Program Manager

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What Does Program Manager Mean?

Program Manager refers to the basic windows of Microsoft Windows 3.x that allow users to select and run each program on their operating system. It was the main screen of Windows 3.x. All the programs were loaded at the time of startup, and the programs appearing could be customized by the user. This feature was also made available in Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000 and XP.

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Techopedia Explains Program Manager

Program Manager contains all the .exe files of every application and program present in the computer, and was was placed in the root directory of system. Although most prominent in Windows 3.x, Program Manager was still a part of later versions of Windows to provide backward compatibility, and could be accessed by typing PROGMAN.EXE on the Start Menu or Run dialog. Program Manager lost its importance with the introduction of Windows 95 and later versions, and it was entirely removed from Windows XP Service Pack 2 due to its impracticability. Windows Explorer shortcuts play the same role as File and Program Explorer, which is why PROGMAN.EXE was completely removed from Windows Vista and later versions.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.