The Internet Explorer Run-Time Utilities (IERTUTIL)

Over a decade ago, when Microsoft was starting to integrate Internet Explorer into Windows, it cobbled together SHLWAPI as a collection of shared utility functions for the shell itself and for the many programs that use the shell or fit into the shell. Now that Microsoft is making some sort of show at separating Internet Explorer from Windows, there is, entirely naturally, a sort of SHLWAPI for Internet Explorer. Its name is IERTUTIL.

Curiously enough, SHLWAPI existed for a couple of years during which Microsoft made liberal use of its functionality to help Internet Explorer while not documenting any of its many exported functions for use by Windows programmers in general. Perhaps IERTUTIL, as the SHLWAPI of its day, will eventually have its functionality documented to help with programs that use Internet Explorer, e.g., for document hosting, or fit into Internet Explorer, e.g., as browser extensions.