DOCUMENT:Q189596 27-JAN-2001 [vbwin] TITLE :SAMPLE: VB6WLCTL.EXE Windowless Controls Demonstration PRODUCT :Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows PROD/VER::6.0 OPER/SYS: KEYWORDS:kbfile kbole kbreadme kbsample kbCtrl kbRegistry kbVBp kbVBp600 kbOSWin95 kbOSWin98 kbG ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this article applies to: - Microsoft Visual Basic Learning Edition for Windows, version 6.0 - Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, version 6.0 - Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, version 6.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY ======= Visual Basic 6.0 introduces the capability of creating "Windowless" controls. A Windowless control, also known as a "lightweight" control, is a control that does not have a WndProc function for message handling. These lightweight controls require fewer resources than normal controls, and allow for development of transparent controls. This sample demonstrates how to create windowless controls in Visual Basic 6.0. MORE INFORMATION ================ The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center: VB6WLCTL.exe (http://download.microsoft.com/download/vb60pro/2/2/Win98/EN-US/VB6WLCTL.exe) Release Date: June 16, 2000 For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services Microsoft used the most current virus detection software available on the date of posting to scan this file for viruses. Once posted, the file is housed on secure servers that prevent any unauthorized changes to the file. Below is the content of the Readme.txt for this sample. Description ----------- Visual Basic 6.0 provides the capability of building Windowless controls, also known as lightweight controls. A new property of the UserControl, Windowless, enables this feature. Setting the Windowless property to True will make the UserControl Windowless, a control which sends and receives messages through OLE rather than the regular messaging queues that Windows uses. A Windowless control behaves the same as the normal UserControls with the following exceptions: - The UserControl has no hWnd property (limits some API calls). - The Borderstyle property cannot be set. - The UserControl cannot host normal Windowed controls. - Windowless controls are not supported by some containers. If sited in such a container, they will be assigned an hWnd and be treated as a normal Windowed controls. This sample demonstrates the functionalities of Windowless controls created in Visual Basic 6.0. The main project group file is WndLessControlAGroup.vbg, which contains the controls as well as a client that shows the controls in action. The documentation in the source code explains in great detail the behavior of each control. Summary Of Sample Controls -------------------------- Four Windowless Controls are included in the sample to show different Functionality: TestControl1 - A Windowless control that acts and handles events like a normal control. TestControl2 - Allows events to bypass it and be handled by the controls underneath it. TestControl3 - Demonstrates "HitTesting" to see where the user has clicked within the Windowless control's region on the form. The control acts "transparently" (events being passed to the Form underneath) unless the CommandButton sited on it is clicked. Then it handles that Event normally. TestControl4 - This control demonstrates how to determine what areas of a control are transparent by using the Picture, MaskPicture, and MaskColor properties, and where events can be handled. To Start -------- Before loading this sample into Visual Basic 6.0, the following steps need to be taken: 1. Copy the following files on the Visual Basic 6.0 or Visual Studio 6.0 installation CD-ROM in the ...\Common\Tools\VB\WINLESS folder to the Windows\System (Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me) or Windows\System32 (Windows NT) folder: mswless.reg mswless.ocx 2. Double-click on mswless.reg to import information to the registry. 3. Register mswless.ocx by typing in the following command in the Windows Run dialog: RegSvr32 C:\Windows\System\mswless.ocx REFERENCES ========== For more information about lightweight controls in Visual Basic, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q184687 : INFO: Lightweight Controls in Visual Basic 6.0 Q184645 : HOWTO: Create Lightweight Controls with Visual Basic 6.0 Additional query words: VB6WLCTL windowless ====================================================================== Keywords : kbfile kbole kbreadme kbsample kbCtrl kbRegistry kbVBp kbVBp600 kbOSWin95 kbOSWin98 kbGrpDSVB kbDSupport kbOSWinME Technology : kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbZNotKeyword6 kbZNotKeyword2 kbVB600Search kbVBA600 kbVB600 Version : :6.0 Issue type : kbhowto ============================================================================= THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY. Copyright Microsoft Corporation 2001.