waveOutSetVolume

Syntax

WORD waveOutSetVolume(wDeviceID, dwVolume)

This function sets the volume of a waveform output device.

Parameters

WORD wDeviceID

Identifies the waveform output device.

DWORD dwVolume

Specifies the new volume setting. The low-order word contains the left channel volume setting, and the high-order word contains the right channel setting. A value of 0xFFFF represents full volume, and a value of 0x0000 is silence.

If a device does not support both left and right volume control, the low-order word of dwVolume specifies the volume level, and the high-order word is ignored.

Return Value

Returns zero if the function was successful. Otherwise, it returns an error number. Possible error returns are:

MMSYSERR_INVALHANDLE

Specified device handle is invalid.

MMSYSERR_NOTSUPPORTED

Function isn't supported.

MMSYSERR_NODRIVER

The driver was not installed.

Comments

Not all devices support volume changes. To determine whether the device supports volume control, use the WAVECAPS_VOLUME flag to test the dwSupport field of the WAVEOUTCAPS structure (filled by waveOutGetDevCaps).

To determine whether the device supports volume control on both the left and right channels, use the WAVECAPS_LRVOLUME flag flag to test the dwSupport field of the WAVEOUTCAPS structure (filled by waveOutGetDevCaps).

Most devices don't support the full 16 bits of volume level control and will not use the high-order bits of the requested volume setting. For example, for a device that supports 4 bits of volume control, requested volume level values of 0x4000, 0x4fff, and 0x43be all produce the same physical volume setting, 0x4000. The waveOutGetVolume function returns the full 16-bit setting set with waveOutSetVolume.

Volume settings are interpreted logarithmically. This means the perceived increase in volume is the same when increasing the volume level from 0x5000 to 0x6000 as it is from 0x4000 to 0x5000.

See Also

waveOutGetVolume