How to hide desktop icons programmatically? - c#

How can I show/hide the desktop icons programmatically, using C#?
I'm trying to create an alternative desktop, which uses widgets, and I need to hide the old icons.

You can do this using the Windows API. Here is sample code in C# that will toggle desktop icons.
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)] static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string lpClassName, string lpWindowName);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)] static extern IntPtr GetWindow(IntPtr hWnd, GetWindow_Cmd uCmd);
enum GetWindow_Cmd : uint
{
GW_HWNDFIRST = 0,
GW_HWNDLAST = 1,
GW_HWNDNEXT = 2,
GW_HWNDPREV = 3,
GW_OWNER = 4,
GW_CHILD = 5,
GW_ENABLEDPOPUP = 6
}
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)] static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, UInt32 Msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
private const int WM_COMMAND = 0x111;
static void ToggleDesktopIcons()
{
var toggleDesktopCommand = new IntPtr(0x7402);
IntPtr hWnd = GetWindow(FindWindow("Progman", "Program Manager"), GetWindow_Cmd.GW_CHILD);
SendMessage(hWnd, WM_COMMAND, toggleDesktopCommand, IntPtr.Zero);
}
This sends a message to the SHELLDLL_DefView child window of Progman, which tells it to toggle visibility (by adding or removing the WS_VISIBLE style) of it's only child, "FolderView". "FolderView" is the actual window that contains the icons.
To test to see if icons are visible or not, you can query for the WS_VISIBLE style by using the GetWindowInfo function, shown below:
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool GetWindowInfo(IntPtr hwnd, ref WINDOWINFO pwi);
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct RECT
{
private int _Left;
private int _Top;
private int _Right;
private int _Bottom;
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
struct WINDOWINFO
{
public uint cbSize;
public RECT rcWindow;
public RECT rcClient;
public uint dwStyle;
public uint dwExStyle;
public uint dwWindowStatus;
public uint cxWindowBorders;
public uint cyWindowBorders;
public ushort atomWindowType;
public ushort wCreatorVersion;
public WINDOWINFO(Boolean? filler)
: this() // Allows automatic initialization of "cbSize" with "new WINDOWINFO(null/true/false)".
{
cbSize = (UInt32)(Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(WINDOWINFO)));
}
}
Here is a function that calls the above code and returns true if the window is visible, false if not.
static bool IsVisible()
{
IntPtr hWnd = GetWindow(GetWindow(FindWindow("Progman", "Program Manager"), GetWindow_Cmd.GW_CHILD), GetWindow_Cmd.GW_CHILD);
WINDOWINFO info = new WINDOWINFO();
info.cbSize = (uint)Marshal.SizeOf(info);
GetWindowInfo(hWnd, ref info);
return (info.dwStyle & 0x10000000) == 0x10000000;
}
The windows API code along with more information about the window styles can be found here: http://www.pinvoke.net/default.aspx/user32/GetWindowInfo.html

Even though this is quite old when I tried Ondrej Balas's answer, one problem I found with this solution is that it does not work if the ToggleDesktop command is used to show the desktop ( also if wallpaper rotation is enabled ).
In both of these cases the SHELLDLL_DefView window, which is the recipient of the toggleDesktopCommand in the ToggleDesktopIcons function, is not a child of the "Program manager" window but of a 'WorkerW" window. (see WinApi - How to obtain SHELLDLL_DefView and Windows Desktop ListView Handle.
Based on those and building upon Ondrej Balas's earlier answer change the ToggleDesktopIcons function to be :
static void ToggleDesktopIcons()
{
var toggleDesktopCommand = new IntPtr(0x7402);
SendMessage(GetDesktopSHELLDLL_DefView(), WM_COMMAND, toggleDesktopCommand, IntPtr.Zero);
}
And add a GetDesktopSHELLDLL_DefView function:
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr FindWindowEx(IntPtr parentHandle, IntPtr childAfter, string className, string windowTitle);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = false)]
static extern IntPtr GetDesktopWindow();
static IntPtr GetDesktopSHELLDLL_DefView()
{
var hShellViewWin = IntPtr.Zero;
var hWorkerW = IntPtr.Zero;
var hProgman = FindWindow("Progman", "Program Manager");
var hDesktopWnd = GetDesktopWindow();
// If the main Program Manager window is found
if (hProgman != IntPtr.Zero)
{
// Get and load the main List view window containing the icons.
hShellViewWin = FindWindowEx(hProgman, IntPtr.Zero, "SHELLDLL_DefView", null);
if (hShellViewWin == IntPtr.Zero)
{
// When this fails (picture rotation is turned ON, toggledesktop shell cmd used ), then look for the WorkerW windows list to get the
// correct desktop list handle.
// As there can be multiple WorkerW windows, iterate through all to get the correct one
do
{
hWorkerW = FindWindowEx(hDesktopWnd, hWorkerW, "WorkerW", null);
hShellViewWin = FindWindowEx(hWorkerW, IntPtr.Zero, "SHELLDLL_DefView", null);
} while (hShellViewWin == IntPtr.Zero && hWorkerW != IntPtr.Zero);
}
}
return hShellViewWin;
}
Now regardless of the desktop toggle or wallpaper rotation the ToggleDesktopIcons should always work.
For reference this is my toggle desktop function which caused the issue with the original ToggleDesktopIcons function
static public void ToggleDesktop(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var shellObject = new Shell32.Shell();
shellObject.ToggleDesktop();
}
In response to James M, this function returns the current state:
bool IconsVisible()
{
var hWnd = GetDesktopListView();
var info = new User32.WINDOWINFO(null);
User32.GetWindowInfo(hWnd, ref info);
return (info.dwStyle & User32.WindowStyle.WS_VISIBLE) == User32.WindowStyle.WS_VISIBLE;
}

A different approach is to create a separate desktop and show it instead. It will not have icons.
Application running itself on a separate desktop

You can do this in RegEdit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
change HideIcons to 1
static void HideIcons()
{
RegistryKey myKey = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(#"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced", true);
if (myKey != null)
{
myKey.SetValue("HideIcons", 1);
myKey.Close();
}
}
Use the Registry class as described here.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.win32.registry.aspx

You can create a full screen view application and make it the top most window.
Then make your application to be start up with windows.

You are going about this the wrong way. What you are really trying to do is to replace the shell. Windows provides for this so you should just take advantage of it. Write your own shell to replace explorer.

Nice topic. Without actually creating a different desktop it would be visually pleasant to have the running applications minimized in the same swoop.

Related

How to get / set Unity Editor main window title?

I'm creating a tool that shows your current branch in Unity window title.
But I cannot get or set the title. So far I managed to set title property, I used Internal_SetTitle (using Reflection), but the values does not show up in the actual window title.
On the contrary, I can set position property of main window just fine using the same method.
Did anybody manage to alter the title using UnityEditor classes?
(Probably I could work the issue around by creating native plugins for that, but I'd prefer a cross-platform / Mono solution if there is any)
I know this isn't quite what you're after but could complement your solution, or help others in a similar situation, here is Windows only PInvoke approach to get the window handle and title of that window, associated with your current thread.
You could add use of the SetWindowText WinAPI as well to set the title, although you may need to do this whenever there is a configuration change as you've mentioned.
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool EnumWindows(EnumWindowsProc lpEnumFunc, IntPtr lParam);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern uint GetWindowThreadProcessId(IntPtr hWnd, out uint lpdwProcessId);
[DllImport("user32.dll", EntryPoint = "GetWindowText")]
private static extern int GetWindowText(IntPtr hWnd, StringBuilder lpWindowText, int nMaxCount);
delegate bool EnumWindowsProc(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr lParam);
private static string GetUnityEditorWindowName()
{
var processId = (uint)Process.GetCurrentProcess().Id;
var windowHandle = IntPtr.Zero;
string result = "";
EnumWindows((hWnd, lParam) =>
{
GetWindowThreadProcessId(hWnd, out var windowProcessId);
if (windowProcessId != processId)
return true;
var titleBuilder = new StringBuilder(256);
GetWindowText(hWnd, titleBuilder, titleBuilder.Capacity);
if (titleBuilder.Length <= 0)
return true;
result = titleBuilder.ToString();
windowHandle = hWnd;
return false;
}, IntPtr.Zero);
if (windowHandle == IntPtr.Zero)
{
Debug.LogError("Failed to find Unity Editor Window");
}
return result;
}

desktop icons hiding not working in windows 8.1? [duplicate]

How can I show/hide the desktop icons programmatically, using C#?
I'm trying to create an alternative desktop, which uses widgets, and I need to hide the old icons.
You can do this using the Windows API. Here is sample code in C# that will toggle desktop icons.
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)] static extern IntPtr FindWindow(string lpClassName, string lpWindowName);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)] static extern IntPtr GetWindow(IntPtr hWnd, GetWindow_Cmd uCmd);
enum GetWindow_Cmd : uint
{
GW_HWNDFIRST = 0,
GW_HWNDLAST = 1,
GW_HWNDNEXT = 2,
GW_HWNDPREV = 3,
GW_OWNER = 4,
GW_CHILD = 5,
GW_ENABLEDPOPUP = 6
}
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)] static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, UInt32 Msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
private const int WM_COMMAND = 0x111;
static void ToggleDesktopIcons()
{
var toggleDesktopCommand = new IntPtr(0x7402);
IntPtr hWnd = GetWindow(FindWindow("Progman", "Program Manager"), GetWindow_Cmd.GW_CHILD);
SendMessage(hWnd, WM_COMMAND, toggleDesktopCommand, IntPtr.Zero);
}
This sends a message to the SHELLDLL_DefView child window of Progman, which tells it to toggle visibility (by adding or removing the WS_VISIBLE style) of it's only child, "FolderView". "FolderView" is the actual window that contains the icons.
To test to see if icons are visible or not, you can query for the WS_VISIBLE style by using the GetWindowInfo function, shown below:
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool GetWindowInfo(IntPtr hwnd, ref WINDOWINFO pwi);
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct RECT
{
private int _Left;
private int _Top;
private int _Right;
private int _Bottom;
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
struct WINDOWINFO
{
public uint cbSize;
public RECT rcWindow;
public RECT rcClient;
public uint dwStyle;
public uint dwExStyle;
public uint dwWindowStatus;
public uint cxWindowBorders;
public uint cyWindowBorders;
public ushort atomWindowType;
public ushort wCreatorVersion;
public WINDOWINFO(Boolean? filler)
: this() // Allows automatic initialization of "cbSize" with "new WINDOWINFO(null/true/false)".
{
cbSize = (UInt32)(Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(WINDOWINFO)));
}
}
Here is a function that calls the above code and returns true if the window is visible, false if not.
static bool IsVisible()
{
IntPtr hWnd = GetWindow(GetWindow(FindWindow("Progman", "Program Manager"), GetWindow_Cmd.GW_CHILD), GetWindow_Cmd.GW_CHILD);
WINDOWINFO info = new WINDOWINFO();
info.cbSize = (uint)Marshal.SizeOf(info);
GetWindowInfo(hWnd, ref info);
return (info.dwStyle & 0x10000000) == 0x10000000;
}
The windows API code along with more information about the window styles can be found here: http://www.pinvoke.net/default.aspx/user32/GetWindowInfo.html
Even though this is quite old when I tried Ondrej Balas's answer, one problem I found with this solution is that it does not work if the ToggleDesktop command is used to show the desktop ( also if wallpaper rotation is enabled ).
In both of these cases the SHELLDLL_DefView window, which is the recipient of the toggleDesktopCommand in the ToggleDesktopIcons function, is not a child of the "Program manager" window but of a 'WorkerW" window. (see WinApi - How to obtain SHELLDLL_DefView and Windows Desktop ListView Handle.
Based on those and building upon Ondrej Balas's earlier answer change the ToggleDesktopIcons function to be :
static void ToggleDesktopIcons()
{
var toggleDesktopCommand = new IntPtr(0x7402);
SendMessage(GetDesktopSHELLDLL_DefView(), WM_COMMAND, toggleDesktopCommand, IntPtr.Zero);
}
And add a GetDesktopSHELLDLL_DefView function:
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr FindWindowEx(IntPtr parentHandle, IntPtr childAfter, string className, string windowTitle);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = false)]
static extern IntPtr GetDesktopWindow();
static IntPtr GetDesktopSHELLDLL_DefView()
{
var hShellViewWin = IntPtr.Zero;
var hWorkerW = IntPtr.Zero;
var hProgman = FindWindow("Progman", "Program Manager");
var hDesktopWnd = GetDesktopWindow();
// If the main Program Manager window is found
if (hProgman != IntPtr.Zero)
{
// Get and load the main List view window containing the icons.
hShellViewWin = FindWindowEx(hProgman, IntPtr.Zero, "SHELLDLL_DefView", null);
if (hShellViewWin == IntPtr.Zero)
{
// When this fails (picture rotation is turned ON, toggledesktop shell cmd used ), then look for the WorkerW windows list to get the
// correct desktop list handle.
// As there can be multiple WorkerW windows, iterate through all to get the correct one
do
{
hWorkerW = FindWindowEx(hDesktopWnd, hWorkerW, "WorkerW", null);
hShellViewWin = FindWindowEx(hWorkerW, IntPtr.Zero, "SHELLDLL_DefView", null);
} while (hShellViewWin == IntPtr.Zero && hWorkerW != IntPtr.Zero);
}
}
return hShellViewWin;
}
Now regardless of the desktop toggle or wallpaper rotation the ToggleDesktopIcons should always work.
For reference this is my toggle desktop function which caused the issue with the original ToggleDesktopIcons function
static public void ToggleDesktop(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var shellObject = new Shell32.Shell();
shellObject.ToggleDesktop();
}
In response to James M, this function returns the current state:
bool IconsVisible()
{
var hWnd = GetDesktopListView();
var info = new User32.WINDOWINFO(null);
User32.GetWindowInfo(hWnd, ref info);
return (info.dwStyle & User32.WindowStyle.WS_VISIBLE) == User32.WindowStyle.WS_VISIBLE;
}
A different approach is to create a separate desktop and show it instead. It will not have icons.
Application running itself on a separate desktop
You can do this in RegEdit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
change HideIcons to 1
static void HideIcons()
{
RegistryKey myKey = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(#"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced", true);
if (myKey != null)
{
myKey.SetValue("HideIcons", 1);
myKey.Close();
}
}
Use the Registry class as described here.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.win32.registry.aspx
You can create a full screen view application and make it the top most window.
Then make your application to be start up with windows.
You are going about this the wrong way. What you are really trying to do is to replace the shell. Windows provides for this so you should just take advantage of it. Write your own shell to replace explorer.
Nice topic. Without actually creating a different desktop it would be visually pleasant to have the running applications minimized in the same swoop.

How do I scrape controls on an Windows Forms application which doesn't have an handle?

I have a Windows application. Where can I find the handle of the window?
I am unable to find the handle of the controls placed within that window. How can I scrape such controls? If it's a textbox or a button, I can automate it using the move position and send message. How does this work with a data grid/ table?
You have to go to the Win32 API for that.
Import EnumChildWindows like this:
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool EnumChildWindows(Intptr parent, EnumWindowsProc enumProc, IntPtr lParam);
public delegate bool EnumWindowsProc(IntPtr hWnd, IntPtr lParam);
And then call it from you main windows with this.Handle as the parent's windows handle. It will call the delegate for every child control in the form. This will show a messagebox for every control in the window:
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = System.Runtime.InteropServices.CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern int GetWindowText(IntPtr hWnd, System.Text.StringBuilder lpString, int nMaxCount);
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = System.Runtime.InteropServices.CharSet.Auto)]
static extern int GetWindowTextLength(IntPtr hWnd);
EnumChildWindows(this.Handle, (handle, b) => {
int length = GetWindowTextLength(handle);
System.Text.StringBuilder sb = new System.Text.StringBuilder(length + 1);
GetWindowText(handle, sb, sb.Capacity);
MessageBox.Show(sb.ToString()); return true;
}, IntPtr.Zero);

How to Detect if a program is runging on a Full- Screen mode

Is there any way to detect program that is running on a full screen mode ? but using event watcher.
Ive done a lot of other codes but none of them work good and all of them need some timer or a lot of using...
With using i mean a lot!!! and this is the problem.
This is the start of the program :
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern IntPtr GetForegroundWindow();
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern IntPtr GetDesktopWindow();
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern IntPtr GetShellWindow();
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern int GetWindowRect(IntPtr hwnd, out RECT rc);
Here is the function that runs in the Timer :
//Detect if the current app is running in full screen
bool runningFullScreen = false;
RECT appBounds;
Rectangle screenBounds;
IntPtr hWnd;
//get the dimensions of the active window
hWnd = GetForegroundWindow();
if (hWnd!=null && !hWnd.Equals(IntPtr.Zero))
{
//Check we haven't picked up the desktop or the shell
if (!(hWnd.Equals(desktopHandle) || hWnd.Equals(shellHandle)))
{
GetWindowRect(hWnd, out appBounds);
//determine if window is fullscreen
screenBounds = Screen.FromHandle(hWnd).Bounds;
if ((appBounds.Bottom - appBounds.Top) == screenBounds.Height && (appBounds.Right - appBounds.Left) == screenBounds.Width)
{
runningFullScreen = true;
}
}
}
the problem of this is that i need to use Timer or bgWorker and this is not a very good like for the work of it.

C# - Need to Psuedo Click a Window

Well, first off, what I'm trying to do is click a specific point inside a flash object, inside of a webbrowser control. I'm not sure why it isn't working, but I cannot seem to click any window, be it notepad, or the actual program.
Here is my code that I'm using.
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr FindWindowEx(IntPtr parentHandle, IntPtr childAfter, string className, IntPtr windowTitle);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern IntPtr FindWindow(String sClassName, String sAppName);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = false)]
static extern IntPtr SendMessage(IntPtr hWnd, int Msg, int wParam, int lParam);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
static extern bool PostMessage(IntPtr hWnd, uint Msg, int wParam, int lParam);
public IntPtr find()
{
return this.Handle;//FindWindow("", "Form1");
}
public enum WMessages : int
{
WM_LBUTTONDOWN = 0x201, //Left mousebutton down
WM_LBUTTONUP = 0x202, //Left mousebutton up
WM_LBUTTONDBLCLK = 0x203, //Left mousebutton doubleclick
WM_RBUTTONDOWN = 0x204, //Right mousebutton down
WM_RBUTTONUP = 0x205, //Right mousebutton up
WM_RBUTTONDBLCLK = 0x206, //Right mousebutton do
}
private int MAKELPARAM(int p, int p_2)
{
return ((p_2 << 16) | (p & 0xFFFF));
}
/** This is the non-working code **/
public void DoMouseLeftClick(IntPtr handle, Point x)
{
SendMessage(handle, (int)WMessages.WM_LBUTTONDOWN, 0, MAKELPARAM(x.X, x.Y));
SendMessage(handle, (int)WMessages.WM_LBUTTONUP, 0, MAKELPARAM(x.X, x.Y));
return;
//I have tried PostMessage, and SendMessage, and both of them at the same time, and neither works.
PostMessage(handle, (uint)WMessages.WM_LBUTTONDOWN, 0, MAKELPARAM(x.X, x.Y));
PostMessage(handle, (uint)WMessages.WM_LBUTTONUP, 0, MAKELPARAM(x.X, x.Y));
}
private void timer2_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//I try hovering my mouse over a button I added to the form, and nothing happens.
DoMouseLeftClick(find(), Cursor.Position);
}
So, I have tried using PostMessage, and SendMessage, and neither of those seem to work.
All I need it to do is to click on a specific point.
Also, I need to mention that I can't use mouse_event, because from what I know, the window needs to be active, plus the cursor needs to be over the point you are clicking. I am making a bot that automatically does a process in a flash object, so that's why I can't use mouse_event.
Thanks for your help guys.
I had the same problem.
I tried to draw something in the MS Paint. It turned out that I was clicking on the main window but it turned out that MS Paint (and most of the applications) consist of many child windows and you actually want to click on the child. So I had to change my code from:
IntPtr handle = FindWindow(null, "Untitled - Paint");
PostMessage(handle, (uint)MOUSE_BUTTONS.LEFT_DOWN, 0, lparam);
to
IntPtr handle = FindWindow(null, "Untitled - Paint");
handle = FindWindowEx(handle, IntPtr.Zero, "MSPaintView", null);
canvasHandle = FindWindowEx(handle, IntPtr.Zero, "Afx:00007FF676DD0000:8", null);
PostMessage(canvasHandle, (uint)MOUSE_BUTTONS.LEFT_DOWN, 0, lparam);
You need to use tools like Spy++ for Windows that comes with C++ Visual Studio package if you want to debug these kind of things (even if you program in C#)
Hope it helps someone.
For the WM_LBUTTONDOWN, you may need to specify which button. Take reference for: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms645607(v=vs.85).aspx
I used:
SendMessage(hWnd, (int)WMessages.WM_RBUTTONDOWN, (int)KeyDownMessage.MK_LBUTTON, MAKELPARAM(x, y));

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