getting a handle and using it

[SteveCRM]

Okay, how do I find the handle of a program? by its title? Once I get that I want to make it invisible....how would I do that? Thanks all

[Vlatko]

I don't quite understand you. What do you mean you want to make it invisible? Do you want to make the window invisible or...
Please clarify.

[SteveCRM]

I want it to be there but you can't see it, or off the screen, any way so that it is not in view.

[Vlatko]

If i understood you well:

#include <windows.h>
...
HWND h = FindWindow(NULL,"caption");
ShowWindow(h,0);  /*or use SW_HIDE, try both*/ 

[SteveCRM]

I didn't know it was so easy! Thanks Vlatko!

[Amon Ra]

That's pretty cool I tried sendin a message to that wnd handle, and it worked. So i guess you could do cool things with that

[SteveCRM]

I made a program with it....when you get it you can hide or show it. And using the SetWindowText api you can change window titles. It's somewhere on planetsourcecode.

[HarryW]

Can you hide the desktop? =)

[SteveCRM]

I don't know, I get the handle by typing whatever is in the titlebar....but feel free to try:

http://www.planetsourcecode.com/vb/s...txtCodeId=1944

[HarryW]

I'm pretty sure the desktop's window handle is NULL, but I don't have a compiler on this computer and I'd be too lazy to check it anyway

[parksie]

It's not usually NULL, since that doesn't really act as a handle Try GetDesktopWindow() anyway, if you need it. You can mess around with the desktop listview by getting a child window of ProgMan

[kedaman]

128 if i remember correct, it usually was for me, but i haven't checked it out for a while. i remember when i accidentaly dragdropped my desktop into my appbar prog, and it crashed soon but before it did, i could drag down my appbar and the desktop went with it

[SteveCRM]

an exe is included in the zip harry

what would happen if I hid the desktop?

[parksie]

Not much, since it's hidden anyway. All the desktop window is, is a parent window. You can't see it - it just acts as a top level.

[kedaman]

Not really true, i had put my desktop in another window, i saw it before it crashed 5 seconds later. The area that was below looked like the desktop but without icons, the screen DC was still updating that area for some really odd reason.