Logoff Events

A logoff event occurs when a process calls the ExitWindows or ExitWindowsEx function. The logoff event is identified by the window station of the process calling ExitWindowsEx.

When a logoff event occurs, the system notifies all processes in the system as follows:

• All windows of processes in the logon session being logged off receive the WM_QUERYENDSESSION and WM_ENDSESSION messages. All windows on the desktops of the window station being logged off receive these messages, even if the windows belong to processes running in another logon session.
• Every process in the system receives the CTRL_LOGOFF_EVENT control signal. This signal does not indicate which session is being logged off. The system sends this signal after sending the window messages. For more information on control signals, see the SetConsoleCtrlHandler function.

If the process that called ExitWindowsEx is running in the logon session of the interactive user, all processes in the logon session are terminated. If the process calling ExitWindowsEx is in some other logon session, only the notifications are made; no processes are terminated.