Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
108 lines (83 loc) · 3.31 KB

DEVELOPMENT.md

File metadata and controls

108 lines (83 loc) · 3.31 KB
Raw

Development Guide

This document provides detailed instructions for building and developing the File Organizer Shell Extension.

Development Requirements

  • Visual Studio 2022 (Community Edition or higher)
  • Windows 10 SDK (10.0.19041.0 or later)
  • C++17 compiler support
  • Administrator privileges for testing

Building the Project

  1. Open ShellExt.sln in Visual Studio 2022
  2. Select the desired configuration:
    • Debug or Release
    • x86 or x64 platform
  3. Build the solution (F7 or Build > Build Solution)

The compiled DLL will be placed in:

  • x64\FileOrganizerExt.dll for 64-bit builds
  • x86\FileOrganizerExt.dll for 32-bit builds

Project Structure

ShellExt/
├── ShellExt.h           # Main header file with class definitions
├── ShellExt.cpp         # Implementation of shell extension functionality
├── dllmain.cpp          # DLL entry point and registration functions
├── ShellExt.def         # Module definition file for exports
├── resource.h           # Resource definitions
├── ShellExt.rc         # Resource file (strings, version info)
├── register.bat         # Registration script
└── unregister.bat      # Unregistration script

Testing During Development

  1. Build the project in Debug configuration
  2. Run register.bat as administrator
  3. Open Windows Explorer to test the context menu
  4. Use Debug > Attach to Process to attach to explorer.exe
  5. Set breakpoints in Visual Studio for debugging
  6. Run unregister.bat when finished testing

Note: You must unregister the DLL before rebuilding, as Windows keeps it locked while registered.

Debugging Tips

  1. Use OutputDebugString for logging:

    OutputDebugString(L"Debug message\n");

  2. View debug output using DebugView from Sysinternals:

    • Download from Microsoft's website
    • Run as administrator
    • Filter for your messages

  3. Common issues:

    • DLL not registering: Check administrator privileges
    • Context menu not showing: Verify file type registration
    • Explorer crashes: Check COM reference counting

Best Practices

  1. Always implement proper reference counting
  2. Handle out-of-memory conditions
  3. Validate input parameters
  4. Use secure string functions (StringCch*)
  5. Clean up resources in destructors
  6. Follow COM threading rules

Adding New Features

  1. Update interface definitions in ShellExt.h
  2. Implement new functionality in ShellExt.cpp
  3. Add any new resources to ShellExt.rc
  4. Update version information
  5. Document changes in README.md

Release Process

  1. Update version numbers in:
    • resource.h
    • ShellExt.rc
  2. Build both x86 and x64 in Release configuration
  3. Test on clean Windows installation
  4. Create release package:
    • DLLs for both architectures
    • Registration scripts
    • Documentation
  5. Tag the release in source control

Code Style

  • Use consistent indentation (4 spaces)
  • Follow Microsoft's COM naming conventions
  • Comment complex logic and public interfaces
  • Use RAII where possible
  • Handle all error conditions

Resources