GetWindowText

This function copies the text of the specified window’s title bar—if it has one—into a buffer. If the specified window is a control, the text of the control is copied. A remote application interface (RAPI) version of this function exists, and it is called CeGetWindowText.

At a Glance

Header file: Winuser.h
Windows CE versions: 1.0 and later

Syntax

int GetWindowText( HWND hWnd, LPTSTR lpString, int nMaxCount);

Parameters

hWnd

Handle to the window or control containing the text.

lpString

Long pointer to the buffer that will receive the text.

nMaxCount

Specifies the maximum number of characters to copy to the buffer, including the NULL character. If the text exceeds this limit, it is truncated.

Return Values

The length, in characters, of the copied string, not including the terminating null character, indicates success. Zero indicates that the window has no title bar or text, if the title bar is empty, or if the window or control handle is invalid. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.

This function cannot retrieve the text of an edit control in another application.

Remarks

When working with RAPI for Windows CE versions 1.0 and 1.01, use the PegGetWindowText function.

If the target window is owned by the current process, GetWindowText causes a WM_GETTEXT message to be sent to the specified window or control. If the target window is owned by another process and has a caption, GetWindowText retrieves the window caption text. If the window does not have a caption, the return value is a null string.

See Also

GetWindowTextLength, SetWindowText, WM_GETTEXT