VB 6 Form loses focus and Inactivity Timer stops - how to fix timer so it doesn't stop?: VB6, VB6 Controls

by: kyodaiPosted on 2009-09-14 at 06:12:33ID: 25325001

A timer itself is independant from the focus, so the problem is probably that you use this dll timer. It is hard to give any general recommendations without knowing that dll timer and your source code. Maybe the supplier of that dll has some help about additional options you can set.

by: CynthiaZCarPosted on 2009-09-14 at 06:24:06ID: 25325079

The timer located in the referenced DLL has been working well until now - when the Form loses focus due to the Single Sign On application. I need a way to make a timer work on this Form even if the form loses focus.

The DLL Timer Purpose: Timer has two main purposes.
' 1. To provide an VB intrinsic timer without the need for one
' tied to a Form.
' 2. To allow for an arbirarily long interval.

by: CynthiaZCarPosted on 2009-09-14 at 06:45:15ID: 25325309

Also, the timer is not in a 3rd party DLL. I have the code for it.

by: danaseamanPosted on 2009-09-14 at 07:02:08ID: 25325500

Any Form or Dialog (ie MsgBox) that is loaded as VbModal will prevent Timers or other events from ocurring until the Form or MsgBox is closed.

Possible solution is to have a Timer on each Form.

by: CynthiaZCarPosted on 2009-09-14 at 07:33:00ID: 25325871

So, danaseaman, help me understand - are you saying that the Single Sign On application could be loading as Modal - which could be causing my application to lose focus, and the timer lose focus (stop) on my app? I can try to use a Timer on the main form of my app - I agree that would be good to try - however, wouldn't that timer also stop when the Single Sign On application came up? I appreciate your help.

by: egl1044Posted on 2009-09-14 at 09:12:55ID: 25326913

GetLastInputInfo() return the idle time but you can access msidle functions via callback still available even on Windows 7.

' Module1.bas
 
Option Explicit
 
Private Const STATE_USER_IDLE_BEGIN As Long = 1
Private Const STATE_USER_IDLE_END As Long = 2
 
Private Declare Function BeginIdleDetection Lib "msidle.dll" Alias "#3" (ByVal pfnCallback As Long, ByVal dwIdleMin As Long, ByVal dwReserved As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function EndIdleDetection Lib "msidle.dll" Alias "#4" (ByVal dwReserved As Long) As Long
 
Public Sub IdleDetectionBegin(ByVal dwMinutes As Long)
 
  ' Begins monitoring inactivity.
  Call BeginIdleDetection(AddressOf IDLECALLBACK, dwMinutes, 0)
  
End Sub
 
Public Sub IdleDetectionEnd()
 
  ' Ends monitoring of inactivity.
  Call EndIdleDetection(0)
  
End Sub
 
Public Function IDLECALLBACK(ByVal dwState As Long) As Long
  
  ' The function that is called when the idle state changes.
  Select Case dwState
  
    Case STATE_USER_IDLE_BEGIN
    
      Debug.Print "IDLE_BEGIN: " & Time
      
    Case STATE_USER_IDLE_END
    
      Debug.Print "IDLE_END: " & Time
      
  End Select
  
End Function
 
 
' Form1.frm
 
Option Explicit
 
Private Sub Form_Load()
  
  ' Register callback.
  Call IdleDetectionBegin(1) ' change to 5 later.
  
End Sub
 
Private Sub Form_QueryUnload(Cancel As Integer, UnloadMode As Integer)
 
  ' Remove callback.
  Call IdleDetectionEnd
  
End Sub

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by: peetmPosted on 2009-09-14 at 10:37:37ID: 25327585

Can you post the 'essence' of the timer code please?

Also: Any modal 'thing' that stops a timer would have to reside in the same thread as the UI - I believe that's not the case here?

by: CynthiaZCarPosted on 2009-09-15 at 07:48:49ID: 25335486

Thanks, eql144, I'll try that today!

peetm - I agree with you - I'll post the code shortly.

Thank you both for your time and help!

by: CynthiaZCarPosted on 2009-11-23 at 07:17:27ID: 25888212

Apologies for taking so long to respond. I would request this question NOT be deleted. The VB 6 form was actually losing focus to Single Sign On application when looking for GetForegroundWindow. It was never finding the handle because it was out of focus. I removed the call to GetForegroundWindow and it works fine now - when just looking for No mousemovement. I will award my points to the guys who assisted me. Thanks.

by: CynthiaZCarPosted on 2009-11-23 at 07:17:33ID: 25888213

Apologies for taking so long to respond. I would request this question NOT be deleted. The VB 6 form was actually losing focus to Single Sign On application when looking for GetForegroundWindow. It was never finding the handle because it was out of focus. I removed the call to GetForegroundWindow and it works fine now - when just looking for No mousemovement. I will award my points to the guys who assisted me. Thanks.

by: CynthiaZCarPosted on 2009-11-23 at 07:19:40ID: 31628338

See my last post as what I did to fix the problem Thanks for all your help.

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VB 6 Form loses focus and Inactivity Timer stops - how to fix timer so it doesn't stop?

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