OS/2 Version 2.0 also provides an enhanced user shell, known as the Workplace Shell*, through enhancements to Presentation Manager. The Workplace Shell is object-based and implements the 1991 SAA CUA Workplace Environment. This shell is more intuitive than the Presentation Manager shell implemented in previous versions of OS/2, and allows users to become familiar with the system more quickly.
In the Workplace Shell, system resources, such as files and printers, are regarded as objects, and represented by graphical icons on the screen. Users may manipulate objects (open them for editing, copy them, and print them, for example) by direct manipulation of the icons. For example, a file is copied from one location to another by pointing to it with the mouse, dragging the object's icon to the required destination, and dropping the icon by releasing the mouse button. This is known as drag and drop manipulation.
Presentation Manager and the Workplace Shell are described in more detail in OS/2 Version 2.0 - Volume 3: Presentation Manager and Workplace Shell.