Common Control Library

The shell incorporates a number of controls that help give Windows its distinctive look and feel. Because these controls are supported by DLLs that are a part of the operating system, they are available to all applications. Using the common controls helps keep an application's user interface consistent with that of the shell and other applications. Because developing a control can be a substantial undertaking, using the common controls can also save you a significant amount of development time.

The common controls are a set of control windows supported by the common control library Comctl32.dll. Like other controls, a common control is a child window that an application uses in conjunction with another window to perform I/O tasks. The common control DLL includes a programming interface that applications use to create and manipulate the controls as well as to receive user input.

For more information, see Common Controls