Click here to Skip to main content
Licence 
First Posted 12 Apr 2000
Views 524,452
Bookmarked 180 times

Creating DeskBands with an ATL Object Wizard

By | 21 Mar 2001 | Article
An ATL Object Wizard that helps create a COM Object implementation of a DeskBand. Web Accessories for Internet Explorer and the Desktop. History, Favorites, Search, Radio, and Address Bands ... You have seen them since Internet Explorer 4.0. Now create your own!
  • Download Source Files - 32.3 Kb
  • Sample Image - RBDeskBand.gif

    What Are DeskBands?

    There are 4 types of deskbands. A Communications Band which sits at the bottom of an instance of IE4+. An Information Band sits on the left hand side of an instance of IE4+, like the search bar that allows you to search for files or folders on a hard drive. A Desk Band sits on the desktop, it can float or dock to any of the 4 sides of your monitor. The final type is a Toolbar which sits in the rebar space of Internet Explorer, like the address bar.

    To see this, start IE4+. Click the "View" menu item, go down to the "Explorer Bar" menu item. The top half above the seperator are the available Information Bands, the bottom half are the communication bands.

    To see a deskband, right click on the taskbar (area connected to the start button). Select the toolbar's menu item from the context menu. listed are the available deskbands.

    Deskbands can also reside as toolbars inside IE4+. The wizard does not currently provide this code although I do have it available. I will be updating the wizard in the next week or so to support toolbars and be more configurable.

    Installation

    In this version you no longer need the Microsoft Installer installed to be able to use this ATL Object Wizard. In the past the files were stored in an MSI file which would install the files to the correct location and allow for easy uninstalltion. To allow more people to use the Wizard. I have moved the files out of the MSI and leave it to the user to place them in the correct location using the instructions below.

    Steps:
    • Extract the files from the source zip above to your Visual Studio location under the following relative path Common\MSDev98\Template\ATL.
    • Run the RegSvr32.exe from a command prompt on RBDeskband.dll. RegSvr32 RBDeskBand

    Path Examples For Step 1:

    • C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\Common\MSDev98\Template\ATL
    • C:\MyDevEnv\Common\MSDev98\Template\ATL

    Usage

    To create a DeskBand base implementation, do the following:
    1. Start the ATL Object Wizard using the 'New ATL Object' option avalable from the Insert menu.
    2. Select the "DeskBand" ATL Object Wizard component from the "RadBytes" category.
    3. Fill in the Names Dialog page with your Deskband information.
    4. Select the "DeskBand ATL Object Wizard" Tab.
    5. Select at least one DeskBand type you want to expose your band as.
    6. Click Ok
    7. Your project will be updated with the associated class files needed to compile your base implemenation of a deskband.

    I Ran The Wizard But Now What?

    All that is required of you is to implement your content and inner workings for the band you created. A base window exists that is a static. This is there for easy pullout and inseration of any replacement code. I choose this instead of attaching a CWindowImpl directly to the deskband for ease of change, use, and adaptability.

    My Deskband Is Not Listed In The Menu Items

  • Make sure that you are looking at the correct list of menu items for the type of band you created.
  • Also remember that the explorer.exe process caches the list of Explorer Bars and Toolbars on first access of the menu for the life of your Windows session, not IE session. So if you have accessed the menu during this session you will either need to log off and log back on or kill the explorer.exe process.

    Auto Generated Code

    The output created is a Source, Header, and Registry Resource files from the Short Name supplied in the ATL Object Wizard property page. The files that get modified by the wizard are: your main source, IDL, RC, and DSP files.


    Unicode

    The code generated will compile both under UNICODE and ANSI.


    History

    1.1
    [March 22, 2001]
    Fixes:
  • Band Registration problem, Threading model was set to Single [Hwan, Erik Funkenbusch]
  • Removed MSI requirment. [Siddhartha Ghosal]
  • Removed the Thank you dialog. I decided it was annoying and useless.

    Additions:
  • Added new Wizard Page to allow creation of Band in multiple ways.
  • Added Internet Explorer toolbar support
  • Use ATL CATEGORY_MAP [Erik Funkenbusch]

    Outstanding Issues:
  • Testing has shown that adding numerous Bands to a project using the Wizard causes VC to insert #include directives at the bottom of the project source file. No known fix and infrequent occurance.
  • Adding multiple Internet Explorer Toolbars to one project will cause redefinition of HKEY hKeyLocal = NULL;. Fix is to remove redundant definition.
  • Initial Release
    [April 13, 2000]
    My first release of the ATL Object Wizard and article publishing.
  • License

    This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

    A list of licenses authors might use can be found here

    About the Author

    Erik Thompson

    Web Developer

    United States United States

    Member

    Erik lives in Redmond, Washington. He works as a Senior Software Engineer specializing in C++, COM, ATL and the middle-tier and now .NET. When he isn't coding for work, he can be found trying to extend Internet Explorer with yet another Desk band or simplifying his development process with ATL Object Wizards.
     
    He spends his free time snowboarding, mountain biking, and online gaming.

    Sign Up to vote   Poor Excellent
    Add a reason or comment to your vote: x
    Votes of 3 or less require a comment

    Comments and Discussions

     
    You must Sign In to use this message board. (secure sign-in)
     
    Search this forum  
     FAQ
        Noise  Layout  Per page   
      Refresh
    GeneralSteps to create RBDeskBand.DLL file Pinmemberprembudhwani23:40 20 Oct '09  
    Questionnew PinmemberDavid Ju15:30 29 Aug '09  
    GeneralNeed info for visual studion 2005 Pinmemberrakesh_npguy21:08 14 Mar '09  
    GeneralVisual Studio 2008 Pinmemberdoucol15:09 17 Dec '08  
    GeneralGreat article PinmemberSivan Manimala21:39 17 Jun '08  
    GeneralDeskband. PinmemberVaibhav Gade18:59 2 Jan '08  
    GeneralRe: Deskband. PinmemberJeff Buzzard19:54 19 May '08  
    GeneralVisual Studio PinmemberJonnoB6:53 11 Dec '07  
    GeneralRe: unloading a deskband dll PinsitebuilderErik Thompson5:08 8 Aug '07  
    GeneralRe: unloading a deskband dll Pinmemberliushuai0621:49 8 Aug '07  
    GeneralRe: unloading a deskband dll PinsitebuilderErik Thompson5:23 9 Aug '07  
    GeneralRe: unloading a deskband dll Pinmemberliushuai0614:48 9 Aug '07  
    GeneralI post my mail here for you Pinmemberliushuai0618:04 9 Aug '07  
    GeneralRe: I post my mail here for you PinsitebuilderErik Thompson19:18 9 Aug '07  
    QuestionIntegrating Info Band with Favorites/History etc? PinmemberDavid Claughton2:59 8 Mar '07  
    AnswerRe: Integrating Info Band with Favorites/History etc? PinsitebuilderErik Thompson19:20 9 Aug '07  
    Generalunloading a deskband dll PinmemberRandyS9:09 6 Feb '07  
    GeneralRe: unloading a deskband dll PinsitebuilderErik Thompson10:03 6 Feb '07  
    GeneralRe: unloading a deskband dll PinmemberRandyS10:18 6 Feb '07  
    GeneralRe: unloading a deskband dll PinsitebuilderErik Thompson10:22 6 Feb '07  
    GeneralRe: unloading a deskband dll Pinmemberliushuai0616:38 7 Aug '07  
    GeneralVS 2005 Pinmembersaminjesus15:53 31 Jan '07  
    GeneralRe: VS 2005 PinmemberCrispim0:02 13 Jul '07  
    GeneralRe: VS 2005 PinsitebuilderErik Thompson19:22 9 Aug '07  
    You cannot use this wizard in VS2005. I have said previously I'd update it but I just haven't gotten around to it. You can install the old VS6 create the code using the wizard and then upgrade the project using vs2005 as an alternative.
     
    Cheers,
    -Erik

    GeneralRe: VS 2005 PinmemberEdward Diener7:20 7 Jul '08  

    General General    News News    Suggestion Suggestion    Question Question    Bug Bug    Answer Answer    Joke Joke    Rant Rant    Admin Admin   

    Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.

    Permalink | Advertise | Privacy | Mobile
    Web01 | 2.5.120529.1 | Last Updated 22 Mar 2001
    Article Copyright 2000 by Erik Thompson
    Everything else Copyright © CodeProject, 1999-2012
    Terms of Use
    Layout: fixed | fluid