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This is probably a common question but I couldn't come up with the right searches to find info on it.
Basically I'm trying to find info on whether or not there is a proper win32 method to use the special status bar that microsoft apps use (firefox uses it as well). It has a drop shadow at the top of it and the resize control on it is made of dots instead of lines.
I could roll my own but if a default way to use that one exists I'd prefer to use it.
CreateStatusWindow
Quote from MSDN2k7 april:
Check for proper STYLE value in msdn.Quote:
Note This function is obsolete. Use CreateWindow instead.
Ok I'm a bit confused by the answers. The CreateStatusWindow function creates a default status window.
I want the alternative status window Microsoft apps use. I had assumed it was a special case control (sort of like rebar vs normal tool bars).
It could be just an alternative visual style but I can't find any info alluding to that.
The older status bar seems to use an deprecated resizing grab bar style and it uses sunken edge boxes/dividers instead of the newer looking drop shadow and thin line dividers.
If there is a special style to stipulate to CreateWindow I can't find it via MSDN.
If you have Spy++ tool, launch it, drop the Spy finder tool on the statusbar you are referring to.
For this window, if the class name shows up as "msctls_statusbar32" defined in commctrl.h, it is the windows common control, otherwise it is a custom control. If it IS the windows common control class, look at the styles used for it and apply the same for your status bar
Thanks I don't have Spy++ so I hadn't thought of using a tool like that. I d/led winspector though and it is in fact the common control afterall.Quote:
Originally Posted by kirants
The unfortunate news is even when I set the styles/exstyles the same it still uses the incorrect sizing grip and draws differently.
The only difference WinSpector lists is the new style ones have a second value listed in the "properties" row. It just says Atom: #43282 0x0001007 (65543).
I'm not sure what that refers too yet but at least this gives me a new direction to look at.
Hmm further exploration is leading me to nothing. All the proper status bars have that ATOM listed in Winspector but it's not referring to a window class ATOM from what I can tell.
The only other difference I can find is the new style is unicode but the older style is ANSI. I can't even find info on the net addressing the fact that there are two completely different drawing styles for the msctls_statusbar32 window class.
My hunch at this point is that it has something to do with me using mingw. Perhaps its linking against an older version of msvcrt.dll.
I don't know what mingw is. Is it a compiler? If it is, that in itself cannot be the reason. Ultimately, windows will do what it is told to do ( commctrl.dll ) and all that depends on how the statusbar styles are set and if they are owner drawn etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by dorn
msvcrt.dll doesn't have any drawing functions. It is just the c-runtime library. The controls are implemented in user32.dll and commctl32.dll.Quote:
Perhaps its linking against an older version of msvcrt.dll.
But you do bring up a good point. It could be that it is using a different commctl32.dll. One way to verify which version your app is linking to which one firefox is linking to is to see what version of commctl32.dll is loaded.
For this, I recommed using process explorer
- Download, install, run both exes and launch process explorer.
- Find your exe in the list and select it
- Go to menu , view and make sure "Show Lower Pane" is checked.
- Go to menu , view->Lower Pane View and make sure DLLs is checked. The lower pane should now show all the dlls loaded.
- Locate commctl32.dll in the list and note down the path and version info for it.
- Similarly, do it for the other exe and compare.
Perhaps, you can post images of how the 2 look and also the styles each one has per winspector.
It is a compiler but that isn't what I meant. Mingw is a windows implementation of GNU tools in general. The mingw compiler has a slightly different symbol syntax for telling the linker how to load up a DLL though. Thus all the libs to load up stuff like commctrl32 are rewritten and can possibly link vs a different version.Quote:
Originally Posted by kirants
Thanks for the tip on commctl32. I'd forgotten about that and it would of thrown me for a loop when I got back to this and tried looking at the wrong library.
Apparently all the MS apps are using a commctl32 in the WinSxS directory and the one in system32 is the culprit drawing the older style status bars.
You need a manifest to link to the WinSXS one. It's an XML file that can be embedded into the exe , or , can be dropped alongside the exe.
HWND hSB=CreateStatusWindow( WS_CHILD|WS_CLIPSIBLINGS|WS_VISIBLE|SBARS_SIZEGRIP,0,hDlg,100);
will make a status bar just like the windows taskmgr's :D