Providing Access to Your Application

To provide easy user access to your application, place a shortcut icon to the application in the Programs folder. You can determine the path for this folder in Shell Folders subkey under HKEY_CURRENT_ USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer. This adds the entry to the submenu of the Programs menu of the Start button. Avoid adding entries for every application you might include in your software; this quickly overloads the menu. Optionally, you can allow the user to choose which icons to place in the menu. Avoid using a folder as your entry in the Programs menu, because this creates a multilevel hierarchy. Including a single entry makes it easier and simpler for a user to access your application.

Note
You can create a "program group" entry in the Programs
folder using the Windows 3.1 dynamic date exchange application programming interface (API). However, it is not recommended for applications installed with Microsoft Windows 95 and later releases, configured with the new shell user interface.

Also consider the layout of files you provide with your application. Folders in Windows 95 and later releases provide much greater flexibility for file organization than did the Windows Program Manager. In addition to the recommended structure for your main executable file and its support files, you may want to create special folders for documents, templates, conversion tools, or other files that the user accesses directly.