How would I show the user's Programs menu?

I want to use a button to show one of the user's menus
somewhere down the Start menu tree. How do I call that up,
and how can I know which item the user selected?

(Ideally, the exact menu would be user defined, it could be
any one, typically under the Programs branch.)

Any hints, links, or assistance would be appreciated.

LFS

Re: How to show Start Menu? by YYZ

YYZ
Thu Apr 29 13:05:35 CDT 2004

"Larry Serflaten" <serflaten@usinternet.com> wrote in message
news:uZ#da7gLEHA.2532@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> How would I show the user's Programs menu?
>
> I want to use a button to show one of the user's menus
> somewhere down the Start menu tree. How do I call that up,
> and how can I know which item the user selected?
>
> (Ideally, the exact menu would be user defined, it could be
> any one, typically under the Programs branch.)
>
> Any hints, links, or assistance would be appreciated.

Since you said any links would be appreciated...

This is probably not what you wanted, but if you can't find out how to just show
that menu, then build it on the fly.

Get the location of the users or common or both Start Menu|Programs folder:
http://vbnet.mvps.org/index.html?code/browse/shpathidlist.htm

After you get that, then you could loop through (I bet you want it to be
recursive, too) and get all of the information about every link.

Up to here you have a collection (probably) caption, path, icon path, and
folders with all of the above. It's not visual yet, but you have all the info
you need.

Next, create the menu on the fly. Perhaps this link @ VBAccelerator would work.
I didn't look into it too closely, but I'm sure Steve has something that would
work for this, including icons.
http://vbaccelerator.com/home/VB/Code/Controls/Menus/Popup_Menu_ActiveX_DLL/arti
cle.asp

Hopefully someone will come along with a kick butt one liner API call that will
do this, all you have to do is specify which folder to start from and give it
some mouse coordinates to spring from. But if not, this is how I'd do it.

Matt



Re: How to show Start Menu? by Jeff

Jeff
Thu Apr 29 13:18:52 CDT 2004


"Larry Serflaten" <serflaten@usinternet.com> wrote in message
news:uZ%23da7gLEHA.2532@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...

> How would I show the user's Programs menu?
>
> I want to use a button to show one of the user's menus
> somewhere down the Start menu tree. How do I call that up,
> and how can I know which item the user selected?
>
> (Ideally, the exact menu would be user defined, it could be
> any one, typically under the Programs branch.)
>
> Any hints, links, or assistance would be appreciated.

Shot in the dark: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/4942/



Re: How to show Start Menu? by Ken

Ken
Thu Apr 29 13:20:36 CDT 2004

Larry Serflaten wrote:
> How would I show the user's Programs menu?
>
> I want to use a button to show one of the user's menus
> somewhere down the Start menu tree. How do I call that up,
> and how can I know which item the user selected?
>
> (Ideally, the exact menu would be user defined, it could be
> any one, typically under the Programs branch.)
>
> Any hints, links, or assistance would be appreciated.
>
> LFS

I've never tried anything like this but... once you've enumerated all of
the menu items, I imagine you could programmatically click the start
menu button (using keybd_event) on the keyboard and drill down to the
menu you want using keybd_event to press the first letter of each menu item.

For example, to get my Microsoft Visual Studio menu to show, the keys
would be...

Start Menu Button
P (for Programs)
D (for Development)
MMMM (to get to the forth item in that menu that starts with M)
Enter

As soon as Enter's clicked, the menu shows (and stays). Sounds like
it'll work as long as you can enumerate both the current user and All
users start menu items.

This is a bit interesting and I'm probably going to take a hack at it
myself soon <g>


--
Ken Halter - MS-MVP-VB - http://www.vbsight.com
Please keep all discussions in the groups..

Re: How to show Start Menu? by Larry

Larry
Thu Apr 29 14:48:44 CDT 2004


"YYZ" <notapplicable> wrote
> This is probably not what you wanted, but if you can't find out how to just show
> that menu, then build it on the fly.

So far, that is what it looks like. I was hoping for RAD approach, but what I've
heard so far is all about building them on the fly.

Thanks!
LFS



Re: How to show Start Menu? by Larry

Larry
Thu Apr 29 14:49:23 CDT 2004


"Jeff Johnson [MVP: VB]" <i.get@enough.spam> wrote
> > Any hints, links, or assistance would be appreciated.
>
> Shot in the dark: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/4942/


Not a bad page at all!

Thanks
LFS

Re: How to show Start Menu? by Ken

Ken
Thu Apr 29 14:50:07 CDT 2004

YYZ wrote:
> "Larry Serflaten" <serflaten@usinternet.com> wrote in message
> news:uZ#da7gLEHA.2532@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
>
> Next, create the menu on the fly. Perhaps this link @ VBAccelerator would work.
> I didn't look into it too closely, but I'm sure Steve has something that would
> work for this, including icons.
> http://vbaccelerator.com/home/VB/Code/Controls/Menus/Popup_Menu_ActiveX_DLL/arti
> cle.asp

Off topic.... have you seen his Command Bar component? It puts the
PopupMenu component to shame <g> I suppose each still has it's place but
check it out anyway... cool stuff.

Command Bar Index
http://vbaccelerator.com/home/VB/Code/Controls/Command_Bar/index.asp

> Matt

--
Ken Halter - MS-MVP-VB - http://www.vbsight.com
Please keep all discussions in the groups..

Re: How to show Start Menu? by Larry

Larry
Thu Apr 29 15:33:25 CDT 2004


"Ken Halter" <Ken_Halter@Use_Sparingly_Hotmail.com> wrote
> I've never tried anything like this but... once you've enumerated all of
> the menu items, I imagine you could programmatically click the start
> menu button (using keybd_event) on the keyboard and drill down to the
> menu you want using keybd_event to press the first letter of each menu item.

Not quite right. The idea is to let the user traverse the menu structure starting
from a deeper level. The idea is to provide a quick means to get to those
deeper levels without having the upper levels clutter the screen.

Having one Start button to wind my way into everything on my system
is just too limited. I've got like 30 gigs of stuff here, and the menu levels
have gotten quite deep. I want multiple paths for different tasks. Like,
administration, development, help, music, artwork and so on...

I have found out how to get about what I want, but its lacking some
functionality. If you go to your Favorites/Links folder and start creating
new folders, under folders, and add shortcuts to files to the mix, you'll
have created different menu trees starting from the Links folder. You
can view those how I want by making the Links toolbar visible on your
Taskbar. Clicking on a folder there brings a menu of the items you added,
but, there is no way to change the icon for those folder items on the toolbar,
so they all look alike when shown small, without text.

I was just looking for a way to put something on my toolbar that I can
click on, that would give me a menu like that, for any folder that I put
there. That would avoid me having to create the menu structure there
in the Links folder. While it could work, I'd want to change the icon
to something more representative to whats in the menu. You'll note
that if you add a shortcut to one of those folders under the Links folder,
you can change that shortcut's icon, but you don't get the menu.

So now I am looking at creating a little toolbar for the desktop that
would have buttons for a few popup menus that exactly match
a few of the more often used, deeper menus from the Start tree....

From what I've seen over the past few days, it looks like I would have
to take on some of the same duties the system does, to display its menus.
I don't want to have to cache my own image list after enumerating the
menus I've found, I was kinda hoping to tap into letting the system
display the menus once I gave it a root menu to start from....

LFS

Re: How to show Start Menu? by YYZ

YYZ
Thu Apr 29 15:41:57 CDT 2004

"Ken Halter" <Ken_Halter@Use_Sparingly_Hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:e38ntMiLEHA.3684@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
> YYZ wrote:
> > "Larry Serflaten" <serflaten@usinternet.com> wrote in message
> Off topic.... have you seen his Command Bar component? It puts the
> PopupMenu component to shame <g> I suppose each still has it's place but
> check it out anyway... cool stuff.
>
> Command Bar Index
> http://vbaccelerator.com/home/VB/Code/Controls/Command_Bar/index.asp

Nice! I've seen that in passing, but never really looked at it before. Don't
ya just love that site? VBAccelerator and Randy's are always my first stops
when looking for code, or just looking for something cool. In meandering
through Steve's site, I saw the code for animation. I added it to my progress
bars just for fun. My boss told me it was a waste of time, but since I did it
at home, he didn't care. Next thing you know our users wrote into the VPs
saying how great the "new version" worked. I hadn't changed one line of the
business logic, just the animations. LOL.

Matt



Re: How to show Start Menu? by Ken

Ken
Thu Apr 29 16:20:52 CDT 2004

Larry Serflaten wrote:
>
> Not quite right. The idea is to let the user traverse the menu structure starting
> from a deeper level. The idea is to provide a quick means to get to those
> deeper levels without having the upper levels clutter the screen.
>
> Having one Start button to wind my way into everything on my system
> is just too limited. I've got like 30 gigs of stuff here, and the menu levels
> have gotten quite deep. I want multiple paths for different tasks. Like,
> administration, development, help, music, artwork and so on...
>
> I have found out how to get about what I want, but its lacking some
> functionality. If you go to your Favorites/Links folder and start creating
> new folders, under folders, and add shortcuts to files to the mix, you'll
> have created different menu trees starting from the Links folder. You
> can view those how I want by making the Links toolbar visible on your
> Taskbar. Clicking on a folder there brings a menu of the items you added,
> but, there is no way to change the icon for those folder items on the toolbar,
> so they all look alike when shown small, without text.
>
> I was just looking for a way to put something on my toolbar that I can
> click on, that would give me a menu like that, for any folder that I put
> there. That would avoid me having to create the menu structure there
> in the Links folder. While it could work, I'd want to change the icon
> to something more representative to whats in the menu. You'll note
> that if you add a shortcut to one of those folders under the Links folder,
> you can change that shortcut's icon, but you don't get the menu.
>
> So now I am looking at creating a little toolbar for the desktop that
> would have buttons for a few popup menus that exactly match
> a few of the more often used, deeper menus from the Start tree....
>
> From what I've seen over the past few days, it looks like I would have
> to take on some of the same duties the system does, to display its menus.
> I don't want to have to cache my own image list after enumerating the
> menus I've found, I was kinda hoping to tap into letting the system
> display the menus once I gave it a root menu to start from....
>
> LFS

Makes sense. You know you can drag start menu 'groups' down to the quick
launch menu and change their icons (or create your own quick launch
that's dockable/autohide/etc) but when clicked on it just opens the
folder where the menu subitems are stored. Doesn't even come close to
looking like a real start menu. fwiw, I have several of these 'quick
launch' type menus setup in layout similar to what you describe (the
grouping anyway). Those menus can be used "stand alone" too (floating).

I figure you may need a nice component to re-create your menus. This
one's the coolest I've seen in a while so I'll repost the link in case
you missed it.

Command Bar Index
http://vbaccelerator.com/home/VB/Code/Controls/Command_Bar/index.asp

--
Ken Halter - MS-MVP-VB - http://www.vbsight.com
Please keep all discussions in the groups..

Re: How to show Start Menu? by Jim

Jim
Thu Apr 29 16:31:46 CDT 2004

I keep looking for the tool that gets attached to my brain
whereby I think and the menu opens. I still haven't found it
yet, but the links you provide, Ken, are getting close!

I was trying to use the Spy program to capture the events
but I think I'm wasting my time with that. I can catch the
button_click event for the Start menu, but then by the time
I get back to the Spy window, the Start menu has dropped.

Therefore, the tool that connects to my brain would be
very useful... Just a thought, thats all... I can't seem to make
the connection telepathically. I'm not attuned to the electrical
charges.

--
Jim Carlock
http://www.microcosmotalk.com/
Post replies to the newsgroup.


"Ken Halter" wrote:
Larry Serflaten wrote:
>
> Not quite right. The idea is to let the user traverse the menu structure
starting
> from a deeper level. The idea is to provide a quick means to get to those
> deeper levels without having the upper levels clutter the screen.
>
> Having one Start button to wind my way into everything on my system
> is just too limited. I've got like 30 gigs of stuff here, and the menu
levels
> have gotten quite deep. I want multiple paths for different tasks. Like,
> administration, development, help, music, artwork and so on...
>
> I have found out how to get about what I want, but its lacking some
> functionality. If you go to your Favorites/Links folder and start
creating
> new folders, under folders, and add shortcuts to files to the mix, you'll
> have created different menu trees starting from the Links folder. You
> can view those how I want by making the Links toolbar visible on your
> Taskbar. Clicking on a folder there brings a menu of the items you added,
> but, there is no way to change the icon for those folder items on the
toolbar,
> so they all look alike when shown small, without text.
>
> I was just looking for a way to put something on my toolbar that I can
> click on, that would give me a menu like that, for any folder that I put
> there. That would avoid me having to create the menu structure there
> in the Links folder. While it could work, I'd want to change the icon
> to something more representative to whats in the menu. You'll note
> that if you add a shortcut to one of those folders under the Links folder,
> you can change that shortcut's icon, but you don't get the menu.
>
> So now I am looking at creating a little toolbar for the desktop that
> would have buttons for a few popup menus that exactly match
> a few of the more often used, deeper menus from the Start tree....
>
> From what I've seen over the past few days, it looks like I would have
> to take on some of the same duties the system does, to display its menus.
> I don't want to have to cache my own image list after enumerating the
> menus I've found, I was kinda hoping to tap into letting the system
> display the menus once I gave it a root menu to start from....
>
> LFS

Makes sense. You know you can drag start menu 'groups' down to the quick
launch menu and change their icons (or create your own quick launch
that's dockable/autohide/etc) but when clicked on it just opens the
folder where the menu subitems are stored. Doesn't even come close to
looking like a real start menu. fwiw, I have several of these 'quick
launch' type menus setup in layout similar to what you describe (the
grouping anyway). Those menus can be used "stand alone" too (floating).

I figure you may need a nice component to re-create your menus. This
one's the coolest I've seen in a while so I'll repost the link in case
you missed it.

Command Bar Index
http://vbaccelerator.com/home/VB/Code/Controls/Command_Bar/index.asp

--
Ken Halter - MS-MVP-VB - http://www.vbsight.com
Please keep all discussions in the groups..



Re: How to show Start Menu? by Ken

Ken
Thu Apr 29 16:54:21 CDT 2004

Jim Carlock wrote:
> I keep looking for the tool that gets attached to my brain
> whereby I think and the menu opens. I still haven't found it
> yet, but the links you provide, Ken, are getting close!
>
> I was trying to use the Spy program to capture the events
> but I think I'm wasting my time with that. I can catch the
> button_click event for the Start menu, but then by the time
> I get back to the Spy window, the Start menu has dropped.

Well.. based on his requirements, my keybd_event idea went out the
window <g>. I got it to work in record time with a known menu
structure.... but after reading his reply, I stopped at the "works fine
here" stage.

> Therefore, the tool that connects to my brain would be
> very useful... Just a thought, thats all... I can't seem to make
> the connection telepathically. I'm not attuned to the electrical
> charges.

Have you seen any of the latest gadgets to be used by paralyzed people?
Looking pretty close to what you're describing <g> Some just require eye
movement. That's pretty cool! We'll be nothing but heads in a jar in no
time <g>


--
Ken Halter - MS-MVP-VB - http://www.vbsight.com
Please keep all discussions in the groups..

Re: How to show Start Menu? by Larry

Larry
Thu Apr 29 19:19:09 CDT 2004


"Ken Halter" <Ken_Halter@Use_Sparingly_Hotmail.com> wrote
> Makes sense. You know you can drag start menu 'groups' down to the quick
> launch menu and change their icons (or create your own quick launch
> that's dockable/autohide/etc) but when clicked on it just opens the
> folder where the menu subitems are stored. Doesn't even come close to
> looking like a real start menu.

That's why I said you have to create folders under your Favorite/Links menu,
because how you create them matters. When you drag and drop, you get a
shortcut, but if you create the folders (in Explorer>Organize Favorites, or directly
in your Link folder) you get popup menus from the folders.

I didn't know the toolbars could float. That may be all I need! Like you did,
I could have a few different toolbars for the different tasks. Thats really what
I wanted, quick access to the most used programs because stuffing them all
on the Taskbar just wasn't working well....

Thanks!
LFS