Use a Background Application to Perform Mouse Operations in a Foreground Application

the easiest way to get all the systems mouse button Downs and Ups and ... is with the Journal hook.  This code uses a Form with 2 buttons on it, one button starts the journal hook and the other button stops it. There is One List box which will show all the mouse ups and downs and their screen coordinates.
There is also one TApplicationEvents to get the OnMessage event, so you can restart the hook if there's a WM_CANCELJOURNAL message.


unit MouseButton;

interface

uses
 Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms, Dialogs,
 StdCtrls, AppEvnts;

type
 TForm1 = class(TForm)
   Button_StartJour: TButton;
   Button_StopJour: TButton;
   ListBox1: TListBox;
   ApplicationEvents1: TApplicationEvents;
   procedure Button_StartJourClick(Sender: TObject);
   procedure Button_StopJourClick(Sender: TObject);
   procedure ApplicationEvents1Message(var Msg: tagMSG;
     var Handled: Boolean);
   procedure FormClose(Sender: TObject; var Action: TCloseAction);
 private
   { Private declarations }
 public
   { Public declarations }
 end;

var
 Form1: TForm1;
 JHook: THandle;
 Track: Boolean;

implementation

{$R *.DFM}

function JournalProc(Code, wParam: Integer; var EventStrut: TEVENTMSG): Integer; stdcall;
var
Char1: PChar;
begin
{this is the JournalRecordProc}
Result := CallNextHookEx(JHook, Code, wParam, Longint(@EventStrut));
{the CallNextHookEX is not really needed for journal hook since it it not
really in a hook chain, but it's standard for a Hook}
if Code < 0 then Exit;

{you should cancel operation if you get HC_SYSMODALON}
if Code = HC_SYSMODALON then Exit;
if Code = HC_ACTION then
 begin
{the EventStrut record has the Information about the mouse or keyboard
event. You said you just wanted the mouse button events so I get the
mouse down and mouse up event messages}
   if EventStrut.message = WM_LBUTTONUP then
   Form1.ListBox1.Items.Add('Left Mouse UP at X pos '+IntToStr(EventStrut.paramL)
                            +' and Y pos '+IntToStr(EventStrut.paramH));
   if EventStrut.message = WM_LBUTTONDOWN then
   Form1.ListBox1.Items.Add('Left Mouse Down at X pos '+IntToStr(EventStrut.paramL)
                            +' and Y pos '+IntToStr(EventStrut.paramH));
   if EventStrut.message = WM_RBUTTONDOWN then
   Form1.ListBox1.Items.Add('Right Mouse Down at X pos '+IntToStr(EventStrut.paramL)
                            +' and Y pos '+IntToStr(EventStrut.paramH));
   if (EventStrut.message = WM_RBUTTONUP) then
   Form1.ListBox1.Items.Add('Right Mouse Up at X pos '+IntToStr(EventStrut.paramL)
                            +' and Y pos '+IntToStr(EventStrut.paramH));
 end;
end;

procedure TForm1.Button_StartJourClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
if Track then
 begin
 ShowMessage('Mouse is already being Journaled, can not restart');
 Exit;
 end;

JHook := SetWindowsHookEx(WH_JOURNALRECORD , @JournalProc, 0, 0);
{SetWindowsHookEx starts the Hook}
if JHook > 0 then
 begin
 Track := True;
 end else
 ShowMessage('No Journal Hook availible');
end;

procedure TForm1.Button_StopJourClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Track := False;
UnhookWindowsHookEx(JHook);
JHook := 0;
end;

procedure TForm1.ApplicationEvents1Message(var Msg: tagMSG;
 var Handled: Boolean);
begin
{the journal hook is automaticly camceled if the Task manager
(Ctrl-Alt-Del) or the Ctrl-Esc keys are pressed, you restart it
when the WM_CANCELJOURNAL is sent to the parent window, Application}
Handled := False;
if (Msg.message = WM_CANCELJOURNAL) and Track then
 JHook := SetWindowsHookEx(WH_JOURNALRECORD , @JournalProc, 0, 0);
end;

procedure TForm1.FormClose(Sender: TObject; var Action: TCloseAction);
begin
{make sure you UN hook it if the app closes}
UnhookWindowsHookEx(JHook);
end;

end.



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Hope you can use it, ask questions if you need more.

I want my background program to position the mouse over specific targets
on the screen and click or double click to cause the foreground program
(on the screen) to react just as though I had manually positioned the mouse
and clicked it myself.  Collecting data on mouse activity from the journal
is not of use to me in what I'm trying to do.  

hello  RalphSCoffin, , what would be of use to you? ? ?  I am not sure what to do to help you? If you already know the positions of the controls you need to click , then just use the  mouse_event( ) function to "CLICK" that control, the mouse_event( ) function can do a "CLICK" (mouse down ans mouse Up) at any position , so you will need to know the postion of the control. I can not see any reason to position the cursor over the control, the postion of the cursor has nothing, that I know of, ,  to do with the programatic mouse down and mouse up  mouse_event( ) funtion. . . .  if you know the window's system handle for the controls, then you can also send them system messageses for the "CLICK" events. . . so you might say what you can do or have knowledge about the "Foreground"  app.
the jounaling hook is an excelent way to record and then PLAYBACK a series of mouse or keyboard events, although  AmirAzhdari  did not show how to store and PLAYBACK the recorded journaling. . .