Transparent forms! HELLLLLPPPPP!!!

[bruta]

Grrrrrrrr!!!!!

For some reason I can't make my form become transparent!

I am in the middle of creating an MP3 player and want a realistic style! I want to have a trasparent FORM!!

Is there some way I can do this because, quite honestly, VB5 help is pretty crap.

Bruta

_________________
One today is worth two tomorrow

[abdul]

Try this:

Option Explicit 
Private Declare Function CreateRectRgn Lib "gdi32" (ByVal X1 As Long, _
ByVal Y1 As Long, ByVal X2 As Long, ByVal Y2 As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function CombineRgn Lib "gdi32" (ByVal hDestRgn As _
Long, ByVal hSrcRgn1 As Long, ByVal hSrcRgn2 As Long, ByVal _
nCombineMode As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function SetWindowRgn Lib "user32" (ByVal hWnd As _
Long, ByVal hRgn As Long, ByVal bRedraw As Long) As Long
 
Public Sub TransparentForm(frm As Form)
    frm.ScaleMode = vbPixels
    Const RGN_DIFF = 4
    Const RGN_OR = 2
 
    Dim outer_rgn As Long
    Dim inner_rgn As Long
    Dim wid As Single
    Dim hgt As Single
    Dim border_width As Single
    Dim title_height As Single
    Dim ctl_left As Single
    Dim ctl_top As Single
    Dim ctl_right As Single
    Dim ctl_bottom As Single
    Dim control_rgn As Long
    Dim combined_rgn As Long
    Dim ctl As Control
 
    If frm.WindowState = vbMinimized Then Exit Sub
 
    ' Create the main form region.
    wid = frm.ScaleX(frm.Width, vbTwips, vbPixels)
    hgt = frm.ScaleY(frm.Height, vbTwips, vbPixels)
    outer_rgn = CreateRectRgn(0, 0, wid, hgt)
 
    border_width = (wid - frm.ScaleWidth) / 2
    title_height = hgt - border_width - frm.ScaleHeight
    inner_rgn = CreateRectRgn(border_width, title_height, wid - border_width, _
        hgt - border_width)
 
    ' Subtract the inner region from the outer.
    combined_rgn = CreateRectRgn(0, 0, 0, 0)
    CombineRgn combined_rgn, outer_rgn, inner_rgn, RGN_DIFF
 
    ' Create the control regions.
    For Each ctl In frm.Controls
        If ctl.Container Is frm Then
            ctl_left = frm.ScaleX(ctl.Left, frm.ScaleMode, vbPixels) _
                + border_width
            ctl_top = frm.ScaleX(ctl.Top, frm.ScaleMode, vbPixels) + title_height
            ctl_right = frm.ScaleX(ctl.Width, frm.ScaleMode, vbPixels) + ctl_left
            ctl_bottom = frm.ScaleX(ctl.Height, frm.ScaleMode, vbPixels) + ctl_top
            control_rgn = CreateRectRgn(ctl_left, ctl_top, ctl_right, ctl_bottom)
            CombineRgn combined_rgn, combined_rgn, control_rgn, RGN_OR
        End If
    Next ctl
 
    'Restrict the window to the region.
    SetWindowRgn frm.hWnd, combined_rgn, True
End Sub
 
Private Sub Form_Resize()
    TransparentForm Me
End Sub

[Ph34R]

whoa, thanks abdul !

Ive been fiddling around with all kinds of API functions to get my whole form transperent. Couldent ever get it quite right.

IT WORKS NOW

[Zero]

Normally, if you put a GIF with a transparent background in an image (not a picbox) control the background will be transparent on the form- You can see other controls through it. But if you do this on a form using your code, the once transparent GIF has a grey box around it.

Do you know of a way to keep the GIF's background transparent when you make the form itself transparent? Is there a way at all?

~Zero the Inestimable

[abdul]

Sorry, I still did not get it:

Do you want to put this gif(let us assume a circle) directly onto the form or Do you want to load the gif in a image box and then you want to show the image box on the transparent form?

So basically, Do you want to, somehow, show the circle(gif) on the transparent form?

[kedaman]

if you convert your gif file into ico format, it's automatically blitted transparently if you put it in a imagebox. If you want you could also use regions to your advantage, I made a control once that cuts out the regions specified by a userdefined color you use as mask. If you want I could upload it here.

[abdul]

What do you want to make the region of? If it is an image control then its is impossible. But if you just want to show a transparent picture then you can put that in a picture box, and then make the regions of picture box(you also need to make the form transparent and set its borderstyle to none)

[DaoK]

abdul he ONLY want to put a background (exemple a picture of the letter "B" and he want all the background transparent but not the letter "B". But he want the inside of the "B" transparent (the "B" letter is saved in transparent Gif so he should be able to see inside the "B")

I hope that gonna help you to understand him.

[Andreas@ALSoft]

I'm not sure but it should be possible to create a user control with a maskpicture and a background picture so that the regions around the background picture are transparent.
Set the control's controlcontainer property to true
Then place that control on your form you made transparent with abdul's code.
I hope it works...