Question

Drawing custom form using Layered windows in MFC

Asked by: exprotein

I need to create a MFC dialog application, the dialog used a PNG for background, the borders of the image have shadows, so I need to blend it with the background screen. So far, I've successful to create a dialog using that PNG image as background by UpdateLayeredWindows. The problem is I need to draw some texts and image buttons on the dialog. I'm trying to create my own button class by extending CButton as CImageButton, and drawing my own image on the button. But I'm still not success. What I'm trying to do is using UpdateLayeredWindows in my CImageButton class whenever an image for button is set.

below is how I use UpdateLayeredWindows (I read about it in CodeProject)

Because I use PNG, so I use CImage to load it, and convert it to CBitmap.

Any advice is welcome.

    CBitmap * bmp = CBitmap::FromHandle(m_bgImage);
 
    BITMAP bmpInfo;
    bmp->GetBitmap(&bmpInfo);
 
    ::PreMultiplyRGBChannels(*bmp, (LPBYTE)bmpInfo.bmBits);
    ModifyStyleEx(0, WS_EX_LAYERED);
 
    CDC dcMemory;
    CDC dcScreen;
    dcScreen.Attach(::GetDC(NULL));
    dcMemory.CreateCompatibleDC(&dcScreen);
    
    //m_bgImage.AlphaBlend(GetDC()->GetSafeHdc(), 0, 0);
 
    CBitmap *pOldBitmap= dcMemory.SelectObject(bmp);
 
    // get the window rectangular (we are only interested in the top left position)
    CRect rectDlg;
    GetWindowRect(rectDlg);
 
    // calculate the new window position/size based on the bitmap size
    CPoint ptWindowScreenPosition(rectDlg.TopLeft());
    //CSize szWindow(bmpInfo.bmWidth, bmpInfo.bmHeight);
    CSize szWindow(bmpInfo.bmWidth, bmpInfo.bmHeight);
 
    // Perform the alpha blend
 
    // setup the blend function
    BLENDFUNCTION blendPixelFunction= { AC_SRC_OVER, 0, PATCHER_DIALOG_CONSTANT_ALPHA, AC_SRC_ALPHA };
    CPoint ptSrc(0,0); // start point of the copy from dcMemory to dcScreen
 
    // perform the alpha blend
    BOOL bRet = UpdateLayeredWindow(&dcScreen, &ptWindowScreenPosition, &szWindow, &dcMemory,
        &ptSrc, 0, &blendPixelFunction, ULW_ALPHA);
    //::UpdateLayeredWindow(wnd, dcScreen, &ptWindowScreenPosition, &szWindow, dcMemory,
    //    &ptSrc, 0, &blendPixelFunction, ULW_ALPHA);
 
    ASSERT(bRet); // ops... something bad just occured....
 
    // clean up
    dcMemory.SelectObject(pOldBitmap);
                                  
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Asked On
2009-02-02 at 19:15:29ID24106964
Tags

C++

,

MFC

,

Visual Studio 2005

Topics

C / C++ / C# Editors and IDEs

,

Windows MFC Programming

,

C++ Programming Language

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Answers

 

by: itsmeandnobodyelsePosted on 2009-02-03 at 06:13:28ID: 23537226

Where did you do the painting? If I remember rightly you have to put it into the YourDialog::OnPaint() so that your drawings are not overwritten by the normal refresh.

For the buttons, you need to make owner drawn buttons and provide the DrawItem callback handler. You also need a member of the button (CButton) in your dialog and change the CButton with your CImageButton in the class header. That way the button was sub-classed and can receive messages via message map.

 

by: Gideon7Posted on 2009-02-03 at 11:48:59ID: 23541334

Putting a pleasing bitmap (or a GradientFill wipe) in a dialog's background is a common request (should be in the FAQ).  The bottom line is that there is no way to do this reliably using composition tricks, screen scraping, or layers.  The problem is that controls like to scribble on their backgrounds willy-nilly and there is just no reliable way to handle all scenarios and all types of controls (with XP themes, without XP themes, with Aero, without Aero, with driver/desktop bitmaps, without dk bitmaps, etc).

The only reliable method  I know of is to handle WM_CTLCOLORxxx messages (MFC WM_ON_CTLCOLOR).  In your handler return the background brush.  The trick is to observe that a brush is no longer limited to 8x8 pixels; in Windows 2000 or later it can be as large as memory allows.  Use CreatePatternBrush to convert your bitmap into a brush and pass it via WM_CTLCOLORxxx.  As a bonus you get free tiling if the dialog is resized for large DPI (same as a web page using <BODY BACKGROUND="MyBItmap.gif">).

The second trick is to align the brush so that the origin (0,0) of the brush on the dialog is correctly offset for the position of the control in the client area.  Adjust the brush origin using SetBrushOrg.  This is an attribute of the DC (not of the brush), so apply it in your WM_CTLCOLORxxx handler. As a bonus this auto-adjusts the background if the control(s) are moved or resized.

The result is that all of the backgrounds of the controls overlay the main dialog bitmap in the spots and the whole thing looks like a beautiful background bitmap.

You still have to handle some edge cases.  Notably you need to call pDc->SetBkMode(TRANSPARENT) for some flavors of static controls  in your WM_CTLCOLORSTATIC handler so that their control's DrawText calls don't spew COLOR_BTNFACE all over your nice bitmap.

I've asked around about this a lot, and tried a lot of techniques and hacks (some pretty nasty), but all of my attempts failed except the one I just described.

Good luck!

 

by: Gideon7Posted on 2009-02-03 at 12:06:52ID: 23541546

As far as feathering with the desktop bitmap goes, there aint no way.  Unless you use Aero Glass DWM composition (and even that took new display drivers and a score of MS programmers to accomplish).  For a HOWTO on Aero Glass composition see, for example, http://www.codeproject.com/vista/VGGlassIntro.asp

 

by: exproteinPosted on 2009-02-03 at 20:00:19ID: 23544871

Thanks for your advices

@itsmeandnobodyelse: I call UpdateLayeredWindow only once in a helper function, which is called in OnInitDialog to set the dialog's background with a PNG. m_bgImage is a global variable type of CImage.

@Gideon7: I'll try the approach you suggest, thank you.

Currently, I'm trying to create my own button class, says CImageButton derived from CButton. The problem is, when I put my button on the layered dialog, no windows messages (WM_xxx)  are posted to my button (I'm not sure whether all the windows messages, or just the painting messages, I read about layered window and painting message in MSDN), but if I put the button on a normal dialog, the messages are posted to the button normally.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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