How to Set Windows System Colors Using API and Visual Basic
ID: Q82158
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The information in this article applies to:
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Microsoft Visual Basic Standard and Professional Editions for Windows, version 3.0
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Microsoft Visual Basic programming system for Windows, version 1.0
SUMMARY
This article describes how to use the GetSysColor and SetSysColors API
functions to set the system colors for various parts of the display in
Microsoft Windows. This allows you to change the Windows display
programmatically, instead of using the Windows Control Panel.
MORE INFORMATION
Windows maintains an internal array of 19 color values that it uses to
paint the different parts of the Windows display. Changing any of
these values will affect all windows for all applications running
under Windows. Note that the SetSysColors routine only changes the
internal system list. This means that any changes made using
SetSysColors will only be valid for the current Windows session. To
make these changes permanent, you need to change the [COLORS] section
of the Windows initialization file, WIN.INI.
For more information on modifying the Windows initialization file
programmatically, query on the following words in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
GetProfileString and WriteProfileString
To use the GetSysColor and SetSysColors functions within a Visual
Basic for Window application, you must first declare them in the
Declarations section of your Code window.
Declare the Function statement as follows:
Declare Function GetSysColor Lib "User" (ByVal nIndex%) As Long
Declare Sub SetSysColors Lib "User" (ByVal nChanges%,
lpSysColor%,
lpColorValues&)
NOTE: Each Declare statement above must be written on one line.
The parameters are defined as follows:
Parameter Definition
-------------------------------------------------------------
nIndex% Specifies the display element whose color
is to be retrieved. See the list below to
find the index value for the corresponding
display element.
nChanges% Specifies the number of system colors to
be changed.
lpSysColor% Identifies the array of integer indexes
that specify the elements to be changed.
lpColorValues& Identifies the array of long integers that
contain the new RGB color values for each
element to be changed.
The following system color indexes are defined using the predefined
constants found in the WINDOWS.H file supplied with the Microsoft
Windows Software Development Kit (SDK). The corresponding value is
the value placed in the lpSysColor% array.
List of System Color Indexes
Windows.H Definition Value Description
-------------------------------------------------------
COLOR_SCROLLBAR 0 Scroll-bar gray area
COLOR_BACKGROUND 1 Desktop
COLOR_ACTIVECAPTION 2 Active window caption
COLOR_INACTIVECAPTION 3 Inactive window caption
COLOR_MENU 4 Menu background
COLOR_WINDOW 5 Window background
COLOR_WINDOWFRAME 6 Window frame
COLOR_MENUTEXT 7 Text in menus
COLOR_WINDOWTEXT 8 Text in windows
COLOR_CAPTIONTEXT 9 Text in caption, size box,
scroll bar arrow box
COLOR_ACTIVEBORDER 10 Active window border
COLOR_INACTIVEBORDER 11 Inactive window border
COLOR_APPWORKSPACE 12 Background color of multiple
document interface (MDI)
applications
COLOR_HIGHLIGHT 13 Items selected item in a
control
COLOR_HIGHLIGHTTEXT 14 Text of item selected in a
control
COLOR_BTNFACE 15 Face shading on push button
COLOR_BTNSHADOW 16 Edge shading on push button
COLOR_GRAYTEXT 17 Grayed (disabled) text. This
color is set to 0 if the
current display driver does not
support a solid gray color.
COLOR_BTNTEXT 18 Text on push buttons
The following is an example of how to set the system colors for
different parts of the Windows display:
- Start Visual Basic for Windows, or from the File menu, choose New
Project (press ALT, F, N) if Visual Basic for Windows is already
running. Form1 is created by default.
- Create the following controls for Form1:
Control Name Property Setting
------------------------------------------------------------
Command button Command1 Caption = "Change all Colors"
Command button Command2 Caption = "Change selected Colors"
(In Visual Basic version 1.0 for Windows, set the CtlName
Property for the above objects instead of the Name property.)
- Add the following code to the general Declarations section of Form1:
Declare Function GetSysColor Lib "User" (ByVal nIndex%) As Long
' Enter the following Declare statement as one, single line:
Declare Sub SetSysColors Lib "User" (ByVal nChanges%, lpSysColor%,
lpColorValues&)
Const COLOR_BACKGROUND = 1
Const COLOR_ACTIVECAPTION = 2
Const COLOR_WINDOWFRAME = 6
Dim SavedColors(18) As Long
- Add the following code to the Form_Load event procedure of Form1:
Sub Form_Load ()
' Save current system colors:
For i% = 0 To 18
SavedColors(i%) = GetSysColor(i%)
Next i%
End Sub
- Add the following code to the Form_Unload event procedure of Form1:
Sub Form1_Unload ()
' Restore system colors:
ReDim IndexArray(18) As Integer
For i% = 0 To 18
IndexArray(i%) = i%
Next i%
SetSysColors 19, IndexArray(0), SavedColors(0)
End Sub
- Add the following code to the Command1_Click event procedure of Form1:
Sub Command1_Click ()
' Change all display elements:
ReDim NewColors(18) As Long
ReDim IndexArray(18) As Integer
For i% = 0 to 18
NewColors(i%) = QBColor(Int(16 * Rnd))
IndexArray(i%) = i%
Next i%
SetSysColors 19, IndexArray(0), NewColors(0)
End Sub
- Add the following code to the Command2_Click event procedure of Form1:
Sub Command2_Click ()
' Change desktop, window frames, and active caption:
ReDim NewColors(18) As Long
ReDim IndexArray(18) As Integer
For i% = 0 to 18
NewColors(i%) = QBColor(Int(16 * Rnd))
IndexArray(i%) = i%
Next i%
SetSysColors 19, IndexArray(0), NewColors(0)
End Sub
- From the Run menu, choose Start, or press the F5 key, to run the
program.
Choosing the Change All Colors button will cause all the different parts of
the Windows display to be assigned a randomly generated color. Choosing the
Change Selected Elements button will cause only the desktop, active window
caption, and window frames to be assigned a random color. To restore the
original system colors, double-click the Control-menu box to end the
application.
Additional query words:
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