[RESOLVED] Get Text From Window

[Jaquio]

Okay... I know this post is like WAYY old but why make a new one when this one is still here. :P

Anyways... I have never gotten it to work yet. Here is what I want to do, my sister(who is 9) likes to go into chat rooms on yahoomessenger with her friends from school when no one is around. Now we've told her not to do it and everything and she talks to random people... I was wondering if there was a way to retrieve what she and the other peoeple/person(s) type to her as well as text she types into any other window(s).

All I would actually need is a list of API(s) and how to use them to accomplish this. Thanks for your help and again sorry for bringing the dead back to life.

[RobDog888]

Usually its not a good idea to reply to old threads as it will send notifications to members that have replied to the thread if they have email subscription notification choosen.

Post split from thread - http://vbforums.com/showthread.php?t=362205 into a new separate thread.

[Billy Conner]

alot of IM's will let you directly reference them progmatically. yahoo does this. you can reference the DLL(Yahoo! Messenger TypLib) by adding it to your references within your project. then press F2 and look at the YahooMessengerLib properties and methods. im pretty sure there is a way to log text that way.
YahooMessengerLib.IIMMessage.Text seems valid. im not sure exactly how it is gonna work. you can probably look it up. maybe this will be a start in your search.
otherwise you can enum the windows every 100 millisec and do alot of work recording the window text when found

[Jaquio]

OK, I tried using it and I cannot figure out how to set the hwnd for it to pull the text. Every time I try to use "YahooMessengerLib.IMMesssage.Text" it returns object variable not set or something like that..

I know the ThreadID and Class Name of the Yahoo Messenger Sent Textbox but I have no clue how find out the HWND of it to use GetText API to get the text from it... Any ideas?

[RobDog888]

Post the code you are using. I dont have Yahoo IM but I can take a look at it.

[Jaquio]

Public Function GetText(hwnd As Long) As String
Dim strtemp As String
Dim lnglength As Long

lnglength = SendMessage(hwnd, WM_GETTEXTLENGTH, 0, 0)

strtemp = Space(lnglength)

SendMessage hwnd, WM_GETTEXT, lnglength + 1, strtemp

GetText = strtemp
End Function

Private Sub Timer1_Timer()
    Debug.Print GetText(FindWindow("YHTMLContainer", vbNullString))
End Sub

Is my current way of trying it, but for some reason it returns nothing. I have tried nearly every class name and window name but it all seems to return the window title and nothing else. As for the YahooMessengerTypeLib I just couldn't find a way to set the hwnd or whatever to be able to use the .IMMessage.Text...

[RobDog888]

Are you sure you are getting the correct child window handle? It sounds like you are only getting the main window handle which is why its returning the forms titlebar caption.

[xT-Dart-Tx]

try findwindowex instead of findwindow

[Jaquio]

Are you sure you are getting the correct child window handle? It sounds like you are only getting the main window handle which is why its returning the forms titlebar caption.

How would I get the handle of a child window? Maybe that is where I am getting confused at...

How would I use FindWindowEx?

[RobDog888]

First you get the main window handle with FindWindow then you pass that handle with FindWndowEx. That will get the first child window but the app will have a window heirarchy that you need to detect so you will drill down the window heirarchy correctly. This is why you should use MS Spy++ to determine its structure.

[Jaquio]

So what goes into the HWND2 spot? I am confused already >.>

[RobDog888]

Here is the definition of it and a code example.
http://allapi.mentalis.org/apilist/FindWindowEx.shtml

[Jaquio]

Private Sub Timer1_Timer()
    Dim lngMainHandle As Long
    
    lngMainHandle = FindWindow("YSearchMenuWndClass", vbNullString)
    Debug.Print lngMainHandle & " - " & FindWindow(vbNullString, "in_his_arms_forever2323 - bjmoreton") 'Comparing the handle values to make sure they were the same, they were
    Debug.Print FindWindowEx(lngMainHandle, ByVal 0&, "YHTMLContainer", vbNullString) 'This returns 0 for some reason...
End Sub

Any ideas?

[RobDog888]

No because without knowing the window heirarchy any code is pointless.

[Jaquio]

Where can I get MS Spy++ at?

[RobDog888]

Its a tool/utility that is included with most versions of Visual Studio. What version do you have? It may not have been installed if you didnt select the tools to install in a custom install.

[Jaquio]

Okay, finally after hours of looking for my CD I found it and installed ALL the tools and have MS Spy++. How the heck do I use this thing? It seems REALLY confusing to me...

[RobDog888]

Click the Find Window (Ctl+F) button and then drag the window finder crosshairs toover your other programs target child window. Release and in SPy++ it will be highlighted. You will then see how the structure is derivved.

[Jaquio]

OKay, I see... "000104DE "in_his_arms_forever2323 - bjmoreton" YSearchMenuWndClass" then it trees off into "000104E6 "" ReBarWindow32" and "000104E8 "" IMClass" and IMClass is "00010502 "" YHTMLContainer"(That is where all sent text goes) and it trees of into "00020498 "" Internet Explorer_Server"... So umm, where do I go from there?

[RobDog888]

You have to use FindWindow on the top level window of your yahoo im. Then pass the retrieved handle in a second call to the child window which is next in line to get down to your target window. Post a small screen shot of the window heirarchy.

[Jaquio]

Umm, is this what you wanted? http://76.181.208.153/Yahoo.jpg

[RobDog888]

Yes but I am unsure of the destination as is it the blue highlighted one?

You should start with...
lHwnd = FindWindow("YSearchMenuWndClass", vbNullstring)
lChwnd = FindWindowEx(lHwnd, 0&, "IMClass", vbNullstring)
etc.

[Jaquio]

Okay here is what I am currently trying...

Public Function GetText(hwnd As Long) As String
Dim strtemp As String
Dim lnglength As Long

lnglength = SendMessage(hwnd, WM_GETTEXTLENGTH, 0, 0)

strtemp = Space(lnglength)

SendMessage hwnd, WM_GETTEXT, lnglength + 1, strtemp

GetText = strtemp
End Function

Private Sub Timer1_Timer()
    Dim lngHWND As Long, lngCHwnd As Long, lngC2Hwnd As Long, lngC3Hwnd As Long
    
    lngHWND = FindWindow("YSearchMenuWndClass", vbNullString) 'Returns Handle
    Debug.Print "lnghwnd:" & lngHWND
    Debug.Print "GT:" & GetText(lngHWND) 'Returns in_his_arms_forever2323 - bjmoreton
    lngCHwnd = FindWindowEx(lngHWND, 0&, "IMClass", vbNullString) 'Returns Handle
    Debug.Print "lngCHwnd:" & lngCHwnd
    Debug.Print "GT:" & GetText(lngCHwnd) 'Returns Nothing
    lngC2Hwnd = FindWindowEx(lngCHwnd, 0&, "YHTMLContainer", vbNullString) 'Returns Handle
    Debug.Print "lngC2Hwnd:" & lngC2Hwnd
    Debug.Print "GT:" & GetText(lngC2Hwnd) 'Returns Nothing
    lngC3Hwnd = FindWindowEx(lngC2Hwnd, 0&, "Internet Explorer_Server", vbNullString) 'Returns Handle
    Debug.Print "lngC3Hwnd:" & lngC3Hwnd
    Debug.Print "GT:" & GetText(lngC3Hwnd) 'Returns Nothing
End Sub

As for the highlighted part in the blue I accidently clicked that. When I used the cross-airs to find the handle it highlighted the "Internet Explorer_Server" part in YHTMLContainer.

[RobDog888]

And... are you getting the correct window handles? You will need to refresh the Spy++ window between runs of your app.

Note: some windows will not have window caption text.

[Jaquio]

And... are you getting the correct window handles? You will need to refresh the Spy++ window between runs of your app.

Note: some windows will not have window caption text.

I am pretty sure I am getting the correct window handles.

lnghwnd:4064884 - Value in Hex:3E0674
GT:Bj Moreton (bjmoreton) - bjmoreton

lngCHwnd:1246554 - Value in Hex:13055A
GT:

lngC2Hwnd:656898 - Value in Hex:A0602
GT:

lngC3Hwnd:853466 - Value in Hex:D05DA
GT:

And the values are the same as what Spy++ returns.

[RobDog888]

Then just keep going until you get to the final window where you want to read/write to, use that final window handle to pass as the handle in the GetText/SetText etc.

[Jaquio]

Then just keep going until you get to the final window where you want to read/write to, use that final window handle to pass as the handle in the GetText/SetText etc.

That is the final handle... If you look at the image I posted, it goes from YSearchMenuWndClass to IMClass to YHTMLContainer and then to Internet Explorer_Server... That is the last one and for some reason I cannot get the text from the screen into the buffer. No idea why...

Edit:Look at this one, http://76.181.208.153/Yahoo1.jpg

[RobDog888]

Ah thats because it appears to be a self contained ActiveX control. They dont expose the inner windows that make up the control.

What about just adding a reference to the YIM and automate it? Have you tried doing that yet?

[Jaquio]

If you mean using the YahooMessengerTypeLib? Then yes I have, I cannot find a way to set the HWND for it because it returns that object or variable is not set or something like that....

I found this post http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?t=357460 But the code is for VB.Net how do you change it to work for VB6?

[RobDog888]

Its not too different from VB 6 since its IE automation. Its almost complete but I am not sure about the IID_IHTMLDocument declaration so I left it as "???"

This is the basis of getting the inner IE server window and getting its Document Object Model...(VB.NET).

Imports mshtml
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

Public Class IEDom

    Declare Function ObjectFromLresult Lib "oleacc" (ByVal lResult As Int32, ByRef riid As System.Guid, ByVal wParam As Int32, ByRef ppvObject As IHTMLDocument) As Int32
    Dim win32 As New Win32Functions()

    Public Function IEDOMFromhWnd(ByVal hWnd As IntPtr) As IHTMLDocument
        Dim IID_IHTMLDocument As System.Guid = New System.Guid("626FC520-A41E-11CF-A731-00A0C9082637")
        'Dim hWndChild As Int32
        Dim lRes As Int32
        Dim lMsg As Int32
        Dim hr As Int32
        If Not hWnd.Equals(0) Then
            If Not hWnd.Equals(0) Then
                ' Register the message
                lMsg = win32.RegisterWindowMessage("WM_HTML_GETOBJECT")
                'MsgBox(lMsg.ToString)
                ' Get the object
                Call win32.SendMessageTimeout(hWnd, lMsg, 0, 0, _
                     win32.SMTO_ABORTIFHUNG, 1000, lRes)

                If lRes Then
                    ' Get the object from lRes
                    hr = ObjectFromLresult(lRes, IID_IHTMLDocument, 0, IEDOMFromhWnd)
                    If hr Then Throw New COMException(hr)
                End If
            End If
        Else
            MsgBox("bad hwnd!!")
        End If
    End Function

End Class

Now to translate it into all VB 6.

The conversions....

'In a Module....
Option Explicit

Private Declare Sub ObjectFromLresult Lib "OLEACC.dll" ( _
                    ByVal lResult As Long, _
                    ByVal riid As Long, _
                    ByVal wParam As Long, _
                    ByRef ppvObject As Any)

Private Declare Function RegisterWindowMessage Lib "user32.dll" Alias "RegisterWindowMessageA" ( _
                    ByVal lpString As String) As Long

Private Declare Function SendMessageTimeout Lib "user32.dll" Alias "SendMessageTimeoutA" ( _
                    ByVal hwnd As Long, _
                    ByVal msg As Long, _
                    ByVal wParam As Long, _
                    ByVal lParam As Long, _
                    ByVal fuFlags As Long, _
                    ByVal uTimeout As Long, _
                    ByRef lpdwResult As Long) As Long

Private Const SMTO_ABORTIFHUNG As Long = &H2

Public Function IEDOMFromhWnd(ByVal hWnd As Long) As IHTMLDocument
        Dim IID_IHTMLDocument As  ???
        Dim lRes As Long
        Dim lMsg As Long
        Dim hr As Long

        If hWnd <> 0 Then
            If hWnd <> 0 Then
                'Register the message
                lMsg = RegisterWindowMessage("WM_HTML_GETOBJECT")
                SendMessageTimeout hWnd, lMsg, 0, 0, SMTO_ABORTIFHUNG, 1000, lRes
                If lRes Then
                    'Get the object from lRes
                    hr = ObjectFromLresult(lRes, IID_IHTMLDocument, 0, IEDOMFromhWnd)
                    If hr Then MsgBox "Error"
                End If
            End If
        Else
            MsgBox("bad hwnd!!")
        End If
End Function

[Jaquio]

Visual Basic Crashes upon using this... Any idea why? I am calling the IEDOMFromhWnd with the last HWND I get(Internet Explorer_Server)...

[RobDog888]

Its almost complete but I am not sure about the IID_IHTMLDocument declaration so I left it as "???"

It needs that final line of code converted and then its done.

[Jaquio]

But what could it possibly be declared as?

[Jaquio]

Well I got somewhere... lol

Option Explicit

Private Declare Function ObjectFromLresult Lib "OLEACC.dll" ( _
                    ByVal lResult As Long, _
                    riid As UUID, _
                    ByVal wParam As Long, _
                    ByRef ppvObject As Any) As Long

Private Declare Function RegisterWindowMessage Lib "user32.dll" Alias "RegisterWindowMessageA" ( _
                    ByVal lpString As String) As Long

Private Declare Function SendMessageTimeout Lib "user32.dll" Alias "SendMessageTimeoutA" ( _
                    ByVal hWnd As Long, _
                    ByVal msg As Long, _
                    ByVal wParam As Long, _
                    ByVal lParam As Long, _
                    ByVal fuFlags As Long, _
                    ByVal uTimeout As Long, _
                    ByRef lpdwResult As Long) As Long

Private Const SMTO_ABORTIFHUNG As Long = &H2
Private Type UUID
Data1 As Long
Data2 As Integer
Data3 As Integer
Data4(0 To 7) As Byte
End Type

Public Function IEDOMFromhWnd(ByVal hWnd As Long) As IHTMLDocument
'On Error Resume Next
        Dim IID_IHTMLDocument As UUID
        Dim lRes As Long
        Dim lMsg As Long
        Dim hr As Long

        If hWnd <> 0 Then
            If hWnd <> 0 Then
                'Register the message
                lMsg = RegisterWindowMessage("WM_HTML_GETOBJECT")
                SendMessageTimeout hWnd, lMsg, 0, 0, SMTO_ABORTIFHUNG, 1000, lRes
                If lRes Then
                    'Get the object from lRes
                    hr = ObjectFromLresult(lRes, IID_IHTMLDocument, 0, IEDOMFromhWnd)
                    If hr Then MsgBox "Error"
                End If
            End If
        Else
            MsgBox ("bad hwnd!!")
        End If
End Function

Using it like that it returns "[object]" anyideas why? I found that fix here: http://www.rohitab.com/discuss/lofiv...hp/t25422.html

Nevermind didn't look at it fully, it now works. Hooray! lol Calling that function and using it like this worked.

Private Sub Timer1_Timer()
    Dim lngHWND As Long, lngCHwnd As Long, lngC2Hwnd As Long, lngC3Hwnd As Long
    Dim doc As New HTMLDocument
    
    lngHWND = FindWindow("YSearchMenuWndClass", vbNullString) 'Returns Handle
    Debug.Print "lnghwnd:" & lngHWND
    Debug.Print "GT:" & GetText(lngHWND) 'Returns in_his_arms_forever2323 - bjmoreton
    lngCHwnd = FindWindowEx(lngHWND, 0&, "IMClass", vbNullString) 'Returns Handle
    Debug.Print "lngCHwnd:" & lngCHwnd
    Debug.Print "GT:" & GetText(lngCHwnd) 'Returns Nothing
    lngC2Hwnd = FindWindowEx(lngCHwnd, 0&, "YHTMLContainer", vbNullString) 'Returns Handle
    Debug.Print "lngC2Hwnd:" & lngC2Hwnd
    Debug.Print "GT:" & GetText(lngC2Hwnd) 'Returns Nothing
    lngC3Hwnd = FindWindowEx(lngC2Hwnd, 0&, "Internet Explorer_Server", vbNullString) 'Returns Handle
    Debug.Print "lngC3Hwnd:" & lngC3Hwnd
    Debug.Print "GT:" & GetText(lngC3Hwnd) 'Returns Nothing
    
    Set doc = modTest.IEDOMFromhWnd(lngC3Hwnd)
    Debug.Print doc.body.innerText
End Sub

[RobDog888]

Cool gald its working finally.

Ps, dont forget to Resolve your thread so other members will know its been answered.

[Jaquio]

Thanks again, you were a lot of help.