Use Windows Explorer in .NET code?

Question

Does anyone know if it's possible to use the bits and pieces of Windows Explorer in .NET code? That would be nice, for example, to write file management forms in other programs, and get that to look just like the explorer, and "follow" the different Windows versions.

Answer 1

If you develop this application for Windows 7 only, I sugguest Windows® API Code Pack for Microsoft® .NET Framework. Moreover, I think, older Windows should have API like this. For support every version of Windows, you must create interface class and create inherited class that will be created based on windows version.

Answer 2

I have written a library that might be able to help you. You could use the controls provided by the library, or if you don't want to do that, looking through the code may give you an answer. It's now LGPL licenced so you can use it in commercial products. It will also work on all versions of Windows since 98.

You can find the library at: http://gong-shell.sourceforge.net/

Please let me know if this helped!

Answer 3

I think the closest you will get for free is the Open File Dialog.

Otherwise, try a third party offering such as Telerik's RadControls for WinForms