Selecting Shell Components (Windows CE 5.0)
Based on the hardware requirements of your target device, you can select only the components you need to develop a custom shell. For example, if your target device does not have a display, you can select the Cmd and Console components. These components provide a console-based Command Processor shell.
To provide a shell for your OS design, you can use one of the following shells, which are supplied with Windows CE, or develop a custom shell.
| Shell | Component | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Command Processor | Cmd, Console | Command-line shell. For more information see Including a Command Processor. |
| Standard Shell | Explorer, Ceshell, Shdocvw | Similar to the Windows Explorer shell on Windows-based desktop operating systems. For more information see Including the Standard Shell. |
| Taskman | Taskman | Displays a blank desktop and a blank taskbar. For more information see Including the Taskman Shell. |
**Note **If you choose to implement the Command Processor, you must use the shell as provided. You cannot modify this shell.
If you choose to develop your own custom shell, you can use the Standard Shell or the Taskman shell as a foundation. Windows CE supplies the source code for the Standard Shell in %_WINCEROOT%\Public\Shell and the source code for the Taskman shell in %_WINCEROOT%\Public\Wceshellfe\Oak\Taskman. You can modify the source code for either of these shells as necessary. For information about customizing the Standard Shell, see How to Customize the Shell.
Once you have implemented a shell on your target device, you can add supplemental shell components, which provide functionality like common dialog boxes. You can also enable shell callback functions so that Windows CE can forward certain shell functions to your shell.
See Also
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