[This documentation is preliminary and is subject to change.]
IntroductionWindows Internet Explorer 9 introduces pinned sites, a feature with which you can integrate your websites with the Windows 7 desktop. With pinned sites enabled for a website, users can pin that site to the Windows 7 taskbar or add the site to the desktop or Start menu. Pinned sites enable easy access to favorite websites and add shortcut functionality similar to that found in Microsoft Windows applications. In addition, pinned sites require little development cost and offer robust features. Some meta elements and JavaScript is all that you need to gain functionality; you need not modify any existing content or attributes for a current website.
The following screen shot showcases the functionality available through pinned sites.
Figure 1: Features in the Windows 7 taskbar that a pinned site can useWindows generates a shortcut file with the .website extension for each pinned site, whether the site is pinned on the taskbar, added to the desktop, or Start menu. Windows associate the site’s URL as the start URL for a specific .website file and creates a unique AppID based on that URL. The AppID is shared by any window or tab created from this Windows Internet Explorer instance and enables users to treat all of their tabs and windows that are instantiated from the same site as one group.
When a user launches your website from a pinned site, the website renders with a custom-branded look using your site’s favicon, navigation button colors, and other information you provide. The pinned site window automatically starts an isolated instance of Internet Explorer that runs in a special mode (note that Browser Helper Objects and other toolbars are not enabled in this Internet Explorer mode). If an instance of Internet Explorer that is used for general web browsing crashes, this self-contained instance used for the pinned site is not affected and continues to operate normally.
The pinned site APIs and the HTML meta tags described in this article provide capabilities for websites to tightly interact with the user through desktop concepts familiar to customers who use native Windows applications. The following sections describes the common enhancements these APIS offer through a pinned site:
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Pinning a Site to the Taskbar•
Adding a Website to the Start Menu (All Programs Menu) ◦
Adding a website to the Start menu by using the pinned sites APIs ◦
Customizing a website launched from a pinned site•
Defining Jump List Tasks•
Defining a Jump List Category and Adding Items to It•
Displaying Overlay Icons•
Displaying Thumbnail Toolbar Buttons on the Thumbnail Preview•
Causing the Taskbar Button to Flash, Indicating That User Interaction Is Required•
Icon Resolutions•
Detecting Features•
Conclusionsource:msdn.microsoft.com
