DOCUMENT:Q35767  06-NOV-1999  [win16sdk]
TITLE   :HOWTO: Obtain an Application's Instance Handle
PRODUCT :Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit
PROD/VER:WINDOWS:3.0,3.1
OPER/SYS:
KEYWORDS:kb16bitonly kbSDKPlatform kbGrpDSUser kbWndw

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The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) versions 3.1, 3.0 
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SUMMARY
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Many Windows API functions require an application's instance handle as a
parameter. This article describes three methods that an application can use to
obtain its instance handle.

MORE INFORMATION
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Depending on the situation, an application might use any of the following three
methods to obtain its instance handle:

1. The hInstance parameter to the WinMain procedure is the application's
   instance handle. The application can save this value in a global variable,
   making it available throughout the application.

2. The lParam parameter of the WM_CREATE message points to a CREATESTRUCT data
   structure, and the hInstance field of this structure is the application's
   instance handle. During the processing of the WM_CREATE message a window
   procedure can save this value in a static variable, as follows:

      hInst = ((LPCREATESTRUCT)lParam)->hInstance;

   This variable would then be available during all subsequent calls to the
   window procedure.

3. Given a window handle for one of its windows, an application can obtain its
   instance handle by calling the GetWindowWord function:

      GetWindowWord(hWnd, GWW_HINSTANCE)

Additional query words:

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Keywords          : kb16bitonly kbSDKPlatform kbGrpDSUser kbWndw 
Technology        : kbAudDeveloper kbWin3xSearch kbSDKSearch kbWinSDKSearch kbWinSDK300 kbWinSDK310
Version           : WINDOWS:3.0,3.1

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