A programm that works in backgroud, has to open a screensaver, if I press a key

At our big eaveningshow there's one sequence where a matrixscreensaver has to apear. The screen is beamed onto a big wall, so there can't be something of windows, like the little thing, that aperas then you press alt+tab, and there can't be a mousepointer.
The easyest way for me, the manager of the computer and the beamer, is to code something that makes the screensaver apear if I press a key and makes it disapear when I press an other key.

I don't have an idea how to begin programming that thing.

Does someone have an idea how to do a programm like that?
(I don't want to programm a screensaver, just a programm to starts and ends the screensaver)


www.ironmodders.ch.vu

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just download a screensaver maker. I recommend 123 Screensaver Maker. It rockz :thumb:

But if you just want to program it, then i cant help you about screensavers. =/

Screen saver is just another program so if you want to launch it upon pressing some key combination then here is a sample:

VB Code:

Private Sub Form_Load()
    Me.KeyPreview = True
End Sub
 
Private Sub Form_KeyUp(KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
    If Shift = vbAltMask And KeyCode = vbKeyTab Then
        Shell "notepad" 'provide full path to your program instead
    End If
End Sub

NOTE: making a screen saver is completely different issue.

If the application got the focus your solution works very good. But that's not the thing I wanted.

The application have to work in tha background. and so the application won't have the focus.

Any ideas how to do it, if the programm don't have the focus?

You don't actually need focus, just have that program running invisibly (me.hide). Then, you could either have a timer or something checking for a certain keystroke (getasynckeystate API) or you could do this:

VB Code:

Private Declare Function SetCapture Lib "user32" ( _
     ByVal hwnd As Long) As Long
     
Private Declare Function ReleaseCapture Lib "user32.dll" () As Long
Private Sub Form_Load()
SetCapture Me.hwnd
End Sub

With that method anywhere you click will be taken as a click to the form, just be sure to releasecapture when you're done. There are a whole ton of other methods you could use too, but those seem to be pretty good from my viewpoint.

I don't know if I'm to stupide or what's going on. But these codes don't work.

VB Code:

Private Declare Function SetCapture Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function ReleaseCapture Lib "user32.dll" () As Long
 
Private Sub Form_Load()
    SetCapture Me.hwnd
    ReleaseCapture
    Me.KeyPreview = True
End Sub
 
Private Sub Form_KeyUp(KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
    If KeyCode = 69 Then '69 stands for the key "e"
        Shell "notepad"
    End If
End Sub

If the Form is in background or is minimized it doesn't work. www.ironmodders.ch.vu

Use a keyboard hook. If you have a callback function, you can treat it like an event. API-Guide has a good example of how to do this, as does Codeguru.

http://www.codeguru.com/Cpp/W-P/syst...cle.php/c5699/

[EDIT]
The Codegure example is C, below is the VB example:

http://www.developer.com/net/vb/article.php/1502401