(9 August 2005, Pune, India) -  A quick scan of developer forums, newsgroups and community websites reveals one of the most common obstacles that developers face in their projects - adding file-browsing and selection functionality in their applications while maintaining the Windows Explorer look, behavior and the advanced features that Windows Explorer offers. Sky Software, a leading developer of ActiveX and .Net GUI components, has a solution in the form of its Shell MegaPack suite of GUI components for ActiveX and .Net which allows developers to add drop-in Windows Explorer-like shell browsing functionality to their Windows GUI applications. The software is available on their website at http://www.ssware.com/megapack.htm.

Shell MegaPack hides all the pain and complexity of Windows shell programming from GUI developers - using the controls, a Windows Explorer clone can be created within GUI forms and dialogs using only two lines of code. GUI engineers will no longer need to be content with unattractive user interfaces or inconvenient modal dialogs. With Shell MegaPack, a consistent and compatible Windows Explorer-like user interface can be created right inside their application.

With Shell MegaPack, Sky Software has filled a long standing requirement of application developers. Mike Gunderloy of Lark Group Inc, lead developer for Larkware and author of numerous books and articles on programming topics, recently reviewed Shell MegaPack and praised it for its features, extensibility and ease of use. He wrote: "If your application needs a Windows Explorer UI, in some more sophisticated form than a 'File Open' dialog box, it looks like Shell MegaPack could save you a bundle of time and frustration". "Sky Software has taken the nuisance of the Explorer UI and wrapped it up into three custom controls with sensible APIs", he added.

Patterson Consulting Services, a software consulting firm was faced with a complex requirement of maintaining the Windows Explorer UI look and feel and displaying custom items in the file-browsing and file-selection UI which was part of a project it was developing. Shell MegaPack enabled the firm to leapfrog past a potentially time-consuming and complex task. "Using Shell MegaPack enabled us to seamlessly integrate our application with the standard windows shell and, more importantly, provided extensive customization for merging our own unique items within the same controls.", Mr Boyd Patterson of Patterson Consulting Services said.

The controls in Shell MegaPack mimic advanced Windows Explorer features including Thumbnail, Details and Group Views, dragdrop, icons, context menus, virtual items, infotips and renaming. They have powerful behavior control and customization functionality like item filtering, item checkboxes, custom items, custom columns and customization of context menus, dragdrop, appearance, display names, icons, overlay icons and infotips. Also included is ShellObjects - a set of controls which bring various useful shell features to your app including the ability to display multiple MSN/Office2003 style popups, animated tray icons, and create and read shortcuts and internet shortcuts.

Shell MegaPack is available in ActiveX as well as .Net versions. The ActiveX version is compatible with a wide variety of developing environments including Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual C++ MFC and ATL apps, Microsoft Office VBA, Borland Delphi and Borland C++ Builder. The .Net versions are compatible with Visual Studio.Net 2002, Visual Studio.Net 2003, SharpDevelop and other IDEs.

Shell MegaPack is available directly from Sky Software. Trial versions and detailed product information is available at http://www.ssware.com/megapack.htm. Development licenses can be purchased starting from US $295. Multi-developer licenses, site licenses and Support and Upgrade Subscriptions are also available.

For more information about Shell MegaPack or other Sky Software products, visit http://www.ssware.com or contact Atul Godbole, Sky Software, +91 989 067 8315, Pune, India

About Sky Software
Founded in 2001, Sky Software is a leading developer of user interface components based on ActiveX and .Net technologies. Our mission is to develop professional and powerful components which make it easy and painless for developers to use them in their projects. Our components are used by large and small companies from all over the globe - a testimony to their quality.