ANN: Custom Desktops

Custom Desktops

Run your app on custom desktop.

Overview

Custom Desktops is a template which allows you to run the program on independent desktop. A user who is working with the program,
has no access to other Windows programs. No start menu, no taskbar, no desktop icons - nothing, except your application.
Just add global extension to your apps, that’s all.

Examples

Standard People app (examples\people): just run the exe and see how it works.

Features

  • There are no black boxes
  • Run on custom desktop any external program, not only yours
  • Switch between custom and default desktops

Requirements

  • C6 and newer
  • Windows 2000 and newer

Template chains

  • ABC
  • Clarion

Multi-dll support

  • Yes
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Hi Mike - Is it just a template, or class modules added by the template? e.g., handcode friendly? :slight_smile:

It is a template, and a set of classes, and some handcoded test projects.

Here is an example of customizable shell on custom desktop. Download all, go to Shell folder and run CustomShell.exe.

Hi Mike

Very interesting.

This demo shows error:

Error
Can’t start elevated process on custom desktop!

When executed as Administrator. Previous demo ran fine as Administrator.

Is this a configuration option or a technical requirement?

I’m not sure if running as administrator is particularly important, but I recall it was needed sometimes to access hardware (like serial ports) in a POS environment.

Carlos,

It is a configuration option. At the moment I’m not sure why, but manifested programs with AsInvoker privileges don’t show their windows on custom desktop if ran elevated, so I turned this feature off.

Seems similar to gotomeeting (GTM), which can only show UI of elevated processes when GTM is elevated too

Carlos,

While the shell is running as not elevated, it allows to launch elevated external programs (Notepad->Open, from File dialog you can run external exe as an administrator).
The modified demo was reloaded to the dropbox.

1 Like