Docking Windows

How can I make a window dock to the edges of the screen?
Like ICQ and Winamp do?
And ICQ also "isolates" itself, I mean, all the desktop icons move and everything moves like the screen is only the part where ICQ is not.

Any ideas?

[Sam Finch]

The API you want is SHAppBarMessage.

Public Declare Function SHAppBarMessage Lib "shell32.dll" Alias "SHAppBarMessage" (ByVal dwMessage As Long, pData As APPBARDATA) As Long

and you need this udt and some constants

Public Type APPBARDATA
        cbSize As Long
        hwnd As Long
        uCallbackMessage As Long
        uEdge As Long
        rc As Rect
        lParam As Long '  message specific
End Type
Public Const ABM_ACTIVATE = &H6               
Public Const ABM_GETAUTOHIDEBAR = &H7
Public Const ABM_GETSTATE = &H4
Public Const ABM_GETTASKBARPOS = &H5
Public Const ABM_NEW = &H0
Public Const ABM_QUERYPOS = &H2
Public Const ABM_REMOVE = &H1
Public Const ABM_SETAUTOHIDEBAR = &H8          
Public Const ABM_SETPOS = &H3
Public Const ABM_WINDOWPOSCHANGED = &H9

I've never actually used it bafore, there's a lot to do, you need to set up an extra message handler to handle some messages specific to docked windows.

Here's What MSDN has to say.

And there's a couple of examples in Planet Source code, but one's cheating and I havn't downloaded the other one, but It looks promissing as it's complex.


Cheating Way With Timer
This Might be the SHAppBarMessage Meathod but I havn't downloaded it

Thanks Samantha

[kedaman]

Here's my work on the appbar stuff, never got finished but I think i succeded in reserving that appbar area. If you could improove somethimg, i would be glad to share the progress

' // AppBar stuff

Public Const ABM_NEW = &H0
Public Const ABM_REMOVE = &H1
Public Const ABM_QUERYPOS = &H2
Public Const ABM_SETPOS = &H3
Public Const ABM_GETSTATE = &H4
Public Const ABM_GETTASKBARPOS = &H5
Public Const ABM_ACTIVATE = &H6               '  lParam == TRUE/FALSE means activate/deactivate
Public Const ABM_GETAUTOHIDEBAR = &H7
Public Const ABM_SETAUTOHIDEBAR = &H8          '  this can fail at any time.  MUST check the result
                                        '  lParam = TRUE/FALSE  Set/Unset
                                        '  uEdge = what edge
Public Const ABM_WINDOWPOSCHANGED = &H9


'  these are put in the wparam of callback messages
Public Const ABN_STATECHANGE = &H0
Public Const ABN_POSCHANGED = &H1
Public Const ABN_FULLSCREENAPP = &H2
Public Const ABN_WINDOWARRANGE = &H3 '  lParam == TRUE means hide

'  flags for get state

Public Const ABS_AUTOHIDE = &H1
Public Const ABS_ALWAYSONTOP = &H2
Public Const ABE_LEFT = 0
Public Const ABE_TOP = 1
Public Const ABE_RIGHT = 2
Public Const ABE_BOTTOM = 3

Type RECT
        Left As Long
        Top As Long
        Right As Long
        Bottom As Long
End Type
Type APPBARDATA
        cbSize As Long
        hwnd As Long
        uCallbackMessage As Long
        uEdge As Long
        rc As RECT
        lParam As Long '  message specific
End Type


Public Declare Function SHAppBarMessage Lib "shell32.dll" (ByVal dwMessage As Long, pData As APPBARDATA) As Long
Declare Function GetWindowRect Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Long, lpRect As RECT) As Long
Declare Function MoveWindow Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal x As Long, ByVal y As Long, ByVal nWidth As Long, ByVal nHeight As Long, ByVal bRepaint As Long) As Long

Sub Newbar(hwnd&)
    Dim abd As APPBARDATA, rt As RECT, rc As RECT
    GetWindowRect hwnd, rt
    With rc
        .Left = 0
        .Top = 0
        .Bottom = 1200
        .Right = 1600
    End With
    With abd
        If (rt.Right - rt.Left) > (rt.Bottom - rt.Top) Then
            If (rt.Bottom + rt.Top) > Screen.Height / Screen.TwipsPerPixelY Then
                .uEdge = ABE_BOTTOM
            Else
                .uEdge = ABE_TOP
            End If
        Else
            If (rt.Right + rt.Left) > Screen.Width / Screen.TwipsPerPixelX Then
                .uEdge = ABE_RIGHT
            Else
                .uEdge = ABE_LEFT
            End If
        End If
        .hwnd = hwnd
        .uCallbackMessage = 123
        .cbSize = Len(abd)
        SHAppBarMessage ABM_NEW, abd
        '.uEdge = ABE_BOTTOM
        .rc = rc
        .cbSize = Len(abd)
        'SHAppBarMessage ABN_WINDOWARRANGE, abd
        SHAppBarMessage ABM_QUERYPOS, abd
        
        If (rt.Right - rt.Left) > (rt.Bottom - rt.Top) Then
            If (rt.Bottom + rt.Top) > Screen.Height / Screen.TwipsPerPixelY Then
                .uEdge = ABE_BOTTOM
                .rc.Top = .rc.Bottom - rt.Bottom + rt.Top
            Else
                .uEdge = ABE_TOP
                .rc.Bottom = .rc.Top - rt.Top + rt.Bottom
            End If
        Else
            If (rt.Right + rt.Left) > Screen.Width / Screen.TwipsPerPixelX Then
                .uEdge = ABE_RIGHT
                .rc.Left = .rc.Right - rt.Right + rt.Left
            Else
                .uEdge = ABE_LEFT
                .rc.Right = .rc.Left - rt.Left + rt.Right
            End If
        End If
        .cbSize = Len(abd)
        SHAppBarMessage ABM_SETPOS, abd
        MoveWindow hwnd, .rc.Left, .rc.Top, .rc.Right - .rc.Left, .rc.Bottom - .rc.Top, 1
        DoEvents
        SHAppBarMessage ABM_ACTIVATE, abd
    End With
    SHAppBarMessage ABM_REMOVE, abd

End Sub

Why did you set the callback to 123?

[kedaman]

.uCallbackMessage = 123

No idea, I got this idea a few months ago and then i started on a new project and leaved this. Could be that i tried to test what i did because that's what i did tested each function what they do..