by Melyssa Bell
June 5, 2009
If you would like to develop applications that access new Windows 7 features, you will want to download the Windows API Code Pack for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. With this code pack (version 0.85, as of this post), you will find support for the following features:
- Common file dialogs
- Direct3D 11.0 and DXGI 1.0/1.1 APIs
- Explorer Browser Control
- Extended Linguistic Services APIs
- Icon Overlay
- Progress Bar
- Sensor Platform APIs
- Shell property system
- Task Dialogs
- Taskbar Jumplists
- Windows Shell namespace objects, Known Folders and non file system containers
Several of my favorite features include the support available for the Taskbar. One such feature is Icon Overlay, which allows developers to add status indicators to the icons in the Taskbar and provide subtle feedback to a user. For instance, it may be appropriate to indicate the current state of an application that is running in the background, but not necessarily viewable in an open window on the user’s desktop. This can be accomplished by adding an image to the application’s icon in the Taskbar as particular events occur within the application. Indicators can also be overlaid while a user interacts directly with the application and can be used to provide another means of communication to the user.
Additionally, the ability to add tasks to Jumplists that are accessible via the Taskbar gives developers the option to provide convenient links to various actions related to the application, all with the right-click of a mouse. As an example, if a function of an application requires the user to frequently upload images for processing, then the developer can provide a quick link that is configured to open the user’s images folder, upload and process a selected image with just one click. The potential for this type of functionality is limitless, and is one of many exciting additions to the Windows 7 development environment through the Windows API Code Pack.
To download the Windows API Code Pack, please check out the MSDN Code Gallery (http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/WindowsAPICodePack).