detect if using Classic start menu

[gnznroses]

i've searched and searched and can't find how to do this. i need to detect if the Classic start menu is being used, as opposed to the XP Style one. note that this is separate from whether or not the XP Visual Style is being used.

all i can find info on is a registry key in the Policies section that forces the Classic Start menu and doens't allow users to change it back to XP Style. this is not what i'm looking for. i just want to detect what the current style is.

i opened the Start Menu and Taskbar Properties screen and switched back and forth between styles while running Regmon and found nothing. i also exported two registry sections, the Policies "folder" and the Windows\Current Version\Explorer\Advanced folder, and compared the two under both circumstances and there's no changes there either.

i thought maybe the registry setting gets saved when Explorer is closed during logoff/shutdown, but i logged off and back on, after changing it to Classic, and still couldn't find a difference.

any ideas on where the setting could be?

[HanneSThEGreaT]

I did a lot of research lately on the taskbar and its related registry values. These seem to be the 2 registry keys you'd need to look at :

Policy:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoSimpleStartMenu]

Shell State:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

What you can do then is to use RegQueryValue and / or RegQueryValueEx to determine the current setting

[gnznroses]

yeah, the policy setting isn't what i need (it only change when the policy is in place, not when you just change the Start menu style) but Shell State could be it. it's a long binary value that looks like mumbo jumbo to me, but i do see one of the number pairs changing.

-edit-
found more about shellstate on msdn:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms538317.aspx

thanks for pointing me in the right direction

[LaVolpe]

I'm sure there are other API examples out there, but here is one that appears to work using the GetCurrentThemeName API. It's a French site, scroll down about 1/3 of the way til you see the code. It doesn't explicitly identify Windows Classic. But I think it would be safe to say that if the IsThemeActive call returns false, then classic is employed.

[gnznroses]

that's actually for the visual style, not the start menu style. you can actually have xp VS with classic start or classic VS with xp-style start.

i thought i had figured it out, but i'm having no luck with SHGetSetSettings (returns 0 every time) or SHGetSettings (doesn't seem to support all of the values, including SSF_STARTPANELON).

i thenh tried ditching that and just reading the registry data myself. but my registry query is failing. i have a registry module already that i use, and it supports DWORDs and REG_SZ, but not BINARY. so i looked at other registry modules and added in binary support to the one i use, and i'd swear i have it right but it's just not working.

Public Function regQuery_A_Key(ByVal lngRootKey As Long, _
                               ByVal strRegKeyPath As String, _
                               ByVal strRegSubKey As String) As Variant
    
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Written by Kenneth Ives                     kenaso@home.com
'
' Important:     If you treat all key data strings as being
'                case sensitive, you should never have a problem.
'                Always backup your registry files (System.dat
'                and User.dat) before performing any type of
'                modifications
'
' Description:   Function for querying a sub key value.
'
' Parameters:
'           lngRootKey - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_CURRENT_USER,
'                  HKEY_lOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_USERS, etc
'    strRegKeyPath - is name of the key path you wish to traverse.
'     strRegSubKey - is the name of the key which will be queryed.
'
' Syntax:
'    strKeyQuery = regQuery_A_Key(HKEY_CURRENT_USER, _
'                       "Software\AAA-Registry Test\Products", _
                        "StringTestData")
'
' Returns the key value of "StringTestData"
' --------------------------------------------------------------
    
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Define variables
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  Dim intPosition As Integer
  Dim lngKeyHandle As Long
  Dim lngDataType As Long
  Dim lngBufferSize As Long
  Dim lngBuffer As Long
  Dim strBuffer As String

' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Initialize variables
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  lngKeyHandle = 0
  lngBufferSize = 0
  
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Query the key path
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  m_lngRetVal = RegOpenKey(lngRootKey, strRegKeyPath, lngKeyHandle)
  
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' If no key handle was found then there is no key.  Leave here.
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  If lngKeyHandle = 0 Then
      regQuery_A_Key = ""
      m_lngRetVal = RegCloseKey(lngKeyHandle)   ' always close the handle
      Exit Function
  End If
  
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Query the registry and determine the data type.
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  m_lngRetVal = RegQueryValueEx(lngKeyHandle, strRegSubKey, 0&, _
                         lngDataType, ByVal 0&, lngBufferSize)
  
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' If no key handle was found then there is no key.  Leave.
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  If lngKeyHandle = 0 Then
      regQuery_A_Key = ""
      m_lngRetVal = RegCloseKey(lngKeyHandle)   ' always close the handle
      Exit Function
  End If
  
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Make the API call to query the registry based on the type
' of data.
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  Select Case lngDataType
         Case REG_SZ, REG_EXPAND_SZ:      ' String data (most common)
              ' Preload the receiving buffer area
              strBuffer = Space(lngBufferSize)
      
              m_lngRetVal = RegQueryValueEx(lngKeyHandle, strRegSubKey, 0&, 0&, _
                                     ByVal strBuffer, lngBufferSize)
              
              ' If NOT a successful call then leave
              If m_lngRetVal <> ERROR_SUCCESS Then
                  regQuery_A_Key = ""
              Else
                  ' Strip out the string data
                  intPosition = InStr(1, strBuffer, chr(0))  ' look for the first null char
                  If intPosition > 0 Then
                      ' if we found one, then save everything up to that point
                      regQuery_A_Key = Left(strBuffer, intPosition - 1)
                  Else
                      ' did not find one.  Save everything.
                      regQuery_A_Key = strBuffer
                  End If
              End If
              
         Case REG_DWORD:    ' Numeric data (Integer)
              m_lngRetVal = RegQueryValueEx(lngKeyHandle, strRegSubKey, 0&, lngDataType, _
                                     lngBuffer, 4&)  ' 4& = 4-byte word (long integer)
              ' If NOT a successful call then leave
              If m_lngRetVal <> ERROR_SUCCESS Then
                  regQuery_A_Key = ""
              Else
                  ' Save the captured data
                  regQuery_A_Key = lngBuffer
              End If
              
        Case REG_BINARY
              m_lngRetVal = RegQueryValueEx(lngKeyHandle, strRegSubKey, 0&, lngDataType, _
                                     lngBuffer, 2&)
              ' If NOT a successful call then leave
              If m_lngRetVal <> ERROR_SUCCESS Then
                  regQuery_A_Key = ""
              Else
                  ' Save the captured data
                  regQuery_A_Key = lngBuffer
              End If
         
         Case Else:    ' unknown
              regQuery_A_Key = ""
  End Select
  
  If m_lngRetVal = ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED Then
    frmError.Show vbModeless
    frmError.Label1.Caption = "Could not read from registry. Insufficient permissions."
  End If
  
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Always close the handle in the registry.  We do not want to
' corrupt these files.
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  m_lngRetVal = RegCloseKey(lngKeyHandle)

End Function

for the buffer size, i tried lngBufferSize, i tried 2, and i tried 16. lngBufferSize just crashes vb6 entirely, the other two just return an error code as the return value.

[HanneSThEGreaT]

The setting for Policy will be affected upon creating a New User account ( and you've selected "Classic Start Menu" for that user account ) - so, technically, it's still needed

ShellState is the way to go. By you seeing the values change, it means it has changed.

Classic Start Menu has this setting ( for ShellState ) :

24 00 00 00 31 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 0D 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

XP Start Menu has this setting ( for ShellState ) :

24 00 00 00 31 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 0D 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00

As you can see there is only one small change. Just do not play around too much with those "mumbo jumbo ( as you call it )" hex values there, because a setting such as :

24 00 00 00 37 88 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 0D 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00

In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ShellState

Will Turn off the recycle bin delete confirmation!

[gnznroses]

yeah, i've got it all sorted now
finally got some code working to read binary registry values and return it as a byte array, then i pluck the 32nd value or whatever.

[HanneSThEGreaT]

yeah, i've got it all sorted now

That's good news !

finally got some code working to read binary registry values and return it as a byte array, then i pluck the 32nd value or whatever.

Mind sharing this, I'd be interested to see what you've done ¿

[gnznroses]

i didn't include the whole thing cause it's pretty long. it's a module i borrowed from somewhere - don't remember where. then i found the binary-reading code from some website and modified it to fit with the rest of the code that read strings and dwords.

  Private Declare Function RegQueryValueEx Lib "advapi32.dll" Alias "RegQueryValueExA" _
            (ByVal lngRootKey As Long, ByVal lpValueName As String, ByVal lpReserved As Long, _
             lpType As Long, lpData As Any, lpcbData As Long) As Long

Private Declare Function RegQueryValueExByte Lib "advapi32" Alias "RegQueryValueExA" _
  (ByVal hKey As Long, ByVal lpValueName As String, ByVal lpReserved As Long, _
   ByRef lpType As Long, szData As Byte, ByRef lpcbData As Long) As Long

Public Function regQuery_A_Key(ByVal lngRootKey As Long, _
                               ByVal strRegKeyPath As String, _
                               ByVal strRegSubKey As String) As Variant
    
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Written by Kenneth Ives                     kenaso@home.com
'
' Important:     If you treat all key data strings as being
'                case sensitive, you should never have a problem.
'                Always backup your registry files (System.dat
'                and User.dat) before performing any type of
'                modifications
'
' Description:   Function for querying a sub key value.
'
' Parameters:
'           lngRootKey - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_CURRENT_USER,
'                  HKEY_lOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_USERS, etc
'    strRegKeyPath - is name of the key path you wish to traverse.
'     strRegSubKey - is the name of the key which will be queryed.
'
' Syntax:
'    strKeyQuery = regQuery_A_Key(HKEY_CURRENT_USER, _
'                       "Software\AAA-Registry Test\Products", _
                        "StringTestData")
'
' Returns the key value of "StringTestData"
' --------------------------------------------------------------
    
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Define variables
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  Dim intPosition As Integer
  Dim lngKeyHandle As Long
  Dim lngDataType As Long
  Dim lngBufferSize As Long
  Dim lngBuffer As Long
  Dim strBuffer As String

' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Initialize variables
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  lngKeyHandle = 0
  lngBufferSize = 0
  
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Query the key path
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  m_lngRetVal = RegOpenKey(lngRootKey, strRegKeyPath, lngKeyHandle)
  
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' If no key handle was found then there is no key.  Leave here.
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  If lngKeyHandle = 0 Then
      regQuery_A_Key = ""
      m_lngRetVal = RegCloseKey(lngKeyHandle)   ' always close the handle
      Exit Function
  End If
  
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Query the registry and determine the data type.
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  m_lngRetVal = RegQueryValueEx(lngKeyHandle, strRegSubKey, 0&, _
                         lngDataType, ByVal 0&, lngBufferSize)
  
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' If no key handle was found then there is no key.  Leave.
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  If lngKeyHandle = 0 Then
      regQuery_A_Key = ""
      m_lngRetVal = RegCloseKey(lngKeyHandle)   ' always close the handle
      Exit Function
  End If
  
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Make the API call to query the registry based on the type
' of data.
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  Select Case lngDataType
         Case REG_SZ, REG_EXPAND_SZ:      ' String data (most common)
              ' Preload the receiving buffer area
              strBuffer = Space(lngBufferSize)
      
              m_lngRetVal = RegQueryValueEx(lngKeyHandle, strRegSubKey, 0&, 0&, _
                                     ByVal strBuffer, lngBufferSize)
              
              ' If NOT a successful call then leave
              If m_lngRetVal <> ERROR_SUCCESS Then
                  regQuery_A_Key = ""
              Else
                  ' Strip out the string data
                  intPosition = InStr(1, strBuffer, chr(0))  ' look for the first null char
                  If intPosition > 0 Then
                      ' if we found one, then save everything up to that point
                      regQuery_A_Key = Left(strBuffer, intPosition - 1)
                  Else
                      ' did not find one.  Save everything.
                      regQuery_A_Key = strBuffer
                  End If
              End If
              
         Case REG_DWORD:    ' Numeric data (Integer)
              m_lngRetVal = RegQueryValueEx(lngKeyHandle, strRegSubKey, 0&, lngDataType, _
                                     lngBuffer, 4&)  ' 4& = 4-byte word (long integer)
              ' If NOT a successful call then leave
              If m_lngRetVal <> ERROR_SUCCESS Then
                  regQuery_A_Key = ""
              Else
                  ' Save the captured data
                  regQuery_A_Key = lngBuffer
              End If
              
        Case REG_BINARY
  '              m_lngRetVal = RegQueryValueEx(lngKeyHandle, strRegSubKey, 0&, lngDataType, _
'                                     lngBuffer, 2&)
                Dim abData() As Byte
                ReDim abData(lngBufferSize)
                m_lngRetVal = RegQueryValueExByte(lngKeyHandle, strRegSubKey, 0&, _
                                        lngDataType, abData(0), lngBufferSize)
                Dim vR As Variant
                vR = abData

              ' If NOT a successful call then leave
              If m_lngRetVal <> ERROR_SUCCESS Then
                  regQuery_A_Key = 0
              Else
                  ' Save the captured data
                  'regQuery_A_Key = lngBuffer
                  Dim iByte As Long
                    For iByte = LBound(abData) To UBound(abData)
                        'regQuery_A_Key = regQuery_A_Key & "&H"
                        If (iByte < &H10) Then
                            regQuery_A_Key = regQuery_A_Key & "0"
                        End If
                        regQuery_A_Key = regQuery_A_Key & Hex$(vR(iByte)) & " "
                    Next iByte
              End If
              
              'specific to checking Start menu status
                Dim tmparray() As String
                tmparray = Split(regQuery_A_Key, " ")
                regQuery_A_Key = tmparray(32)
              'Debug.Print regQuery_A_Key

         
         Case Else:    ' unknown
              regQuery_A_Key = ""
  End Select
    
' --------------------------------------------------------------
' Always close the handle in the registry.  We do not want to
' corrupt these files.
' --------------------------------------------------------------
  m_lngRetVal = RegCloseKey(lngKeyHandle)
End Function