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Win32 Software Development Kit

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About the Microsoft Win32 Software Development Kit

This overview provides information to help you get started with the Microsoft® Win32® Software Development Kit (SDK). It presents a brief description of the arrangement of subject areas in the Win32 SDK, and presents a few ways to find the information you need.


Introduction to the Win32 SDK

The following list shows the organization of the entire Win32 SDK. You can view sections and topics for each book in the Contents pane, which serves as a complete table of contents. Note that some top-level nodes such as OLE and MAPI contain more than one book. For more information, see Navigating.

Win32 Programmer's Reference
OLE
    OLE Programmer's Reference
    Automation
RPC
MIDL
Multimedia
OpenGL
Internet
    Windows Sockets 2
    ISAPI Programmer's Reference
Win32 Messaging (MAPI)
    MAPI Programmer's Reference
    OLE Messaging Library
    Extending the Microsoft Exchange Client
TAPI
Pen
DirectX2
Programming and Tool Guides
    Programmer's Guide to Windows 95
    Programming Techniques
    Tools Guide
    Setup API
    Performance Data Helper
Code Samples
Knowledge Base
Articles

The Code Samples node provides examples that illustrate how to use most of the functions in the Win32 SDK. Headers and associated files necessary to build are located in the SAMPLES directory on the Win32 SDK compact disc.

The Programmer's Guide to Windows 95 covers programming elements supported only on the Microsoft Windows® 95 operating system.

For information on porting from 16-bit applications, see  Porting Code from 16-bit Windows to 32-bit Windows in Programming Techniques.

The Articles node contains in-depth journal articles on recent developments in Win32-based programming.

More detailed orienting information is available for the following documentation:

•	About the MAPI SDK

•	Using the Microsoft Win32 Programmer's Reference

The Service Provider Documentation is available as a separate file in the Win32 SDK.


Using the Documentation

Complete instructions on how to use the documentation for the Win32 SDK can be found in the Help provided with the Win32 SDK documentation. This section explains a few key features to help you get started.

•	Navigating
•	Search Features


Navigating

By default, the Contents and Topic panes are displayed simultaneously. The View menu lets you configure the screen so that you see both panes or just one. You can also drag the splitter bar to adjust the width of the Contents and Topic panes.

The Contents pane is a dynamic table of contents that allows you to see the overall structure of the SDK. It is useful for browsing or locating your topic in the documentation.

To open a book in the Contents pane

•	Double-click the closed book icon or its title, or click the plus sign next to the book.

The next level of information is revealed in the Contents pane — either topics or subordinate books. A plus sign indicates that the book is closed; a minus sign indicates that the book is open.

To open a topic from the Contents pane

•	Double-click the topic icon or its title.

The topic appears in the Topic pane on the right.

For complete information, see the Help topics "Getting Oriented" and "Opening Books and Topics."

Navigating Using Toolbar Buttons

The toolbars located under the menu bar (upper toolbar) and above the Topic pane (lower toolbar) help you perform common tasks quickly. Complete details are available in the Help topic "Visual Guide to Buttons."

After a topic is displayed, you can use the [image] and [image] browse buttons to navigate forward or backward through the documentation in the Topic pane.

To find your place in the table of contents again, click the [image] button on the lower toolbar, and the current topic will be highlighted in the Contents pane.


Search Features

In addition to browsing in the Contents pane, you can use the Keyword Index and Query features to find the information you need.

•	Using the Keyword Index
•	Using Full-Text Search
•	Finding New Topics


Using the Keyword Index

The Keyword Index provides a quick and simple way to locate reference topics for functions, structures, messages, and so on. All reference topics are listed alphabetically. Overview titles are also included in the index. To find particular concepts, words, or phrases, use the Query feature.

To find information using the Keyword Index button

1.	Open the Keyword Index dialog box in one of the following ways:

•	Click the [image] button.

•	From the Tools menu, click Keyword Index.

•	Press CTRL+K.

2.	In the Keyword Index dialog box, type the name of the programming element you want to see, or scroll through the list and select a keyword. As you type, the list automatically scrolls to the word that most closely matches the text you are typing.

3.	Click List Books, select the topic you want to view, and click Display.

For more information on keyword searches, click the Help button from within the Keyword Index dialog box.


Using Full-Text Search

The Query feature allows you to search the entire documentation set or selected books and topics for a word, phrase, or key concept. The query feature supports a range of search methods, including exact match, wildcard, Boolean, and quoted string. The results of the query are displayed in the Query Results dialog box. For complete information, see the Help topic "Using Queries to Search."

To find information using the Query feature

1.	Open the Query dialog box in one of the following ways:

•	Click the [image] button on the upper toolbar.

•	Click Query on the Tools menu.

•	Press CTRL+F.

2.	In the Query list box, type the word or phrase that you want to search for. For more information on exact match, wildcard, Boolean, or quoted string methods, click Help in the dialog box.

3.	Under Scope of Search, click the search area. To narrow the scope of your search, choose a book from the Subset of Search list box or set your own subset of search criteria.

4.	Click an option in Topic Area to Search. You can search through the entire text or limit your search to titles only.

5.	Click Run Query.

The Query Results dialog box appears. You can sort your results in three ways:

•	Click Order to sort topics sequentially, according to their position in the documentation.

•	Click Book to sort topics by book.

•	Click Topic to sort topics in alphabetic order.

You can open topics listed in Query Results without reopening the dialog box. To view the next topic listed in Query Results, click the Next in Query Results button on the toolbar. To view the previous listed topic, click the Previous in Query Results button.

For options on highlighting query results in the Topic pane, click Options on the Tools menu.


Finding New Topics

Every new reference topic in the Win32 SDK is tagged with one of three flags:

•	"Windows 95 only"

•	"Now Supported on Windows NT" for Windows 95 shell features that are now supported on Windows NT

•	"New -- Windows NT" for reference topics appearing for the first time

You can find these new topics by using the Query feature, as follows.

To find new topics

1.	Open the Query dialog box.

2.	In the Query box, type one of the following find strings:

•	"New Windows NT" (Note that the quotation marks delimit the string.)

•	"Now Supported on Windows NT"

•	"Windows 95 only"

3.	Under Scope of Search, click Entire Contents, then choose the appropriate selection from the list box.

4.	Under Topic Area to Search, click Title and Text.

5.	Click Run Query.

The Query Results dialog box appears with a listing of all the new topics in the category you specified.


Printing the Win32 SDK

The Win32 SDK includes a printing feature that enables you to print single topics or entire books. Note that more than one topic is printed on a sheet of paper to make printing multiple topics faster and more economical. For complete information, see the Help topic "Printing Topics."

To print a single topic

•	Click the [image] button to print a copy of the topic displayed in the Topic pane.

To print multiple topics

1.	In the Contents pane, highlight the book you want to print.

2.	From the File menu, click Print.

3.	In the Print dialog box, click the Selected Topic or Book in Contents Pane option.

4.	Click OK.

Occasionally, some topics may include art or example code that is too wide to fit in your Contents pane without scrolling. You can print these topics in landscape (wide) orientation.

To print wide topics

1. 	From the File menu, click Print.

2. 	In the Print dialog box, click the Setup button.

3. 	In the Print Setup dialog box, click the Landscape option under Orientation.

4. 	Click OK.

You can open the same dialog box by clicking Print Setup on the File Menu.