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WinCreateWindow

[ Syntax | Params | Returns | Include | Usage | Structs | Gotchas | Code | Also ]

Syntax

 hwnd = WinCreateWindow( hwndParent, pszClass, pszText, flStyle, x, y, cx, cy, hwndOwner, hwndBehind, id, pCtrlData, pPresParams );

Parameters
HWND hwndParent (input)
Handle to parent window. If HWND_DESKTOP is specified, a main window is created.

PSZ pszClass (input)
Class name. Must already either be registered via WinRegisterClass, or be a pre-defined PM class. This could be one of the following:

Class Control Data Explanation
WC_BUTTON BTNCDATA There are many different types of buttons, including some which have their own class name.
WC_CIRCULARSLIDER N/A This was adopted from MMOS2, and looks like a volume control.
WC_COMBOBOX COMBOCDATA Entryfield/list box combination.
WC_CONTAINER CNRINFO Container control, ie. folder-like control.
WC_ENTRYFIELD ENTRYFDATA Entryfield. This needs subclassing if you need to have a numerical control only.
WC_FRAME FRAMECDATA Window frame control.
WC_LISTBOX LBOXINFO List box control. This needs filling at some point.
WC_MENU N/A Menu control. Can be either an action bar, or a pop-up menu.
WC_MLE MLECTLDATA Multi-Line Edit control. Can be used for simple editors.
WC_NOTEBOOK BOOKPAGEINFO Notebook control. This is the control in which the pages are created, not the frame.
WC_SCROLLBAR SBCDATA Horizontal or vertical scroll bar. This needs sizing, and should not be used where a slider is more appropriate.
WC_SLIDER SLDCDATA Horizontal or vertical slider.
WC_SPINBUTTON SPBCDATA Spin button control. You will need to fill it.
WC_STATIC N/A A static display of either text or bitmap.
WC_TITLEBAR N/A Title bar.
WC_VALUESET VSCDATA Value set control. You will need to supply some bitmap for this.

PSZ pszText (input)
Window text. What happens with this text is specific to the class.

ULONG flStyle (input)
Window style. Usually chosen from pre-defined PM constants, but you can also create your own styles for your own classes. Here are the pre-defined PM styles:

WS_ANIMATE Enables WPS animation, unless user has disabled this feature.
WS_CLIPCHILDREN Window cannot draw on children.
WS_CLIPSIBLINGS Window cannot draw on siblings.
WS_DISABLED Creates window disabled. This might be desirable for filling list boxes, and so on. WinEnableWindow must be used later.
WS_GROUP Start a new group for dialog box purposes. This should not be used on every window in the group, only the first one.
WS_MAXIMIZED Create this window maximized. Used only with frame windows.
WS_MINIMIZED Create this window minimized. Used only with frame windows.
WS_PARENTCLIP Window created with this style cannot draw outside their parents, but they CAN draw on their parent, so care sould be used.
WS_SAVEBITS PM will save the pixels underneath this window for when this window closes and moves away. This is faster, but uses more memory. With todays fast systems, if you are not concerned about higher RAM usage, this should be on.
WS_SYNCPAINTS WM_PAINT messages will be sent, rather than posted.
WS_TABSTOP Specifies that pressing tab in a dialog box will move the focus to this window. Otherwise it will be skipped.
WS_VISIBLE Without this style, the window will be created invisible, and will have to be displayed later with WinSetWindowPos or WinShowWindow. The window also has to have size to be displayed, but may come up underneath other windows.

LONG x (input)
X position of lower left corner. Measured from left edge of screen, if HWND_DESKTOP is specified for parent. Otherwise measured from left edge of parent.

LONG y (input)
Y position of lower left corner. Measured from lower edge of screen, if HWND_DESKTOP is specified for parent. Otherwise measured from lower edge of parent.

LONG cx (input)
Width of window in pixels.

LONG cy (input)
Height of window in pixels.

HWND hwndOwner (input)
Owner of window. The owner will receive all notification messages regarding this window. This is usually HWND_DESKTOP for main windows, and hwndParent for other windows.

HWND hwndBehind (input)
The handle of the sibling window behind which this window will appear in the z-order. Usually HWND_TOP or HWND_BOTTOM for main windows.

ULONG id (input)
A value given by programmer for identification of the window by owner. between 0x0000 and 0xFFFF.

PVOID pCtrlData (input)
You can pass the class-specific data in the WM_CREATE message through this parameter. This is a pointer to a Control Data structure (see below). Frequently NULL.

PVOID pPresParams (input)
Pointer to class-specific presentation data passed to the window procedure in WM_CREATE.

Returns
HWND hwnd
Handle to the newly created window. NULLHANDLE is returned if there was an error. In this case, WinGetLastError might return:

PMERR_INVALID_HWND 0x1001
PMERR_INVALID_FLAG 0x1019

Include Info

 #define INCL_WINWINDOWMGR
or
#define INCL_WIN
or
#define INCL_PM
#include <os2.h>

Usage Explanation

 This API creates most of the windows in you see in OS/2, including main windows, entry fields, scroll bars and so on. Many of these windows can be created by use of a dialog template, but many others can not. This is probably one of the most used APIs during the startup phase of any application. It takes some practice to get used to the way it works, as it has way too many options.

This API sends WM_CREATE and WM_ADJUSTWINDOWPOS messages during window creation. The size can be set during the WM_CREATE message. It is also common to follow the WinCreateWindow call (with the window not set to visible) with a WinSetWindowPos call, during which size and position are set.

If this API is used to create a menu (WC_MENU), then pCtrlData should point to the menu template.

WM_CREATE is the first message a newly created window will receive, but the window is not yet visible when this message is received, and may have no size yet.

Relevant Structures

Control Data structures include the following:

typedef struct _BOOKPAGEINFO { ULONG cb; // length of control data in bytes ULONG fl; // page flags - BFA_ BOOL bLoadDlg; // load dialog now? ULONG ulPageData; // data to associate with page HWND hwndPage; // hwnd to associate with page PFN pfnPageDlgProc; // auto load of dialogs for app ULONG idPageDlg; // id of page HMODULE hmodPageDlg; // resource info PVOID pPageDlgParams; // page creation presentation parameters PDLGTEMPLATE pdlgtPage; ULONG cbStatusLine; // page flags - BFA_ PSZ pszStatusLine; // status line text string HBITMAP hbmMajorTab; // major tab bitmap handle HBITMAP hbmMinorTab; // minor tab bitmap handle ULONG cbMajorTab; // page flags - BFA_ PSZ pszMajorTab; // major tab text string ULONG cbMinorTab; // page flags - BFA_ PSZ pszMinorTab; // minor tab text string PVOID pBidiInfo; // reserved } BOOKPAGEINFO, *PBOOKPAGEINFO; typedef structc _BTNCDATA { USHORT cb; // length of control data in bytes USHORT fsCheckState; // check state of button USHORT fsHilightState; // highlight state of button LHANDLE hImage; // resource handle for icon/bitmap } BTNCDATA, *PBTNCDATA; typedef struct _COMBOCDATA { ULONG cb; // length of control data in bytes ULONG reserved; // reserved PVOID pHWXCtlData; // reserved } COMBOCDATA, *PCOMBOCDATA; typedef struct _CNRINFO { ULONG cb; // length of control data in bytes PVOID pSortRecord; // pointer to sort function PFIELDINFO pFieldInfoLast; // pointer to last column PFIELDINFO pFieldInfoObject; // pointer to IN-USE column PSZ pszCnrTitle; // text for container title ULONG flWindowAttr; // container attributes: CV_* CA_* POINTL ptlOrigin; // lower-left origin (virtual) ULONG cDelta; // number of records from end ULONG cRecords; // number of records in container SIZEL slBitmapOrIcon; // size of bitmap in pixels SIZEL slTreeBitmapOrIcon;// size of tree bitmaps in pixels HBITMAP hbmExpanded; // bitmap for tree node HBITMAP hbmCollapsed; // bitmap for tree node HPOINTER hptrExpanded; // icon for tree node HPOINTER hptrCollapsed; // icon for tree node LONG cyLineSpacing; // space between two rows LONG cxTreeIndent; // indent for children LONG cxTreeLine; // thickness of the Tree Line ULONG cFields; // number of fields in container LONG xVertSplitbar; // position relative to container } CNRINFO, *PCNRINFO; typedef struct _ENTRYFDATA { USHORT cb; // length of control data in bytes USHORT cchEditLimit; // edit limit USHORT ichMinSel; // minimum selection USHORT ichMaxSel; // maximum selection } ENTRYFDATA, *PENTRYFDATA; typedef struct _FRAMECDATA { USHORT cb; // length of control data in bytes ULONG flCreateFlags; // frame creation flags USHORT hmodResource; // id of required resource USHORT idResource; // resource identifier } FRAMECDATA, *PFRAMECDATA; typedef struct _LBOXINFO { LONG lItemIndex; // item index ULONG ulItemCount; // item count ULONG reserved; // reserved - must be zero ULONG reserved2; // reserved - must be zero } LBOXINFO, *PLBOXINFO typedef struct _MLECTLDATA { USHORT cb; // length of control data in bytes USHORT afIEFormat; // import/export format ULONG cchText; // text limit IPT iptAnchor; // selection anchor point (start) IPT iptCursor; // selection cursor point (end) LONG cxFormat; // formatting rectangle width (pixels) LONG cyFormat; // formatting rectangle height (pixels) ULONG afFormatFlags; // format flags } MLECTLDATA, *PMLECTLDATA; typedef struct _SBCDATA { USHORT cb; // length of control data in bytes USHORT sHilight; // highlight code SHORT posFirst; // first possible position of scroll bar SHORT posLast; // last possible position of scroll bar SHORT posThumb; // scroll thumb current position SHORT cVisible; // number of lines (items) visible SHORT cTotal; // total number of lines (items) in MLE } SBCDATA, *PSBCDATA; typedef struct _SLDCDATA { ULONG cb; // length of control data in bytes USHORT usScale1Increments;// number of divisions on scale 1 USHORT usScale1Spacing; // space in pixels between increments USHORT usScale2Increments;// number of divisions on scale 2 USHORT usScale2Spacing; // space in pixels between increments } SLDCDATA, *PSLDCDATA; typedef struct _SPBCDATA { ULONG cb; // length of control data in bytes ULONG ulTextLimit; // entryfield text limit LONG lLowerLimit; // spin lower limit (numeric only) LONG lUpperLimit; // spin upper limit (numeric only) ULONG idMasterSpb; // id of the servant's master spinbutton PVOID pHWXCtlData; // reserved } SPBCDATA, *PSPBCDATA; typedef struct _VSCDATA { ULONG cbSize; // length of control data in bytes USHORT usRowCount; // number of rows in value set USHORT usColumnCount; // number of columns in value set } VSCDATA, *PVSCDATA;

Gotchas

Sample Code

 #define INCL_WINMESSAGEMGR #include <os2.h> ULONG flStyle = WS_VISIBLE; WinCreateWindow (hwndFrame, // Parent Window Handle "CLIENT", // Class Name NULL, // Window Text flStyle, // Window Styles 0, 0, 50, 50, // Position and size hwndFrame, // Owner Window Handle HWND_BOTTOM, // Z-order position ID_CLIENT, // Resource Identifier NULL, // Control Data NULL); // Presentation Parameters

See Also

 WinCreateStdWindow, WinDestroyWindow, WinEnableWindow, WinSetWindowPos, WinShowWindow

Author

Carsten Whimster - bcrwhims@uwaterloo.ca

Additions

Last modified June 15/1996
Please send all errors, comments, and suggestions to: timur@vnet.ibm.com

The OS/2 API Project

WinCreateWindow