StartX v1.03

Welcome to StartX, A very simple utility to allow you to call the CreateProcess API from the command line.

History

V1.0 (29 January 2003)

• First public release.

3 July 2004

• Now includes explicit info on the usage of the executable "StartX.exe" in the documentation

V1.01 (20 August 2004)

• Now returns the error code back to the OS as returned from any failures when calling the Win32 SDK calls which StartX uses.
• Now includes a /NOUI command line parameter, which suppresses any messages boxes which can appear when an error occurs. Thanks to Trevor Hart for these 2 suggestions.

V1.02 (20 December 2004)

• Now supports a /RETURNERROR command line parameter, which returns the error code of the process being run. Setting this parameter implies using /WAIT. Thanks to Tomasz Nowak for suggesting this addition.

V1.03 (19 August 2005)

• Error codes are now reported as a string by calling FormatMessage. Thanks to Dennis Bareis for prompting this update.
• String resources which are displayed to the end user now use the format IDP_...

Copyright

• You are allowed to include the source code in any product (commercial, shareware, freeware or otherwise) when your product is released in binary form.
• You are allowed to modify the source code in any way you want except you cannot modify the copyright details at the top of each module.
• If you want to distribute source code with your application, then you are only allowed to distribute versions released by the author. This is to maintain a single distribution point for the source code.
• The executable file itself, namely "StartX.exe" can be freely redistributed by anyone.

Installation Requirements

• The program is for Win32 only and has no external requirements on DLLs other than the ones shipped as standard with any Win32 platform.

Usage

• Places where you might find StartX useful are in adding an Autorun.inf file to your CD-R / CD-RW Discs. For example suppose you have a text file called readme.txt on the root of your CD which you would like to run it automatically by displaying it in Wordpad maximized whenever the user inserts the CD. All you need to do is put StartX.exe, some ico file and the readme.txt files into the root directory and create a autorun.inf file with the following contents:

[autorun]
open=StartX.exe /MAX "wordpad.exe readme.txt"
icon=youricon.ico

• The more technically minded of you may say why is there a need to have this program since you can use "start filename" on autorun CD's without any apparent problems. The problem with this approach is that it does not work on NT / 2000 / XP / 2003 Server, "start" is implemented as an "Internal" command in cmd.exe (as opposed to a standard exe on 95/98) with the upshot that your CD's will not AutoRun on NT Kernels. Using StartX will mean that your CD's will autorun on all OS's which support it.
• StartX includes a full superset of the commands which the Windows 2000 / XP internal Start command provides. The full list is:
  
  StartX ["title"] [/Dpath] [/I] [/MIN] [/NOUI] [/MAX] [/SEPARATE | /SHARED] [/PP] [/Uuser] [/Wpassword] [/Odomain] [/K[desktop]] [/Px,y] [/Scx1,cy1] [/CScx2,cy2] [/FR] [/FG] [/FB] [/BR] [/BG] [/BB] [/FS] [/LP] [/LNCO] [/LOW | /NORMAL | /HIGH | /REALTIME | /ABOVENORMAL | /BELOWNORMAL] [/WAIT] [/B] [/NOUI] [/RETURNERROR] ["command/program parameters"]
   

  Parameter	Description
  "title"	Title to display in window title bar.
  path	Starting directory
  NOUI	Suppresses any UI which StartX displays in response to runtime errors. This is helpful when StartX is being called by another process and we want to avoid displaying any UI which requires a user to click a button to close the message displayed.
  B	Start application without creating a new window.
  MIN	Start window minimized
  MAX	Start window maximized
  SEPARATE	Start 16-bit Windows program in separate memory space
  SHARED	Start 16-bit Windows program in shared memory space
  PP	Prompts for credentials if the program is to be run under another user account. This uses the standard CredUIPromptForCredentials dialog which is available on Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server or later only
  user	The account under which to run the program. This is support on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server or later only.
  password	The password to use when logging in using the account "user"
  domain	The NT domain to log into when using the account "user"
  desktop	Name of the desktop only or the name of both the desktop and window station to run the program on. A backslash in the string indicates that the string includes both desktop and window station names. If /K is not specified, the program inherits the desktop and window station of the StartX program. If no value for desktop is specified but /K is used, then the process does not inherit the desktop and window station of its parent process; instead, the system determines if a new desktop and window station need to be created. If the impersonated user already has a desktop, the system will use the existing desktop.
  x,y	Specifies the x and y offset, in pixels, of the upper left corner of a window if a new window is created. The offset is from the upper left corner of the screen. For GUI processes, the specified position is used the first time the new process calls CreateWindow to create an overlapped window if the y parameter of CreateWindow is CW_USEDEFAULT.
  cx1, cy2	Specifies the width and height, in pixels, of the window if a new window is created. For GUI processes, this is used only the first time the new process calls CreateWindow to create an overlapped window if the nWidth parameter of CreateWindow is CW_USEDEFAULT.
  cx2, cy2	For console processes, if a new console window is created, specifies the screen buffer width and height in character columns. This value is ignored in a GUI process and on Windows 95/98/Me.
  FR	Specifies that initial text of red color if a new console window is created in a console application
  RG	Specifies that initial text of green color if a new console window is created in a console application
  FB	Specifies that initial text of blue color if a new console window is created in a console application
  FR	Specifies the initial background color of red color if a new console window is created in a console application
  FG	Specifies the initial background color of green color if a new console window is created in a console application
  FB	Specifies the initial background color of blue color if a new console window is created in a console application
  FS	Indicates that the process should be run in full-screen mode, rather than in windowed mode. Applies to Windows NT/ 2000/ XP or 2003 Server only
  LP	Used in conjunction with the /Uuser parameter. Log on, then load the user's profile. Loading the profile can be time-consuming, so it is best to use this value only if you must access the user's profile information
  LNCO	Used in conjunction with the /Uuser parameter. Log on, but use the specified credentials on the network only. The new process uses the same token as the caller, but the system creates a new logon session within LSA, and the process uses the specified credentials as the default credentials. This value can be used to create a process that uses a different set of credentials locally than it does remotely. This is useful in inter-domain scenarios where there is no trust relationship.
  LOW	Start application in the IDLE priority class
  NORMAL	Start application in the NORMAL priority class
  HIGH	Start application in the HIGH priority class
  REALTIME	Start application in the REALTIME priority class
  ABOVENORMAL	Start application in the ABOVENORMAL priority class
  BELOWNORMAL	Start application in the BELOWNORMAL priority class
  WAIT	Start application and wait for it to terminate
  NOUI	Suppresses any error message boxes which StartX may display
  RETURNERROR	Returns the error code of the remote process when it exits. Setting this implies /WAIT
  command / program parameters	This is the actual command line to use. Please note that the full command line should be enclosed in quotes.

• StartX also supports four replaceable parameters in the all string commands sent to it. These are: @EXEDRV@ which gets replaced with the drive letter path where StartX is run from. The other variable is @EXEDIR@ which is the fully qualified folder where StartX is run from, @QUOTE@ which puts a Quote character i.e. " into the string when the program is called. For example:
  
  StartX.exe "@EXEDRV@\Prog\MyProg.exe @EXEDIR@\DataFiles\myfile.xyz"
  
  Another example would if calling Notepad with the file "c:\A directory with spaces\file.txt" and ensuring that the filename is embedded with quotes. In this case, you would use the following command line:
  
  StartX.exe "notepad.exe @QUOTE@c:\directory with spaces\file.txt@QUOTE@"
  
  The final replaceable parameter is simply a numeric value which corresponds to the numeric value a programmer would use when calling the API SHGetFolderPath. Please note that the dll ShFolder.dll must be installed on the client machine to use this functionality. This is a standard redistributable DLL for versions of all versions of Windows. On Windows 2000 or later it is built in to the OS. For example to display win.in in notepad assuming it is stored in the Windows directory (CSIDL_WINDOWS) you would use the command line:
  
  StartX.exe "notepad.exe @36@\win.ini". The full set of values are:
   

  CSIDL_FLAG_CREATE (0x8000)

  Version 5.0. Combine this CSIDL with any of the following CSIDLs to force the creation of the associated folder.

  CSIDL_ADMINTOOLS (0x0030)

  Version 5.0. The file system directory that is used to store administrative tools for an individual user. The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) will save customized consoles to this directory, and it will roam with the user.

  CSIDL_ALTSTARTUP (0x001d)

  The file system directory that corresponds to the user's nonlocalized Startup program group.

  CSIDL_APPDATA (0x001a)

  Version 4.71. The file system directory that serves as a common repository for application-specific data. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data. This CSIDL is supported by the redistributable Shfolder.dll for systems that do not have the Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0 integrated Shell installed.

  CSIDL_BITBUCKET (0x000a)

  The virtual folder containing the objects in the user's Recycle Bin.

  CSIDL_CDBURN_AREA (0x003b)

  Version 6.0. The file system directory acting as a staging area for files waiting to be written to CD. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\CD Burning.

  CSIDL_COMMON_ADMINTOOLS (0x002f)

  Version 5.0. The file system directory containing administrative tools for all users of the computer.

  CSIDL_COMMON_ALTSTARTUP (0x001e)

  The file system directory that corresponds to the nonlocalized Startup program group for all users. Valid only for Microsoft Windows NT® systems.

  CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA (0x0023)

  Version 5.0. The file system directory containing application data for all users. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data.

  CSIDL_COMMON_DESKTOPDIRECTORY (0x0019)

  The file system directory that contains files and folders that appear on the desktop for all users. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop. Valid only for Windows NT systems.

  CSIDL_COMMON_DOCUMENTS (0x002e)

  The file system directory that contains documents that are common to all users. A typical paths is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents. Valid for Windows NT systems and Microsoft Windows® 95 and Windows 98 systems with Shfolder.dll installed.

  CSIDL_COMMON_FAVORITES (0x001f)

  The file system directory that serves as a common repository for favorite items common to all users. Valid only for Windows NT systems.

  CSIDL_COMMON_MUSIC (0x0035)

  Version 6.0. The file system directory that serves as a repository for music files common to all users. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\My Music.

  CSIDL_COMMON_PICTURES (0x0036)

  Version 6.0. The file system directory that serves as a repository for image files common to all users. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\My Pictures.

  CSIDL_COMMON_PROGRAMS (0x0017)

  The file system directory that contains the directories for the common program groups that appear on the Start menu for all users. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs. Valid only for Windows NT systems.

  CSIDL_COMMON_STARTMENU (0x0016)

  The file system directory that contains the programs and folders that appear on the Start menu for all users. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu. Valid only for Windows NT systems.

  CSIDL_COMMON_STARTUP (0x0018)

  The file system directory that contains the programs that appear in the Startup folder for all users. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup. Valid only for Windows NT systems.

  CSIDL_COMMON_TEMPLATES (0x002d)

  The file system directory that contains the templates that are available to all users. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Templates. Valid only for Windows NT systems.

  CSIDL_COMMON_VIDEO (0x0037)

  Version 6.0. The file system directory that serves as a repository for video files common to all users. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\My Videos.

  CSIDL_CONTROLS (0x0003)

  The virtual folder containing icons for the Control Panel applications.

  CSIDL_COOKIES (0x0021)

  The file system directory that serves as a common repository for Internet cookies. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Cookies.

  CSIDL_DESKTOP (0x0000)

  The virtual folder representing the Windows desktop, the root of the namespace.

  CSIDL_DESKTOPDIRECTORY (0x0010)

  The file system directory used to physically store file objects on the desktop (not to be confused with the desktop folder itself). A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Desktop.

  CSIDL_DRIVES (0x0011)

  The virtual folder representing My Computer, containing everything on the local computer: storage devices, printers, and Control Panel. The folder may also contain mapped network drives.

  CSIDL_FAVORITES (0x0006)

  The file system directory that serves as a common repository for the user's favorite items. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Favorites.

  CSIDL_FONTS (0x0014)

  A virtual folder containing fonts. A typical path is C:\Windows\Fonts.

  CSIDL_HISTORY (0x0022)

  The file system directory that serves as a common repository for Internet history items.

  CSIDL_INTERNET (0x0001)

  A virtual folder representing the Internet.

  CSIDL_INTERNET_CACHE (0x0020)

  Version 4.72. The file system directory that serves as a common repository for temporary Internet files. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files.

  CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA (0x001c)

  Version 5.0. The file system directory that serves as a data repository for local (nonroaming) applications. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data.

  CSIDL_MYDOCUMENTS (0x000c)

  Version 6.0. The virtual folder representing the My Documents desktop item. This should not be confused with CSIDL_PERSONAL, which represents the file system folder that physically stores the documents.

  CSIDL_MYMUSIC (0x000d)

  The file system directory that serves as a common repository for music files. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\My Music.

  CSIDL_MYPICTURES (0x0027)

  Version 5.0. The file system directory that serves as a common repository for image files. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Pictures.

  CSIDL_MYVIDEO (0x000e)

  Version 6.0. The file system directory that serves as a common repository for video files. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Videos.

  CSIDL_NETHOOD (0x0013)

  A file system directory containing the link objects that may exist in the My Network Places virtual folder. It is not the same as CSIDL_NETWORK, which represents the network namespace root. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\NetHood.

  CSIDL_NETWORK (0x0012)

  A virtual folder representing Network Neighborhood, the root of the network namespace hierarchy.

  CSIDL_PERSONAL (0x0005)

  The file system directory used to physically store a user's common repository of documents. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents. This should be distinguished from the virtual My Documents folder in the namespace, identified by CSIDL_MYDOCUMENTS. To access that virtual folder, use SHGetFolderLocation, which returns the ITEMIDLIST for the virtual location, or refer to the technique described in Managing the File System.

  CSIDL_PRINTERS (0x0004)

  The virtual folder containing installed printers.

  CSIDL_PRINTHOOD (0x001b)

  The file system directory that contains the link objects that can exist in the Printers virtual folder. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\PrintHood.

  CSIDL_PROFILE (0x0028)

  Version 5.0. The user's profile folder. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username. Applications should not create files or folders at this level; they should put their data under the locations referred to by CSIDL_APPDATA or CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA.

  CSIDL_PROFILES (0x003e)

  Version 6.0. The file system directory containing user profile folders. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings.

  CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES (0x0026)

  Version 5.0. The Program Files folder. A typical path is C:\Program Files.

  CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES_COMMON (0x002b)

  Version 5.0. A folder for components that are shared across applications. A typical path is C:\Program Files\Common. Valid only for Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP systems. Not valid for Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me).

  CSIDL_PROGRAMS (0x0002)

  The file system directory that contains the user's program groups (which are themselves file system directories). A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs.

  CSIDL_RECENT (0x0008)

  The file system directory that contains shortcuts to the user's most recently used documents. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Recent Documents. To create a shortcut in this folder, use SHAddToRecentDocs. In addition to creating the shortcut, this function updates the Shell's list of recent documents and adds the shortcut to the My Recent Documents submenu of the Start menu.

  CSIDL_SENDTO (0x0009)

  The file system directory that contains Send To menu items. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\SendTo.

  CSIDL_STARTMENU (0x000b)

  The file system directory containing Start menu items. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu.

  CSIDL_STARTUP (0x0007)

  The file system directory that corresponds to the user's Startup program group. The system starts these programs whenever any user logs onto Windows NT or starts Windows 95. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.

  CSIDL_SYSTEM (0x0025)

  Version 5.0. The Windows System folder. A typical path is C:\Windows\System32.

  CSIDL_TEMPLATES (0x0015)

  The file system directory that serves as a common repository for document templates. A typical path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Templates.

  CSIDL_WINDOWS (0x0024)

  Version 5.0. The Windows directory or SYSROOT. This corresponds to the %windir% or %SYSTEMROOT% environment variables. A typical path is C:\Windows

CONTACTING THE AUTHOR

PJ Naughter
Email: pjna@naughter.com
Web: http://www.naughter.com
19 August 2005