simulate file dialog

Question

I need to add to my application a place where users can drop files and they appear just like when you drag files to a folder on windows. there is a program in here that has the functuanality that I need but it is written using windows forms and I am using wpf. so that porgram is great because it has the featurs that I need. let me list the features:

1) I can get the same exact icons that I get on my desktop.

2) I can drag folders and files ouside. note how I am draging my libraries folder on the picture

3) when I right click on a file I get the same context menu that I get on windows

4) I am able to drag files and folders in.

note that Example File dialog window was created using windows forms and the source code can be downloaded on the first link that I provided.

I don't want to create a file dialog otherwise I will use the openFileDialog class. I need to embed a border on my wpf application where users can drag and select files. also they can drag files outside and open files from there.

So those are the 4 things that I need to add to my wpf application let me describe the things that I have done in order to try to solve each method.

1)

I have tried looking so many different places to get the code needed to extract the icons from files and they never look identical to the ones on the desktop. I have tried: this and this one also and some others that I cannot remember right now.

note this step will be eassy I am more interested on the other features

2)

this one might be the hardest one. I have not implemented this but I been thinking that in order to achive this functionality I will have to have another window. that window will contain a Image inside. Whenever I drag my mouse on an icon I will instantiate this window passing the image that I am draging as a parameter and it will close on the venent onMouseUP. I don't know how to track on what window I let the mouse go though so I am not sure if I should try to implement this technique

3)

I have no idea how to implement this feature.

4)

that one is eassy. The only hard part is that sometimes you may drag files from a separate disk such as a thumb drive and you will have to have a method in order to copy it. or maybe you drag a link from windows start menu.

Maybe I can use the functionality of the dialog box. I thing I do not have to reinvent the wheel. I do not know that much about windows forms so I have a hard time trying to implement that code on wpf.

Answer 1

What you want is to reuse the controls from Windows, and from .NET these can be accessed via the Windows API Code Pack

Take a look at the Windows Shell section of the code pack, and specifically the Explorer Browser control which should give you all the functionality you need.