How to prevent Start menu to open (disable it)

  • Thread starter Thread starter bz
  • Start date Start date
B

bz

Hi,

I need an app to run in kiosk mode, so user will not have access to
start menu and taskbar while the app is running


I was able to hide / show the taskbar with trhe following code when
app starts / exits

(the code is in C#, but please help me with suggestion no matter what
lang you are using)

[DllImport("user32.dll", EntryPoint = "FindWindowA")]
static extern int FindWindow(string lpClassName, string
lpWindowName);


[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern int SetWindowPos(int hwnd, int hWndInsertAfter,
int x, int y, int cx, int cy, int wFlags);


const int SWP_HIDEWINDOW = 128;
const int SWP_SHOWWINDOW = 64;


static public void HideTaskbar()
{
int intReturn = FindWindow("Shell_traywnd", "");
SetWindowPos(intReturn, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_HIDEWINDOW);
}


static public void ShowTaskbar()
{
int intReturn = FindWindow("Shell_traywnd", "");
SetWindowPos(intReturn, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_SHOWWINDOW);
}


But users still can access the start menu with Windows button (or Ctrl
+Esc)
Is there any way to disable start menu too?


Thank you
 
bz,

If you don't use an installer (and setting shortcuts) it will not be in the
Start menu, however programs running without a start menu are mostly windows
services. However your code is not VB.Net, wrong newsgroup maybe?

Cor
 
Hi,

The issue is not about setting a shortcut.
My program should behave like a kiosk application - full screen,
exclusive mode (so to not give users access to other programs while
starting this)
I wrote the code to hide taskbare when app is started, and show it
back when exit. But even w/o taskbar, users can open start menu by
pressing Windows key (or CTRL+ESC) on keyboard
And this is what I want to trap and prevent to happen

Regarding ng's, I know the code I post is C#, but this is not an
issue, I post in this ng in purpose. My app contains several modules,
written in various net languages (C#, VB.Net, and even some in
PHP.NET), so the language is not important, I can translate then it in
any lang I need for a particular project within the solution.
I'm just trying several ng's, maybe someone knows a solution to this.

Thanks
 
bz said:
Hi,

I need an app to run in kiosk mode, so user will not have access to
start menu and taskbar while the app is running


I was able to hide / show the taskbar with trhe following code when
app starts / exits

(the code is in C#, but please help me with suggestion no matter
what lang you are using)
Click to expand...

Instead of using this hack, I would try to find a supported way to suppress
the start menu - if possible. To me this seems to be more like a security or
policy issue. In any case, how to do it is not a VB.Net language related
issue, therefore I'd ask in one of the m.p.win32.programmer.* groups.
Unfortunatelly, I didn't find one that seems to be appropriate at first
sight. I suggest asking in the .UI or .kernel group about /what/ to do.


Armin
 
bz said:
I need an app to run in kiosk mode, so user will not have access to
start menu and taskbar while the app is running
Click to expand...

You can disable the Windows, Alt-Tab, Ctrl-Escape, etc. keyboard
combinations using a low level keyboard hook.

I can tell you how to do it in C++, but I don't know how easy it would be to
translate it to C# or VB.NET. Do managed languages support Win32 API
callbacks?
 
I need an app to run in kiosk mode, so user will not have access to
You can disable the Windows, Alt-Tab, Ctrl-Escape, etc. keyboard
combinations using a low level keyboard hook.

I can tell you how to do it in C++, but I don't know how easy it would be to
translate it to C# or VB.NET. Do managed languages support Win32 API
callbacks?
Click to expand...

I guess they do, since it is possible to interface with API calls
Please let me know how to do it with low level API keyboard hook, and
I hope I'll find a way to port it in C# or vb.net

Or maybe I'll be able to write a small unmanaged C++ dll, and export a
function to call from C# instead.

Thanks
Bogdan
 
bz said:
I guess they do, since it is possible to interface with API calls
Please let me know how to do it with low level API keyboard hook, and
I hope I'll find a way to port it in C# or vb.net

Or maybe I'll be able to write a small unmanaged C++ dll, and export a
function to call from C# instead.
Click to expand...

This is based on the code found here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/02/09/CQA/

The callback function:

\\\
LRESULT CALLBACK MyTaskKeyHookLL(int nCode, WPARAM wp, LPARAM lp)
{
KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT *pkh = (KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT *) lp;

if (nCode==HC_ACTION) {
BOOL bCtrlKeyDown =
GetAsyncKeyState(VK_CONTROL)>>((sizeof(SHORT) * 8) - 1);

if ((pkh->vkCode==VK_ESCAPE && bCtrlKeyDown) || // Ctrl+Esc
(pkh->vkCode==VK_TAB && pkh->flags & LLKHF_ALTDOWN) || // Alt+TAB
(pkh->vkCode==VK_ESCAPE && pkh->flags & LLKHF_ALTDOWN)|| // Alt+Esc
(pkh->vkCode==VK_LWIN || pkh->vkCode==VK_RWIN) ||
(pkh->vkCode==0))
{ // Start Menu
return 1; // gobble it: go directly to jail, do not pass go
}
}

return CallNextHookEx(g_hHookKbdLL, nCode, wp, lp);
}
///

Variable to store the hook pointer:

\\\
HHOOK g_hHookKbdLL = NULL; // hook handle
///

Code to install the hook:

\\\
if (!g_hHookKbdLL)
{
g_hHookKbdLL = SetWindowsHookEx(WH_KEYBOARD_LL, MyTaskKeyHookLL, hinst,
0);
}
///

(where hinst is the HINSTANCE handle to your application instance)

To remove the hook:

\\\
if (g_hHookKbdLL != NULL)
{
UnhookWindowsHookEx(g_hHookKbdLL);
g_hHookKbdLL = NULL;
}
///

HTH,
 
Thank you.
Regards

This is based on the code found here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/02/09/CQA/

The callback function:

\\\
LRESULT CALLBACK MyTaskKeyHookLL(int nCode, WPARAM wp, LPARAM lp)
{
KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT *pkh = (KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT *) lp;

if (nCode==HC_ACTION) {
BOOL bCtrlKeyDown =
GetAsyncKeyState(VK_CONTROL)>>((sizeof(SHORT) * 8) - 1);

if ((pkh->vkCode==VK_ESCAPE && bCtrlKeyDown) || // Ctrl+Esc
(pkh->vkCode==VK_TAB && pkh->flags & LLKHF_ALTDOWN) || // Alt+TAB
(pkh->vkCode==VK_ESCAPE && pkh->flags & LLKHF_ALTDOWN)|| // Alt+Esc
(pkh->vkCode==VK_LWIN || pkh->vkCode==VK_RWIN) ||
(pkh->vkCode==0))
{ // Start Menu
return 1; // gobble it: go directly to jail, do not pass go
}
}

return CallNextHookEx(g_hHookKbdLL, nCode, wp, lp);}

///

Variable to store the hook pointer:

\\\
HHOOK g_hHookKbdLL = NULL; // hook handle
///

Code to install the hook:

\\\
if (!g_hHookKbdLL)
{
g_hHookKbdLL = SetWindowsHookEx(WH_KEYBOARD_LL, MyTaskKeyHookLL, hinst,
0);
}
///

(where hinst is the HINSTANCE handle to your application instance)

To remove the hook:

\\\
if (g_hHookKbdLL != NULL)
{
UnhookWindowsHookEx(g_hHookKbdLL);
g_hHookKbdLL = NULL;
}
///

HTH,
Click to expand...
 
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