PDC09 – Pre-Conference – Windows Bootcamp Part 5/6 – Windows 7 Libraries Integration

Overview

• In previous versions of windows, users managed files in known folders locations
  • Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos
• People store data “all over the place”
  • 54% of digital content lives outside the user profile
  • Most uses do both
  • Store content on net work shares
    • Home Groups
• Allows us to specify which folders make the library
• “Libraries are declarations where users can find and organize data collected from multiple folders”

“Under the Hood”

• Library is kept in a file
  • Important: Don’t work with the file
• Libraries is similar to a folder but only look at the folders

Integrating with Libraries

• Common File Dialog
  • When we save a file on a Library by default is going to be saved into the default save location defined in the Library configuration
  • The new Common file dialog have built-in support for Libraries
  • Win32
    • Use IFileDialog native APIs
    • Do not use GetOpenFileName and SaveFileName

Library APIs

• Shell APIs are COM Bases
• User the Library objects, interfaces and functions you should
• To Load Library
  • IShellLibrary
  • LoadLibraryFromKnownFolder
• Shell Helper Functions (ShHelper.h)
• ShellLibrary Class in the Windows API CodePack for Managed Code
• SLUtil.exe is a command-line tools that enables us to manage libraries
  • More samples here.