Need suggestions: integrated browser in Explorer

microsoft.public.dotnet.framework

7 Jun 2006 6:24 PM

Peter Franks

I'm working on a team project that requires providing the capability to
allow the user to browse for some non-filesystem-based data. In
addition to that data, the application also supports opening
filesystem-based data.

Some on the team want to just create a new dialog for the
non-filesystem-data that allows the user to browse, etc., providing
similar behavior to the standard File Open dialog, and use the standard
File Open dialog when browsing for filesystem-based data. There would
be 2 menu options, something like File Open and Data Open.

I think that it is bad design, and we end up re-creating a second dialog
that looks and feels, for the most part, like the standard FO dialog.

My idea is to create an Explorer plug-in that would basically allow for
the navigation of our non-filesystem-based data through the embedded
Explorer window in the File Open dialog -- seems much cleaner to me.
However, I'm getting some push-back on the idea.

Anyway, I'm posting here (maybe not the best, but a forum that I
frequent) asking for suggestions or anything that demonstrates similar
behavior so that I can take it to the group and hopefully come to the
correct conclusion.

Any suggestions?

Thanks