MoveWindow API in windows 8 - windows

I need to open an external window from an external exe (eg Notepad) and move & size it to a predefined size & position.
I am trying to use MoveWindow API but is seems it is not working. I am using Windows 8 x64 and VS2012.
Here is my code:
<DllImport("user32.dll")> _
Public Function MoveWindow(ByVal hWnd As IntPtr, ByVal x As Integer, ByVal y As Integer, ByVal nWidth As Integer, ByVal nHeight As Integer, ByVal bRepaint As Boolean) As Boolean
End Function
Public Sub NoveNotepad()
Dim ApplicationProcess = System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("Notepad.exe")
ApplicationProcess.WaitForInputIdle()
Dim ApplicationHandle = ApplicationProcess.MainWindowHandle
Dim z = MoveWindow(ApplicationHandle, 600, 600, 600, 600, True) ' THIS RETURNS TRUE
End Sub

You could try using SetWindowPos() instead? Not sure why MoveWindow() wouldn't work...
Private Declare Function SetWindowPos Lib "user32" Alias "SetWindowPos" _
(ByVal hwnd As IntPtr, ByVal hWndInsertAfter As Integer, _
ByVal x As Integer, ByVal y As Integer, ByVal cx As Integer, ByVal cy As Integer, _
ByVal wFlags As Integer) As Integer
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim ApplicationProcess = System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("Notepad.exe")
ApplicationProcess.WaitForInputIdle()
Dim ApplicationHandle = ApplicationProcess.MainWindowHandle
SetWindowPos(ApplicationHandle, 0, 600, 600, 600, 600, 0)
End Sub

Related

The fastest way to change desktop folder location programmatically

I want to create an application that allows users to have different icons on different Windows 10 desktops. I can deal with the switching of virtual desktops using the Window Station and Desktop functions and the Virtual Desktop Shell Interface. So now I know how to detect that a desktop has been switched and I need to change the location of the Desktop User Folder as fast as possible.
I know there are two ways of doing this in the User Interface:
A) Via User Folders' properties
Open %HomePath%/Desktop in Explorer
Right click on background, open Properties
In tab Location type in the new path
Hit OK and then No (as you don't want to move the files)
Sometimes needed: click on desktop, press F2
.
B) Via Registry
Change Desktop in HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders to the new address
Relog
.
The B option would be ideal for a programmatical solution if it wasn't for that relog part. Which is, as you can certainly understand, a bit of a dealbreaker.
The VB.Net code below will save all open desktop folder locations and sizes in the Windows registry and restore them on demand. Run from the command line or a batch file. To save folder attributes add a parameter of 'Set' (no quotes), to restore, no parameter.
Option Explicit On
Imports System.Text
Public Class FixFolders
Structure RECT
Dim Left As Integer
Dim Top As Integer
Dim Right As Integer
Dim Bottom As Integer
End Structure
Structure POINTAPI
Dim x As Integer
Dim y As Integer
End Structure
Structure WINDOWPLACEMENT
Dim length As Integer
Dim flags As Integer
Dim showCmd As Integer
Dim ptMinPosition As POINTAPI
Dim ptMaxPosition As POINTAPI
Dim rcNormalPosition As RECT
End Structure
Private Structure TDeskTopWindow
Dim lhwnd As Integer
Dim WinTitle As String
Dim WinRect As RECT
End Structure
Private Declare Function GetWindowRect Lib "user32" Alias "GetWindowRect" (ByVal hwnd As Integer, ByRef lpRect As RECT) As Integer
Declare Function MoveWindow Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Int32, ByVal x As Int32, ByVal y As Int32, ByVal nWidth As Int32, ByVal nHeight As Int32, ByVal bRepaint As Int32) As Int32
Declare Function GetDesktopWindow Lib "user32" () As Int32
Declare Function GetClassName Lib "user32" Alias "GetClassNameA" (ByVal hwnd As Int32, ByVal lpClassName As String, ByVal nMaxCount As Int32) As Int32
Private Delegate Function EnumChildWindowsCallback(ByVal hWnd As IntPtr, ByVal lParam As IntPtr) As Boolean
Private Declare Function EnumChildWindows Lib "user32" (ByVal hWnd As IntPtr, ByVal lpEnumFunc As EnumChildWindowsCallback, ByVal lParam As IntPtr) As Boolean
Private Delegate Function EnumWindowsProcDelegate(ByVal hWnd As IntPtr, ByVal lParam As IntPtr) As Boolean
Private Declare Function EnumWindows Lib "user32" (ByVal lpEnumFunc As EnumWindowsProcDelegate, ByVal lParam As IntPtr) As Boolean
Private Declare Auto Function GetWindowText Lib "user32" (ByVal hWnd As IntPtr, ByVal lpString As StringBuilder, ByVal nMaxCount As Integer) As Integer
Private Declare Function SetFocusAPI Lib "user32" Alias "SetFocus" (ByVal hwnd As Int32) As Int32
Private Declare Function SetWindowPlacement Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Integer, ByRef lpwndpl As WINDOWPLACEMENT) As Integer
Private Declare Function SetForegroundWindow Lib "user32" (ByVal hwbd As Int32) As Int32
'Private Declare Function FlashWindow Lib "User32" (ByVal hWnd As Int32, ByVal Invert As Int32) As Int32
Private Declare Function SetActiveWindow Lib "User32" (ByVal hWnd As Int32) As Int32
Private Shared lpwndplNew As WINDOWPLACEMENT
Private Const SW_SHOWMINIMIZED As Short = 2
Private Const SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED As Short = 3
Private Const SW_SHOWNORMAL As Short = 1
Private Shared Mode As String
Private WindowArray() As String
Private Shared DeskTopWindows() As TDeskTopWindow, DTWinIndex As Integer
Public Shared Sub Main()
Dim left, Right, Top, Bottom As Integer
Dim DTWinIndex As Integer
Dim RetVal1, RetVal2, RetVal3, TimeOut As Integer
Mode = Command()
GetDeskTopFolderWindows()
For DTWinIndex = 0 To DeskTopWindows.GetUpperBound(0)
Select Case Mode
Case ""
With DeskTopWindows(DTWinIndex)
'If it' s not there, put it in
If GetSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Left") = "" Then
SaveSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Left", .WinRect.Left.ToString)
SaveSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Right", .WinRect.Right.ToString)
SaveSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Top", .WinRect.Top.ToString)
SaveSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Bottom", .WinRect.Bottom.ToString)
End If
left = Val(GetSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Left"))
Right = Val(GetSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Right"))
Top = Val(GetSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Top"))
Bottom = Val(GetSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Bottom"))
While .WinRect.Bottom <> Bottom Or .WinRect.Left <> left Or .WinRect.Right <> Right Or .WinRect.Top <> Top
'RetVal1 = SetForegroundWindow(lhWnd)
RetVal2 = SetWindowPlacement(.lhwnd, lpwndplNew) 'This 'restores' the window if minimized
RetVal3 = MoveWindow(.lhwnd, left, Top, Right - left, Bottom - Top, True)
' Log.WriteLine(Now.TimeOfDay.ToString.Substring(0, 8) & " Set " & .WinTitle)
RetVal1 = GetWindowRect(.lhwnd, .WinRect) ' get current size
TimeOut += 1
If TimeOut > 1 And TimeOut < 10 Then Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000)
End While
End With
Case "Set"
With DeskTopWindows(DTWinIndex)
SaveSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Left", .WinRect.Left.ToString)
SaveSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Right", .WinRect.Right.ToString)
SaveSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Top", .WinRect.Top.ToString)
SaveSetting("FixFolders", .WinTitle, "Bottom", .WinRect.Bottom.ToString)
End With
End Select
Next
End Sub
Private Shared Sub GetDeskTopFolderWindows()
Dim lhwnd As Integer, lParam As IntPtr
DTWinIndex = -1
lhwnd = GetDesktopWindow() ' Find the Desktop's Child Windows
EnumChildWindows(lhwnd, AddressOf EnumChildProc, lParam)
End Sub
Shared Function EnumChildProc(ByVal lhWnd As IntPtr, ByVal lParam As IntPtr) As Boolean
Dim RetVal1 As Int32
Dim WinClassBuf As String
Dim WinTitleBuf As New StringBuilder(256)
Dim WinClass As String
Dim WinRect As RECT
WinClassBuf = New String(Chr(0), 256)
WinTitleBuf.Append(Chr(0), 256)
RetVal1 = GetClassName(lhWnd, WinClassBuf, WinClassBuf.Length)
WinClass = WinClassBuf.ToString
WinClass = StripNulls(WinClassBuf) ' remove extra Nulls & spaces
If WinClass = "CabinetWClass" Or WinClass = "ExploreWClass" Then ' TextBox Window
DTWinIndex += 1
ReDim Preserve DeskTopWindows(DTWinIndex)
DeskTopWindows(DTWinIndex).lhwnd = lhWnd
GetWindowText(lhWnd, WinTitleBuf, WinTitleBuf.Capacity)
DeskTopWindows(DTWinIndex).WinTitle = WinTitleBuf.ToString
RetVal1 = GetWindowRect(lhWnd, WinRect) ' get current size
DeskTopWindows(DTWinIndex).WinRect = WinRect
End If
EnumChildProc = True
End Function
Public Shared Function StripNulls(ByVal OriginalStr As String) As String
' This removes the extra Nulls so String comparisons will work
If (InStr(OriginalStr, Chr(0)) > 0) Then
'OriginalStr = Left(OriginalStr, InStr(OriginalStr, Chr(0)) - 1)
OriginalStr = OriginalStr.Substring(0, OriginalStr.IndexOf(Chr(0)))
End If
StripNulls = OriginalStr
End Function
End Class

GetWindowText does not work

I'm trying to retrieve the text from an EDIT control using GetWindowText and GetWindowTextLength. The application retrieves the text from the window under the cursor and it works on all windows with a caption or text with the exception of the EDIT control. The EDIT control is the result window on the Windows XP Calculator, calc.exe.
Dim S As String
Dim L As Long
L = GetWindowTextLength(handle) + 1
Receiving string = GetWindowText(handle, S, L)
EDIT:
According to SPY++ the Edit class control does not receive the EM_GETSELTEXT or the WM_GETTEXT message.The code below retrieves the text from the Edit class control on the Windows XP calc.exe calculator every time that I press a button on my UI. It is not the method that I would have preferred to use, however, it accomplishes my task.
Const EM_SETSEL = &HB1
Const ES_READONLY = &H800
Const WM_COPY = &H301
Const EM_GETSELTEXT = &H43E
Const WM_GETTEXTLENGTH = &HE
Const WM_SETFOCUS As Long = &H7
Dim L As Long
L = SendMessage(EditHwnd, WM_GETTEXTLENGTH, 0&, 0)
SendMessage EditHwnd, WM_SETFOCUS, 0&, 0
SendMessage EditHwnd, EM_SETSEL, 0&, L
SendMessage EditHwnd, ES_READONLY, 0&, 0 ' read only = false
Clipboard.Clear
SendMessage EditHwnd, WM_COPY, 0&, 0
SendMessage EditHwnd, ES_READONLY, 1&, 0 ' read only = true
Receiving string = Clipboard.GetText
Clipboard.Clear
Private Declare Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" (ByVal lpClassName As String, ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long
Private Declare Function GetWindowTextLength Lib "user32" Alias "GetWindowTextLengthA" (ByVal hwnd As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetWindowText Lib "user32" Alias "GetWindowTextA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal lpString As String, ByVal cch As Long) As Long
Function GetText(handle As Long) As String
Dim S As String, L As Integer, cch As Long
L = GetWindowTextLength(handle) + 1
S = String(L, 0)
GetText = Mid(S, 1, GetWindowText(handle, S, L))
End Function
Private Sub Form_Load()
Dim hw As Long
hw = Me.hwnd
MsgBox GetText(hw)
End Sub
But it will not work with controls like EDIT, as it is written in help. ;( In order to get the text of the child window (control), try to get a list of all windows using API EnumWindows/EnumThreadWindows/GetWindowThreadProcessId, to find the desired control.
What is the name of the class to EDIT You need? What is its width and height? I could write code specifically for the search for this control.
this code works fine in Windows XP (virtual machine)
Private Declare Function FindWindow Lib "user32.dll" Alias "FindWindowA" _
(ByVal lpClassName As String, ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long
Private Declare Function FindWindowEx Lib "user32.dll" Alias "FindWindowExA" _
(ByVal hWnd1 As Long, ByVal hWnd2 As Long, ByVal lpsz1 As Any, ByVal lpsz2 As Any) As Long
Private Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32.dll" Alias "SendMessageA" _
(ByVal hWnd As Long, ByVal wMsg As Long, ByVal wParam As Long, ByRef lParam As Any) As Long
Private Declare Function AttachThreadInput Lib "user32.dll" _
(ByVal idAttach As Long, ByVal idAttachTo As Long, ByVal fAttach As Long) As Long
Private Const WM_GETTEXT As Long = &HD&
Private Const WM_GETTEXTLENGTH As Long = &HE&
Function WindowText(ByVal hWnd As Long) As String
Dim ret As Long
ret = SendMessage(hWnd, WM_GETTEXTLENGTH, 0, ByVal 0&)
WindowText = String(ret, 0)
ret = SendMessage(hWnd, WM_GETTEXT, ret + 1, ByVal WindowText)
End Function
Private Sub Command1_Click()
Dim hCalc As Long, hEdit As Long
hCalc = FindWindow("SciCalc", vbNullString)
hEdit = FindWindowEx(hCalc, 0&, "Edit", vbNullString)
MsgBox WindowText(hEdit)
End Sub

Image Capture on Windows 8 Tablet

I'm working with a Dell Latitude ST2 tablet. It's running Windows 8 Pro on an Intel Atom processor.
I'm trying to do a simultaneous image capture from both the front and rear facing cameras. I'm messing around with the code from here: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/18511/Webcam-using-DirectShow-NET
I can only get the rear facing camera, and even then the image capture doesn't work. The stream is just fine. (Less concerned about this than I am the dual streams.)
The two image sensors in the tablet are OV8830 and OV2720.
Also, is there a better API or method rather than using DirectShow for what I'm trying to accomplish?
Thanks!
Edit: I forgot to mention I'm working in VB. I'd prefer to stick with an Windows Forms Application.
I have tried this method just a day back with small modifications in the code.For me the image stream as well as the capture is working great.i will place my code here.you can have your modification for application to work for you.
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Imports System.IO
Public Class FrmCam
Const WM_CAP As Short = &H400S
Const WM_CAP_DRIVER_CONNECT As Integer = WM_CAP + 10
Const WM_CAP_DRIVER_DISCONNECT As Integer = WM_CAP + 11
Const WM_CAP_EDIT_COPY As Integer = WM_CAP + 30
Public Const WM_CAP_GET_STATUS As Integer = WM_CAP + 54
Public Const WM_CAP_DLG_VIDEOFORMAT As Integer = WM_CAP + 41
Const WM_CAP_SET_PREVIEW As Integer = WM_CAP + 50
Const WM_CAP_SET_PREVIEWRATE As Integer = WM_CAP + 52
Const WM_CAP_SET_SCALE As Integer = WM_CAP + 53
Const WS_CHILD As Integer = &H40000000
Const WS_VISIBLE As Integer = &H10000000
Const SWP_NOMOVE As Short = &H2S
Const SWP_NOSIZE As Short = 1
Const SWP_NOZORDER As Short = &H4S
Const HWND_BOTTOM As Short = 1
Private DeviceID As Integer = 0 ' Current device ID
Private hHwnd As Integer ' Handle to preview window
Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" _
(ByVal hwnd As Integer, ByVal wMsg As Integer, ByVal wParam As Integer, _
ByRef lParam As CAPSTATUS) As Boolean
Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" _
(ByVal hwnd As Integer, ByVal wMsg As Integer, ByVal wParam As Boolean, _
ByRef lParam As Integer) As Boolean
Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32" Alias "SendMessageA" _
(ByVal hwnd As Integer, ByVal wMsg As Integer, ByVal wParam As Integer, _
ByRef lParam As Integer) As Boolean
Declare Function SetWindowPos Lib "user32" Alias "SetWindowPos" (ByVal hwnd As Integer, _
ByVal hWndInsertAfter As Integer, ByVal x As Integer, ByVal y As Integer, _
ByVal cx As Integer, ByVal cy As Integer, ByVal wFlags As Integer) As Integer
Declare Function DestroyWindow Lib "user32" (ByVal hndw As Integer) As Boolean
Structure POINTAPI
Dim x As Integer
Dim y As Integer
End Structure
Public Structure CAPSTATUS
Dim uiImageWidth As Integer '// Width of the image
Dim uiImageHeight As Integer '// Height of the image
Dim fLiveWindow As Integer '// Now Previewing video?
Dim fOverlayWindow As Integer '// Now Overlaying video?
Dim fScale As Integer '// Scale image to client?
Dim ptScroll As POINTAPI '// Scroll position
Dim fUsingDefaultPalette As Integer '// Using default driver palette?
Dim fAudioHardware As Integer '// Audio hardware present?
Dim fCapFileExists As Integer '// Does capture file exist?
Dim dwCurrentVideoFrame As Integer '// # of video frames cap'td
Dim dwCurrentVideoFramesDropped As Integer '// # of video frames dropped
Dim dwCurrentWaveSamples As Integer '// # of wave samples cap'td
Dim dwCurrentTimeElapsedMS As Integer '// Elapsed capture duration
Dim hPalCurrent As Integer '// Current palette in use
Dim fCapturingNow As Integer '// Capture in progress?
Dim dwReturn As Integer '// Error value after any operation
Dim wNumVideoAllocated As Integer '// Actual number of video buffers
Dim wNumAudioAllocated As Integer '// Actual number of audio buffers
End Structure
Declare Function capCreateCaptureWindowA Lib "avicap32.dll" _
(ByVal lpszWindowName As String, ByVal dwStyle As Integer, _
ByVal x As Integer, ByVal y As Integer, ByVal nWidth As Integer, _
ByVal nHeight As Short, ByVal hWndParent As Integer, _
ByVal nID As Integer) As Integer
Declare Function capGetDriverDescriptionA Lib "avicap32.dll" (ByVal wDriver As Short, _
ByVal lpszName As String, ByVal cbName As Integer, ByVal lpszVer As String, _
ByVal cbVer As Integer) As Boolean
Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
LoadDeviceList()
If Not Directory.Exists(Application.StartupPath & "\Images") Then
Directory.CreateDirectory(Application.StartupPath & "\Images")
End If
If lstDevices.Items.Count > 0 Then
btnStart.Enabled = True
lstDevices.SelectedIndex = 0
btnStart.Enabled = True
Else
lstDevices.Items.Add("No Capture Device")
btnStart.Enabled = False
End If
Me.AutoScrollMinSize = New Size(100, 100)
btnStop.Enabled = False
btnSave.Enabled = False
'picCapture.SizeMode = PictureBoxSizeMode.StretchImage
End Sub
Private Sub LoadDeviceList()
Dim strName As String = Space(100)
Dim strVer As String = Space(100)
Dim bReturn As Boolean
Dim x As Short = 0
'
' Load name of all avialable devices into the lstDevices
'
Do
'
' Get Driver name and version
'
bReturn = capGetDriverDescriptionA(x, strName, 100, strVer, 100)
'
' If there was a device add device name to the list
'
If bReturn Then lstDevices.Items.Add(strName.Trim)
x += CType(1, Short)
Loop Until bReturn = False
End Sub
Private Sub OpenPreviewWindow()
Dim iHeight As Integer = Piccapture.Height
Dim iWidth As Integer = Piccapture.Width
'
' Open Preview window in picturebox
'
hHwnd = capCreateCaptureWindowA(DeviceID.ToString, WS_VISIBLE Or WS_CHILD, 0, 0, 1280, _
1024, Piccapture.Handle.ToInt32, 0)
'
' Connect to device
'
If SendMessage(hHwnd, WM_CAP_DRIVER_CONNECT, DeviceID, 0) Then
'
'Set the preview scale
'
SendMessage(hHwnd, WM_CAP_SET_SCALE, True, 0)
'
'Set the preview rate in milliseconds
'
SendMessage(hHwnd, WM_CAP_SET_PREVIEWRATE, 66, 0)
'
'Start previewing the image from the camera
'
SendMessage(hHwnd, WM_CAP_SET_PREVIEW, True, 0)
'
' Resize window to fit in picturebox
'
SetWindowPos(hHwnd, HWND_BOTTOM, 0, 0, Piccapture.Width, Piccapture.Height, _
SWP_NOMOVE Or SWP_NOZORDER)
btnSave.Enabled = True
btnStop.Enabled = True
btnStart.Enabled = False
Else
'
MsgBox("No Device Connected", MsgBoxStyle.Information, "RStar")
'
DestroyWindow(hHwnd)
btnSave.Enabled = False
End If
End Sub
Private Sub btnStart_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnStart.Click
DeviceID = lstDevices.SelectedIndex
'If DeviceID = 0 Then
' MsgBox("No Device Found", MsgBoxStyle.Information, "RStar")
' Exit Sub
'End If
OpenPreviewWindow()
Dim bReturn As Boolean
Dim s As CAPSTATUS
bReturn = SendMessage(hHwnd, WM_CAP_GET_STATUS, Marshal.SizeOf(s), s)
Debug.WriteLine(String.Format("Video Size {0} x {1}", s.uiImageWidth, s.uiImageHeight))
End Sub
Private Sub ClosePreviewWindow()
'
' Disconnect from device
'
SendMessage(hHwnd, WM_CAP_DRIVER_DISCONNECT, DeviceID, 0)
'
' close window
'
DestroyWindow(hHwnd)
End Sub
Private Sub btnStop_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnStop.Click
ClosePreviewWindow()
btnSave.Enabled = False
btnStart.Enabled = True
btnStop.Enabled = False
End Sub
Private Sub btnSave_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnSave.Click
Dim data As IDataObject
Dim bmap As Bitmap
Dim filepath As String
'
' Copy image to clipboard
'
SendMessage(hHwnd, WM_CAP_EDIT_COPY, 0, 0)
'
' Get image from clipboard and convert it to a bitmap
'
data = Clipboard.GetDataObject()
If data.GetDataPresent(GetType(System.Drawing.Bitmap)) Then
bmap = CType(data.GetData(GetType(System.Drawing.Bitmap)), Bitmap)
Piccapture.Image = bmap
ClosePreviewWindow()
btnSave.Enabled = False
btnStop.Enabled = False
btnStart.Enabled = True
Trace.Assert(Not (bmap Is Nothing))
filepath = Application.StartupPath & "\Images\" & frmChartOfAccounts.txtAcName.Text & frmChartOfAccounts.txtRegNo.Text & ".jpeg"
bmap.Save(filepath)
frmChartOfAccounts.txtimg.Text = filepath
End If
End Sub
Private Sub Form1_Closing(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs) Handles MyBase.Closing
If btnStop.Enabled Then
ClosePreviewWindow()
End If
End Sub
Private Sub btnInfo_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
'SendMessage(hHwnd, WM_CAP_DLG_VIDEOFORMAT, 0&, 0&)
End Sub
Private Sub cmdExit_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles cmdExit.Click
Close()
End Sub
End Class
Hope it will help you.

VB6 Transparency for con

Is it possible to adjust forms transparency in VB6 like in VB.NET?
I need this effect especially for irregularly shaped intro screen, where I need the form to be invisible, while the shape on it and some labels need to be visible!
yes you can set a level of transparency on winXP or later using GDI+, you could also set a PNG file, and depending on the alpha value of each pixel to have that amount of transparency. Before winXP you could only change the shape of the form to something irregular, but not play with transparency levels.
Change the aplha of the entire form using gdi+
Private Const GWL_EXSTYLE = (-20)
Private Const LWA_ALPHA = &H2
Private Const WS_EX_LAYERED = &H80000
Private Declare Function SetWindowLong Lib "user32" Alias "SetWindowLongA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal nIndex As Long, ByVal dwNewLong As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function SetLayeredWindowAttributes Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal crKey As Long, ByVal bAlpha As Byte, ByVal dwFlags As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetWindowLong Lib "user32" Alias "GetWindowLongA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal nIndex As Long) As Long
Dim i As Integer
Public Sub FadeForm(Frm As Form, Level As Byte)
On Error Resume Next
Dim msg As Long
msg = GetWindowLong(Frm.hwnd, GWL_EXSTYLE) Or WS_EX_LAYERED
SetWindowLong Frm.hwnd, GWL_EXSTYLE, msg
SetLayeredWindowAttributes Frm.hwnd, 0, Level, LWA_ALPHA
End Sub
Per-pixel transparency using gdi+
Public Declare Function GdipCreateFromHDC Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal hdc As Long, graphics As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipCreateFromHWND Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal hwnd As Long, graphics As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipDeleteGraphics Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal graphics As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipGetDC Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal graphics As Long, hdc As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipReleaseDC Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal graphics As Long, ByVal hdc As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipDrawImageRect Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal graphics As Long, ByVal image As Long, ByVal x As Single, ByVal y As Single, ByVal Width As Single, ByVal Height As Single) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipLoadImageFromFile Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal filename As String, image As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipCloneImage Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal image As Long, cloneImage As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipGetImageWidth Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal image As Long, Width As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipGetImageHeight Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal image As Long, Height As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipCreateBitmapFromHBITMAP Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal hbm As Long, ByVal hpal As Long, bitmap As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipBitmapGetPixel Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal bitmap As Long, ByVal x As Long, ByVal y As Long, color As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipBitmapSetPixel Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal bitmap As Long, ByVal x As Long, ByVal y As Long, ByVal color As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipDisposeImage Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal image As Long) As GpStatus
Public Declare Function GdipCreateBitmapFromFile Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal filename As Long, bitmap As Long) As GpStatus
Public Type GdiplusStartupInput
GdiplusVersion As Long ' Must be 1 for GDI+ v1.0, the current version as of this writing.
DebugEventCallback As Long ' Ignored on free builds
SuppressBackgroundThread As Long ' FALSE unless you're prepared to call
' the hook/unhook functions properly
SuppressExternalCodecs As Long ' FALSE unless you want GDI+ only to use
' its internal image codecs.
End Type
Public Declare Function GdiplusStartup Lib "gdiplus" (token As Long, inputbuf As GdiplusStartupInput, Optional ByVal outputbuf As Long = 0) As GpStatus
Public Declare Sub GdiplusShutdown Lib "gdiplus" (ByVal token As Long)
Public Enum GpStatus ' aka Status
Ok = 0
GenericError = 1
InvalidParameter = 2
OutOfMemory = 3
ObjectBusy = 4
InsufficientBuffer = 5
NotImplemented = 6
Win32Error = 7
WrongState = 8
Aborted = 9
FileNotFound = 10
ValueOverflow = 11
AccessDenied = 12
UnknownImageFormat = 13
FontFamilyNotFound = 14
FontStyleNotFound = 15
NotTrueTypeFont = 16
UnsupportedGdiplusVersion = 17
GdiplusNotInitialized = 18
PropertyNotFound = 19
PropertyNotSupported = 20
End Enum
'--------------------------------------
Private Const ULW_OPAQUE = &H4
Private Const ULW_COLORKEY = &H1
Private Const ULW_ALPHA = &H2
Private Const BI_RGB As Long = 0&
Private Const DIB_RGB_COLORS As Long = 0
Private Const AC_SRC_ALPHA As Long = &H1
Private Const AC_SRC_OVER = &H0
Private Const WS_EX_LAYERED = &H80000
Private Const GWL_STYLE As Long = -16
Private Const GWL_EXSTYLE As Long = -20
Private Const HWND_TOPMOST As Long = -1
Private Const SWP_NOMOVE As Long = &H2
Private Const SWP_NOSIZE As Long = &H1
Private Type BLENDFUNCTION
BlendOp As Byte
BlendFlags As Byte
SourceConstantAlpha As Byte
AlphaFormat As Byte
End Type
Private Type Size
cx As Long
cy As Long
End Type
Private Type POINTAPI
x As Long
y As Long
End Type
Private Type RGBQUAD
rgbBlue As Byte
rgbGreen As Byte
rgbRed As Byte
rgbReserved As Byte
End Type
Private Type BITMAPINFOHEADER
biSize As Long
biWidth As Long
biHeight As Long
biPlanes As Integer
biBitCount As Integer
biCompression As Long
biSizeImage As Long
biXPelsPerMeter As Long
biYPelsPerMeter As Long
biClrUsed As Long
biClrImportant As Long
End Type
Private Type BITMAPINFO
bmiHeader As BITMAPINFOHEADER
bmiColors As RGBQUAD
End Type
Private Declare Function BitBlt Lib "gdi32.dll" (ByVal hDestDC As Long, ByVal x As Long, ByVal y As Long, ByVal nWidth As Long, ByVal nHeight As Long, ByVal hSrcDC As Long, ByVal xSrc As Long, ByVal ySrc As Long, ByVal dwRop As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function DeleteObject Lib "gdi32" (ByVal hObject As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function SetWindowLong Lib "user32" Alias "SetWindowLongA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal nIndex As Long, ByVal dwNewLong As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function AlphaBlend Lib "Msimg32.dll" (ByVal hdcDest As Long, ByVal nXOriginDest As Long, ByVal lnYOriginDest As Long, ByVal nWidthDest As Long, ByVal nHeightDest As Long, ByVal hdcSrc As Long, ByVal nXOriginSrc As Long, ByVal nYOriginSrc As Long, ByVal nWidthSrc As Long, ByVal nHeightSrc As Long, ByVal bf As Long) As Boolean
Private Declare Function UpdateLayeredWindow Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal hdcDst As Long, pptDst As Any, psize As Any, ByVal hdcSrc As Long, pptSrc As Any, ByVal crKey As Long, ByRef pblend As BLENDFUNCTION, ByVal dwFlags As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function CreateDIBSection Lib "gdi32.dll" (ByVal hdc As Long, pBitmapInfo As BITMAPINFO, ByVal un As Long, ByRef lplpVoid As Any, ByVal handle As Long, ByVal dw As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetDIBits Lib "gdi32.dll" (ByVal aHDC As Long, ByVal hBitmap As Long, ByVal nStartScan As Long, ByVal nNumScans As Long, lpBits As Any, lpBI As BITMAPINFO, ByVal wUsage As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function SetDIBits Lib "gdi32.dll" (ByVal hdc As Long, ByVal hBitmap As Long, ByVal nStartScan As Long, ByVal nNumScans As Long, lpBits As Any, lpBI As BITMAPINFO, ByVal wUsage As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function CreateCompatibleDC Lib "gdi32.dll" (ByVal hdc As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function SelectObject Lib "gdi32.dll" (ByVal hdc As Long, ByVal hObject As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function DeleteDC Lib "gdi32.dll" (ByVal hdc As Long) As Long
Private Declare Sub CopyMemory Lib "kernel32.dll" Alias "RtlMoveMemory" (Destination As Any, Source As Any, ByVal Length As Long)
Private Declare Function SetWindowPos Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal hWndInsertAfter As Long, ByVal x As Long, ByVal y As Long, ByVal cx As Long, ByVal cy As Long, ByVal wFlags As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetWindowLong Lib "user32.dll" Alias "GetWindowLongA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal nIndex As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetDC Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal hwnd As Long) As Long
Dim mDC As Long ' Memory hDC
Dim mainBitmap As Long ' Memory Bitmap
Dim blendFunc32bpp As BLENDFUNCTION
Dim token As Long ' Needed to close GDI+
Dim oldBitmap As Long
Private Function MakeTrans(pngPath As String) As Boolean
Dim tempBI As BITMAPINFO
Dim tempBlend As BLENDFUNCTION ' Used to specify what kind of blend we want to perform
Dim lngHeight As Long, lngWidth As Long
Dim curWinLong As Long
Dim img As Long
Dim graphics As Long
Dim winSize As Size
Dim srcPoint As POINTAPI
With tempBI.bmiHeader
.biSize = Len(tempBI.bmiHeader)
.biBitCount = 32 ' Each pixel is 32 bit's wide
.biHeight = Me.ScaleHeight ' Height of the form
.biWidth = Me.ScaleWidth ' Width of the form
.biPlanes = 1 ' Always set to 1
.biSizeImage = .biWidth * .biHeight * (.biBitCount / 8) ' This is the number of bytes that the bitmap takes up. It is equal to the Width*Height*ByteCount (bitCount/8)
End With
mDC = CreateCompatibleDC(Me.hdc)
mainBitmap = CreateDIBSection(mDC, tempBI, DIB_RGB_COLORS, ByVal 0, 0, 0)
oldBitmap = SelectObject(mDC, mainBitmap) ' Select the new bitmap, track the old that was selected
' GDI Initializations
Call GdipCreateFromHDC(mDC, graphics)
Call GdipLoadImageFromFile(StrConv(pngPath, vbUnicode), img) ' Load Png
Call GdipGetImageHeight(img, lngHeight)
Call GdipGetImageWidth(img, lngWidth)
Call GdipDrawImageRect(graphics, img, 0, 0, lngWidth, lngHeight)
' Change windows extended style to be used by updatelayeredwindow
curWinLong = GetWindowLong(Me.hwnd, GWL_EXSTYLE)
' Accidently did This line below which flipped entire form, it's neat so I left it in
' Comment out the line above and uncomment line below.
'curWinLong = GetWindowLong(Me.hwnd, GWL_STYLE)
SetWindowLong Me.hwnd, GWL_EXSTYLE, curWinLong Or WS_EX_LAYERED
' Make the window a top-most window so we can always see the cool stuff
SetWindowPos Me.hwnd, HWND_TOPMOST, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_NOMOVE Or SWP_NOSIZE
' Needed for updateLayeredWindow call
srcPoint.x = 0
srcPoint.y = 0
winSize.cx = Me.ScaleWidth
winSize.cy = Me.ScaleHeight
With blendFunc32bpp
.AlphaFormat = AC_SRC_ALPHA ' 32 bit
.BlendFlags = 0
.BlendOp = AC_SRC_OVER
.SourceConstantAlpha = 255
End With
Call GdipDisposeImage(img)
Call GdipDeleteGraphics(graphics)
Call UpdateLayeredWindow(Me.hwnd, Me.hdc, ByVal 0&, winSize, mDC, srcPoint, 0, blendFunc32bpp, ULW_ALPHA)
End Function
Private Sub Form_Initialize()
' Start up GDI+
Dim GpInput As GdiplusStartupInput
GpInput.GdiplusVersion = 1
If GdiplusStartup(token, GpInput) <> 0 Then
MsgBox "Error loading GDI+!", vbCritical
Unload Me
End If
MakeTrans (App.Path & "\test.png")
End Sub
Private Sub Form_Unload(Cancel As Integer)
' Cleanup everything
Call GdiplusShutdown(token)
SelectObject mDC, oldBitmap
DeleteObject mainBitmap
DeleteObject oldBitmap
DeleteDC mDC
End Sub
Windows API method (before GDI+) that changes the shape of a form
Public Const RGN_AND = 1 'Shows the part when both regions are touched
Public Const RGN_OR = 2 'Shows the part when one or both regions are touched
Public Const RGN_XOR = 3 'Shows the part when one of both regions are touched
Public Const RGN_DIFF = 4
Public Const RGN_COPY = 5
Public Const RGN_MIN = RGN_AND
Public Const RGN_MAX = RGN_COPY
Public Type POINTAPI
X As Long
Y As Long
End Type
Public Type RECT
Left As Long
Top As Long
Right As Long
Bottom As Long
End Type
Declare Function CreateRectRgn Lib "gdi32" (ByVal X1 As Long, ByVal Y1 As Long, ByVal X2 As Long, ByVal Y2 As Long) As Long
Declare Function CreateRectRgnIndirect Lib "gdi32" (lpRect As RECT) As Long 'The only difference from CreateRectRgn is it is destinated thru a RECT variable
Declare Function InvertRgn Lib "gdi32" (ByVal hdc As Long, ByVal hRgn As Long) As Long
Declare Function CreatePolygonRgn Lib "gdi32" (lpPoint As POINTAPI, ByVal nCount As Long, ByVal nPolyfillMode As Long) As Long
Declare Function CreateRoundRectRgn Lib "gdi32" (ByVal X1 As Long, ByVal Y1 As Long, ByVal X2 As Long, ByVal Y2 As Long, ByVal X3 As Long, ByVal Y3 As Long) As Long
Declare Function CombineRgn Lib "gdi32" (ByVal hDestRgn As Long, ByVal hSrcRgn1 As Long, ByVal hSrcRgn2 As Long, ByVal nCombineMode As Long) As Long
Declare Function SetWindowRgn Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal hRgn As Long, ByVal bRedraw As Boolean) As Long
Declare Function DeleteObject Lib "gdi32" (ByVal hObject As Long) As Long
Declare Function CreateEllipticRgn& Lib "gdi32" (ByVal X1 As Long, ByVal Y1 As Long, ByVal X2 As Long, ByVal Y2 As Long)
Declare Function CreatePolyPolygonRgn& Lib "gdi32" (lpPoint As POINTAPI, ByVal nCount As Long, ByVal nPolyfillMode As Long, lpPolyCount As Long)
Dim ellipse& = CreateEllipticRgn&(100, 100, 200, 200);
SetWindowRgn Me.hwnd, ellipse, True

Visual Basic Image Scaling

Is it possible to scale an image proportionately in VB without one of the 3 or 4 built in properties (since they do not work so well)?
What I am referring to is something that you can do in Java like this:
Image newimg = img.getScaledInstance(230, 310, java.awt.Image.SCALE_SMOOTH);
In Java the above line seems to work nicely for scaling the dimensions to fit a specified size.
I had a UserControl that I used to accomplish a better quality resize. Here is an extract from it, hopefully you can find it useful.
Private Const STRETCH_ANDSCANS = 1
Private Const STRETCH_DELETESCANS = 3
Private Const STRETCH_HALFTONE = 4
Private Const STRETCH_ORSCANS = 2
Private Const SRCCOPY = &HCC0020
Private Declare Function StretchBlt Lib "gdi32" (ByVal hdc As Long, _
ByVal x As Long, _
ByVal y As Long, _
ByVal nWidth As Long, _
ByVal nHeight As Long, _
ByVal hSrcDC As Long, _
ByVal xSrc As Long, _
ByVal ySrc As Long, _
ByVal nSrcWidth As Long, _
ByVal nSrcHeight As Long, _
ByVal dwRop As Long) _
As Long
Private Declare Function SetStretchBltMode Lib "gdi32" (ByVal hdc As Long, _
ByVal nStretchMode As Long) _
As Long
And it was called like this:
Private Sub UserControl_Paint()
Dim lSave As Long
'set the stretchblit mode (saving the previous value)
lSave = SetStretchBltMode(UserControl.hdc, STRETCH_HALFTONE)
'perform blit
Call StretchBlt(UserControl.hdc, 0, 0, UserControl.ScaleWidth, _
UserControl.ScaleHeight, picBuffer.hdc, 0, 0, _
picBuffer.ScaleWidth, picBuffer.ScaleHeight, SRCCOPY)
'restore previous mode
Call SetStretchBltMode(UserControl.hdc, lSave)
End Sub

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