, or shortcuts in the current user's desktop.
- Desktop files and folders.
Right-clicking on a blank area of the desktop displays a menu which contains, apart from the usual file management and organisation options, links to the Personalisation and Screen Resolution control panels (Display Properties in earlier versions), and gadget configuration.
Taskbar
The taskbar is divided into three main areas:- The Start button, which provides access to the Start menuStart menuThe Start Menu and Start Button are user interface elements used in the later versions of the Microsoft Windows operating systems and in some X window managers...
. - A list of open windows, with the active window's button rendered in a depressed fashion.
- A list of shortcuts to programs for easy access. While previously this had its own area, called the Quick Launch toolbar, it has since been integrated into the list of open programs with the release of Windows 7.
- Deskbands, which are toolbars provided by other programs for easier access to that program's functions.
- The notification area, system icons and clock. Notifications display from a speech bubble which pops out from the relevant notification icon, while system icons provide access to commonly accessed functions like volume control and network status.
Start Menu
The Start menu consists of a dual-paned menu containing links to various programs and areas of the system.The left pane of the start menu generally contains software-related shortcuts, including:
- Links to the user's default Internet Browser and Email programs.
- Pinned start menu items.
- The user's most frequesntly used programs.
- The All Programs menu, which cantains sortcuts to programs installed on your computer. Icons can be grouped in submenus called program groups.
- A Search box, which can search for programs, files and control panel settings, as well as replacing the Run dialog and acting as a a rudimentry folder explorer.
The right pane contains links to folders and settings, including:
- User account settings, accessed from the square containing the user's profile icon.
- Shell folders, including the user's Profile, DocumentsMy DocumentsOn Microsoft Windows computer operating systems , My Documents is the name of a special folder on the computer's hard drive that the system commonly uses to store a user's documents, music, pictures, downloads, and other files.- Overview :Microsoft first introduced the "My Documents" folder in...
, Pictures, and MusicMy MusicMy Music was a radio panel show which premiered on the BBC Home Service on January 3, 1967. It was a companion program to My Word!, and like that show featured comic writers Denis Norden and Frank Muir. It was also broadcast via the BBC World Service...
folders, the Games Explorer, and ComputerMy ComputerMy Computer may refer to:* A component of Windows Explorer, a Microsoft file system browser* My Computer , from Manchester, England...
. - The Control PanelControl panelControl panel may refer to:* Control panel , a flat, often vertical, area where control instrumentation is mounted.* Control panel , the tool in the operating system which allows most or all of the settings to be changed through a user interface** Control panel ** Control Panel ** Web hosting...
, as well as the Devices and Printers and Default Programs control panels. - The Shut Down button, with a menu allowing the user to select other options.
Autoplay
Autoplay is a feature introduced in Windows XP that examines newly-inserted removeable media for content and displays a dialog containing options related to that media.Windows 1.0 and 2.0: The MS-DOS Executive
The first public demonstration of Windows, in 1983, had a simplistic shell called the Session Control Layer, which served as a constantly visible menu at the bottom of the screen. Clicking on Run would display a list of programs that one could launch, and clicking on Session Control would display a list of programs already running so one could switch between them.When Windows 1.0
Windows 1.0
Windows 1.0 is a 16-bit graphical operating environment, developed by Microsoft and released on 20 November 1985. It was Microsoft's first attempt to implement a multi-tasking graphical user interface-based operating environment on the PC platform. Windows 1.0 was the first version of Windows...
shipped in November 1985, it used the MS-DOS Executive as its shell. MS-DOS Executive was a simple file manager that differentiated between files and folders by bold type, since it lacked support for icons. Programs could be launched by double-clicking on them.
Windows 2.0
Windows 2.0
Windows 2.0 is a 16-bit Microsoft Windows GUI-based operating environment that was released on December 9, 1987 and is the successor to Windows 1.0. With Windows 2.1x in 1988, Windows 2.0 was supplemented by Windows/286 and Windows/386...
also shipped with MS-DOS Executive as the shell. This version bore little change from its predecessor.
Windows 3.x, NT 3.x: Program Manager
Windows 3.0Windows 3.0
Windows 3.0, a graphical environment, is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, and was released on 22 May 1990. It became the first widely successful version of Windows and a rival to Apple Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga on the GUI front...
, introduced in May 1990, shipped with a new shell, called Program Manager
Program Manager
Program Manager is the shell of Windows 3.x and Windows NT 3.x operating systems. This shell exposed a task-oriented graphical user interface , consisting of icons arranged into program groups. It replaced MS-DOS Executive, a file manager, as the default Windows shell.The program derives from the...
. Based on Microsoft's work with OS/2 1.0's Desktop Manager, Program Manager sorted program shortcuts into groups (although unlike Desktop Manager, these were housed in a single window, in order to show off Microsoft's new Multiple Document Interface.
Program Manager in Windows 3.1 introduced the new Startup group, which Program Manager would check on launch and start any programs it found in it, and wrappable icon titles. Program Manager was also ported to Windows NT 3.1
Windows NT 3.1
Windows NT 3.1 is the first release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of server and business desktop operating systems, and was released to manufacturing on 27 July 1993. The version number was chosen to match the one of Windows 3.1, the then-latest operating environment from Microsoft, on account of...
, and retained in Windows NT 3.51
Windows NT 3.51
Windows NT 3.51 is the third release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems. It was released on 30 May 1995, nine months after Windows NT 3.5. The release provided two notable feature improvements; firstly NT 3.51 was the first of a short-lived outing of Microsoft Windows on the...
.
Windows 95: Windows Explorer replaces Program Manager
Windows 95 introduced a new shell, hosted in Windows ExplorerWindows 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...
, the file manager for the operating system. The desktop was now a container for files, folders and system areas such as My Computer
My Computer
My Computer may refer to:* A component of Windows Explorer, a Microsoft file system browser* My Computer , from Manchester, England...
, Network Neighborhood
My Network Places
In the Microsoft Windows operating systems, My Network Places is the network browser feature in Windows Explorer from Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, and Windows Me onwards...
, and the Recycle Bin, as well as shortcuts, which were now implimented as files. The taskbar
Taskbar
In computing, a taskbar is a bar displayed on a full edge of a GUI desktop that is used to launch and monitor running applications. Microsoft incorporated a taskbar in Windows 95 and it has been a defining aspect of Microsoft Windows's graphical user interface ever since. Some desktop environments,...
was introduced, with an area consisting of buttons representing open windows, a digital clock, a "notifications area" for background processes and system notifications, and the Start button, which harboured the Start menu
Start menu
The Start Menu and Start Button are user interface elements used in the later versions of the Microsoft Windows operating systems and in some X window managers...
. The Start menu contained links to settings, recently-used files and, like Program Manager before it, shortcuts and program groups. Since it provided both shell and file management functions, Explorer replaced both Program Manager and File Manager.
Program Manager was also included in Windows 95 as an "escape hatch", in case the user disliked the new interface.
The new shell was also ported to Windows NT, first as the NewShell update for Windows NT 3.51 and then integrated fully into 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...
.
Nashville: The Windows Desktop Update
In early 1996, NetscapeNetscape
Netscape Communications is a US computer services company, best known for Netscape Navigator, its web browser. When it was an independent company, its headquarters were in Mountain View, California...
announced that the next release of its browser, codenamed "Constellation", would completely integrate with Windows and add a new shell, codenamed "HomePort", which would present the same files and shortcuts no matter which machine a user logged in to. Microsoft started working on a similar Internet Explorer release, codenamed "Nashville
Windows Nashville
Nashville was the codename for a cancelled release of Microsoft Windows scheduled to be released in 1996, between "Chicago" and "Memphis" , causing it to be referred to as Windows 96 by the public...
". Internet Explorer 4.0 was redesigned and resulted in two products: the standalone IE4 and the Windows Desktop Update
Windows Desktop Update
Microsoft's Windows Desktop Update was an optional feature included with Internet Explorer 4 , which introduced several updated shell features to the Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems...
, which updated the shell with features such as Active Desktop
Active Desktop
Active Desktop was a feature of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0's optional Windows Desktop Update that allows the user to add HTML content to the desktop, along with some other features. This function was intended to be installed on the then-current Windows 95 operating system...
, Active Channel
Active Channel
Active Channel is a website type which was introduced by Internet Explorer 4.0 in 1997. It allows synchronizing website content and viewing it offline...
s, Web folders, desktop toolbars such as the Quick Launch bars, ability to minimize windows by clicking their button on the taskbar, HTML-based folder customization, single click launching, image thumbnails, folder infotips, web view in folders, Back and Forward navigation buttons, larger toolbar buttons with text labels, favorites, file attributes in Details view, and an address bar in Windows Explorer, among other features. It also introduced the My Documents
My Documents
On Microsoft Windows computer operating systems , My Documents is the name of a special folder on the computer's hard drive that the system commonly uses to store a user's documents, music, pictures, downloads, and other files.- Overview :Microsoft first introduced the "My Documents" folder in...
shell folder.
Future Windows releases, like Windows 95C (OSR 2.5) and Windows 98
Windows 98
Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...
, included Internet Explorer 4 and the features of the Windows Desktop Update already built in, and improvements were made in Windows 2000 and Windows Me, such as personalized menus, ability to drag and sort menu items, sort by name function in menus, cascading Start menu special folders, customizable toolbars for Explorer, auto-complete in Windows Explorer address bar and Run box, displaying comments in file shortcuts as tooltips, advanced file type association features, extensible columns in Details view (IColumnProvider interface), icon overlays, places bar in common dialogs, high-color notification area icons and a search pane in Explorer.
The 2000s: Taskbar and Start Menu Improvements
Windows XPWindows 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...
introduced a new Start Menu, with shortcuts to shell locations on the right and a list of most frequently used applications on the left. It also grouped taskbar buttons from the same program if the taskbar got too crowded, and hid notification icons if they had not been used for a while. For the first time, Windows XP hid most of the shell folders from the desktop by default, leaving only the recycle bin (although the user could get them back if they desired). Windows XP also introduced numerous other shell enhancements.
In the early days of the Longhorn project, an experimental sidebar, with plugins similar to taskbar plugins and a notifications history was built into the shell. However, when Longhorn was reset this was ditched in favour of a separate program that provided Web-enabled gadgets, replacing Active Desktop.
Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
introduced to the shell a searchable Start menu and live taskbar previews. It also introduced a redesigned Alt-Tab switcher, also with live previews. Windows 7 added 'pinned' shortcuts and 'jump lists' to the taskbar, and automatically grouped program windows into one icon (although this could be reversed.) The Windows 7 shell also re-absorbed the responsibility of rendering gadgets.
Windows Server 2008 introduced the possibility to have a Windows install without the shell, resulting in less services loaded and running.