How to write a Vertical Right-Side IE Explorer Bar

Answer 1

I've just been digging into how Kutano's right-side bar works as I'd like to do the same. This doesn't directly help your question as I don't have an answer yet, but here's what I know:

Kutano doesn't appear to be a normal Explorer Bar, as there's no entry for it in HKCR\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Explorer Bars, nor does it appear in the View|Explorer Bar menu.

The following entries in the registry referencing the Kutano sidebar DLL:

HKCR\AppID\{6D6036C6-692F-4211-903B-943D94E1CCC3}
  kutano_ie_client

HKCR\CLSID\{18D81A5F-F8A5-4B78-A6CC-7E37DCAFC0BB}
  Kutano Add-on
  TypeLib {24DA2415-9F99-403F-801B-A74AE4101C27}

HKCR\CLSID\{2AE98FD7-4E58-4400-8113-B5018ED48676}
  Kutano Sidebar
  TypeLib {24DA2415-9F99-403F-801B-A74AE4101C27}

HKCR\CLSID\{2F698BD8-48CD-45B4-ACDF-67F92082EE7E}
  MenuItem
  TypeLib {24DA2415-9F99-403F-801B-A74AE4101C27}

HKCR\CLSID\{A5B02961-E212-4195-A77D-6E1346C2DE18}
  kutanoSidebarExtInterface Class
  TypeLib {24DA2415-9F99-403F-801B-A74AE4101C27}

HKCR\CLSID\{E163FD8B-2ADD-4F2E-86E8-7678D008ED43}
  KutanoToolbarBtn Class
  TypeLib {24DA2415-9F99-403F-801B-A74AE4101C27}

HKCR\TypeLib\{24DA2415-9F99-403F-801B-A74AE4101C27}
  kutano_ie_client 1.0 Type Library

HKLM\Software\Classes\AppID\kutano_ie_client.DLL
  AppID {6D6036C6-692F-4211-903B-943D94E1CCC3}

Some of these are more apparent as to what they do than others.

Delving about with Spy++ it seems to add an extra Shell DocObject View to the window hierarchy:

TabWindowClass
  ATL:63CB39A0
    Kutano_SplitterWindow
      AtlAxWin90
        Shell Embedding
          Shell DocObject View
            Internet Explorer_Server

It does leave the original in place and appears to continue to use it:

TabWindowClass
  Shell DocObject View
    Internet Explorer_Server

This seems somewhat different and more involved than your HP example, but hope it might glean some information to the same end. I've a thread about this on the MSDN Internet Explorer Extension Development forum.

Answer 2

hey, I've played with explorer bars in the past and docking on the right isn't an option. the developers who have done this probably did it by force: injecting their HWND into the right spot and then resizing the other windows.

i suppose it's also possible they're relying on some latent feature of internet explorer that was never exposed...

i don't know why Microsoft doesn't seem to allow this type of explorer bar, but if you want something docked on the right it looks like you'll have to hack it in.

~jewels