This function retrieves the location of a special folder, such as My Handheld PC, Recycle Bin, Control Panel, Desktop, Printers, Fonts, or various file system directories.
At a Glance
| Header file: | Shellapi.h (Shlobj.h for Palm-size PC and HPC) |
| Windows CE versions: | 2.0 only |
Syntax
WINSHELLAPI HRESULT WINAPI SHGetSpecialFolderLocation
( HWND hwndOwner, int nFolder, LPITEMIDLIST *ppidl );
Parameters
hwndOwner
[in] Handle to the owner window the client should specify if it displays a dialog box or message box.
nFolder
[in] Value specifying the folder for which to retrieve the location. It is one of the following values:
| Value | Description |
| CSIDL_ALTSTARTUP | File system directory that corresponds to the user's nonlocalized Startup program group. |
| CSIDL_APPDATA | File system directory that serves as a common repository for application-specific data. |
| CSIDL_BITBUCKET | File system directory that contains file objects in the user's Recycle Bin. The location of this directory is not in the registry; it is marked with the hidden and system attributes to prevent the user from moving or deleting it. |
| CSIDL_COMMON_ALTSTARTUP | File system directory that corresponds to the nonlocalized Startup program group for all users. |
| CSIDL_COMMON_DESKTOPDIRECTORY | File system directory that contains files and folders that appear on the desktop for all users. |
| CSIDL_COMMON_FAVORITES | File system directory that serves as a common repository for all users' favorite items. |
| CSIDL_COMMON_PROGRAMS | File system directory that contains the directories for the common program groups that appear on the Start menu for all users. |
| CSIDL_COMMON_STARTMENU | File system directory that contains the programs and folders that appear on the Start menu for all users. |
| CSIDL_COMMON_STARTUP | File system directory that contains the programs that appear in the Startup folder for all users. |
| CSIDL_CONTROLS | Virtual folder containing icons for the Control Panel applications. |
| CSIDL_COOKIES | File system directory that serves as a common repository for Internet cookies. |
| CSIDL_DESKTOP | Windows Desktop, which is a virtual folder at the root of the namespace. |
| CSIDL_DESKTOPDIRECTORY | File system directory used to physically store file objects on the desktop (not to be confused with the desktop folder itself). |
| CSIDL_DRIVES | My Computer, which is a virtual folder that contains everything on the local computer: storage devices, printers, and Control Panel. The folder may also contain mapped network drives. |
| CSIDL_FAVORITES | File system directory that serves as a common repository for the user's favorite items. |
| CSIDL_FONTS | Virtual folder containing fonts. |
| CSIDL_HISTORY | File system directory that serves as a common repository for Internet history items. |
| CSIDL_INTERNET | Virtual folder representing the Internet. |
| CSIDL_INTERNET_CACHE | File system directory that serves as a common repository for temporary Internet files. |
| CSIDL_NETHOOD | File system directory containing objects that appear in the network neighborhood. |
| CSIDL_NETWORK | Network Neighborhood Folder, which is a virtual folder that represents the top level of the network hierarchy. |
| CSIDL_PERSONAL | File system directory that serves as a common repository for documents. |
| CSIDL_PRINTERS | Virtual folder containing installed printers. |
| CSIDL_PRINTHOOD | File system directory that serves as a common repository for printer links. |
| CSIDL_PROGRAMS | File system directory that contains the user's program groups (which are also file system directories). |
| CSIDL_RECENT | File system directory that contains the user's most recently used documents. |
| CSIDL_SENDTO | File system directory that contains Send To menu items. |
| CSIDL_STARTMENU | File system directory containing Start menu items. |
| CSIDL_STARTUP | File system directory that corresponds to the user's Startup program group. The system starts these programs whenever any user logs onto Windows NT or starts Windows 95. |
| CSIDL_TEMPLATES | File system directory that serves as a common repository for document templates. |
ppidl
[in] Pointer to a pointer to an item identifier list specifying the folder’s location relative to the root of the namespace (the desktop). The calling application is responsible for freeing this pointer with the shell's IMalloc interface (see SHGetMalloc).
Return Values
NOERROR indicates success. An OLE-defined error result indicates failure.