Windows Desktop Update
Encyclopedia
Microsoft
's Windows Desktop Update was an optional feature included with Internet Explorer 4
(IE, released in September 1997), which introduced several updated shell
features to the Windows 95
and Windows NT 4.0
operating system
s. These features became part of the standard installation in Windows 98 and later versions.
The Windows Desktop Update included features such as Active Desktop
and tight IE4 integration with the Windows Explorer
. It was downloadable as part of IE4 for all versions of Windows 95
except Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2.5 (4.00.950C) which included a standalone version of IE 4.0 plus the Windows Desktop Update (but not slipstreamed) where it was automatically installed after the standard Windows 95 set-up. Similarly, the shell update was also made available as part of IE 4.0 for Windows NT 4.0
(with Service Pack 3 or later).
While the Windows Desktop Update was officially only an optional user component under Internet Explorer 4.0 releases, and was not formally included in any later version of Internet Explorer
(IE5
onwards), users can extract the Windows Desktop Update installer from the IE4 setup files using standard .CAB
extraction tools or use IEAK to generate a version of the IE 5.0x, 5.5 or 6.0 setup which included the update. Also command line parameters can be used to instruct installer of those versions of IE to install Desktop Update.
If the Windows Desktop Update was already installed, IE 5.0 or 5.5 setup installed some new shell features, such as sorting by name in a context menu and drop down/overflow menu buttons whenever menus or toolbar buttons did not fit in the Explorer window on the screen.
The Windows Desktop Update also added the ability to create desk-bands like the quicklaunch bar. It also introduced new extensibility APIs for the Windows file manager, Explorer.exe (also a shell).
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Windows Desktop Update was an optional feature included with Internet Explorer 4
Internet Explorer 4
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 is a graphical web browser released in September 1997 by Microsoft, primarily for Microsoft Windows, but also with versions available for Apple Mac OS, Solaris, and HP-UX and marketed as "The Web the Way You Want It".It was one of the main participants of the first...
(IE, released in September 1997), which introduced several updated shell
Shell (computing)
A shell is a piece of software that provides an interface for users of an operating system which provides access to the services of a kernel. However, the term is also applied very loosely to applications and may include any software that is "built around" a particular component, such as web...
features to the Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
and Windows NT 4.0
Windows NT 4.0
Windows NT 4.0 is a preemptive, graphical and business-oriented operating system designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor computers. It was the next release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on 31 July 1996...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s. These features became part of the standard installation in Windows 98 and later versions.
The Windows Desktop Update included features such as Active Desktop
Active Desktop
Active Desktop was a feature of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0's optional Windows Desktop Update that allows the user to add HTML content to the desktop, along with some other features. This function was intended to be installed on the then-current Windows 95 operating system...
and tight IE4 integration with the Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer
This article is about the Windows file system browser. For the similarly named web browser, see Internet ExplorerWindows Explorer is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface...
. It was downloadable as part of IE4 for all versions of Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
except Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2.5 (4.00.950C) which included a standalone version of IE 4.0 plus the Windows Desktop Update (but not slipstreamed) where it was automatically installed after the standard Windows 95 set-up. Similarly, the shell update was also made available as part of IE 4.0 for Windows NT 4.0
Windows NT 4.0
Windows NT 4.0 is a preemptive, graphical and business-oriented operating system designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor computers. It was the next release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on 31 July 1996...
(with Service Pack 3 or later).
While the Windows Desktop Update was officially only an optional user component under Internet Explorer 4.0 releases, and was not formally included in any later version of Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
(IE5
Internet Explorer 5
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 was a graphical web browser released in March 1999 by Microsoft, primarily for Microsoft Windows, but initially with versions available for Apple Macintosh, Sun Solaris, and HP-UX. It was one of the main participants of the first browser war...
onwards), users can extract the Windows Desktop Update installer from the IE4 setup files using standard .CAB
Cabinet (file format)
In computing, CAB is the Microsoft Windows native compressed archive format. It supports compression and digital signing, and is used in a variety of Microsoft installation engines: Setup API, Device Installer, AdvPack and Windows Installer.Though Cabinet was originally called Diamond, its .CAB...
extraction tools or use IEAK to generate a version of the IE 5.0x, 5.5 or 6.0 setup which included the update. Also command line parameters can be used to instruct installer of those versions of IE to install Desktop Update.
If the Windows Desktop Update was already installed, IE 5.0 or 5.5 setup installed some new shell features, such as sorting by name in a context menu and drop down/overflow menu buttons whenever menus or toolbar buttons did not fit in the Explorer window on the screen.
Key features
- Active DesktopActive DesktopActive Desktop was a feature of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0's optional Windows Desktop Update that allows the user to add HTML content to the desktop, along with some other features. This function was intended to be installed on the then-current Windows 95 operating system...
- Enables the display of Internet Explorer renderable web content (e.g. HTML, XML, CDF) and for the first time the displaying of non-BMP image content on the Windows Desktop - Channels - Push Technology with some similarities to RSSRSS-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
and IE 8's WebSlices. Channels are an XML scripted remote delivery service over http using the .cdf file format. Internet Explorer 4.0 installs of the Desktop Update included localised content and service providers for the main language regions. Installations against IE 5.0 and higher lacked any default subscription content. - Quick Launch - The quick launch bar first appeared with the Desktop Update, providing a horizontal alternative to Microsoft Office 95/97/2000's vertical launch bar
- Web folders - A WebDAV client integrated into Explorer windows which could display web content and graphics, providing a richer Windows Explorer experience
- Folder Customisation - Individual folders and groups of folders could be customised in appearance using web like formatting constraints
- Larger toolbar buttons with text labels in Windows Explorer
- Improved Start menu, including a new 'Favorites' section, more options on the 'Find' menu and menu item drag and drop, edit and delete support
- Support for displaying thumbnail image previews in Windows Explorer and infotips/tooltips for files and folders stored as comments in Desktop.ini.
Updates
Updates to the Windows Desktop Update were part of IE 4.0 hotfixes and service packs. Later, shell security updates for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 included both the update to the Windows Desktop Update version and the original version. Also sometimes the Windows Desktop Update version and the update to the original version were packaged separately.The Windows Desktop Update also added the ability to create desk-bands like the quicklaunch bar. It also introduced new extensibility APIs for the Windows file manager, Explorer.exe (also a shell).
External links
- http://wallabyweb.com/training/IE4/ Detailed technical documentation of IE4.0, including Windows Desktop Update
- http://www.petri.co.il/install_active_desktop_on_nt_40.htm Detailed HowTo about the installation of the Windows Desktop Update with IE5 and IE6