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Everything about Windows shell

Graphical user interface for Microsoft Windows

The Windows shell is the graphical user interface for the Microsoft Windows operating system. Its readily identifiable elements consist of the desktop, the taskbar, the Start menu, the task switcher and the AutoPlay feature. On some versions of Windows, it also includes Flip 3D and the charms. In Windows 10, the Windows Shell Experience Host interface drives visuals like the Start Menu, Action Center, Taskbar, and Task View/Timeline. However, the Windows shell also implements a shell namespace that enables computer programs running on Windows to access the computer's resources via the hierarchy of shell objects. "Desktop" is the top object of the hierarchy; below it there are a number of files and folders stored on the disk, as well as a number of special folders whose contents are either virtual or dynamically created. Recycle Bin, Libraries, Control Panel, This PC and Network are examples of such shell objects. Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: Windows shellA 5-minute orientation
  2. Skim a recent paper: Novel WO3-PEDOT core–shell inverse opal films with enhanced electrochromic performance for smart windowsInfluential work since 2022
  3. Pick up a classic book: The country of the pointed firsThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  4. Read the landmark paper: VO2(M)@CeO2 core-shell nanospheres for thermochromic smart windows and photocatalytic applicationsCited 50 times
  5. Go sideways: TaskbarA closely related topic
  6. Go sideways: Windows keyA closely related topic

📖 Definitions

No dictionary entry for this exact phrase.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. Features
  2. Relation with File Explorer
  3. History
  4. Shell replacements

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

🆕 Influential since 2022

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics