Microsoft KB Archive/84129

DbMenu.exe Demonstrates How to Add Menus to Dialog Box

Q84129

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) versions 3.0, 3.1

SUMMARY

DbMenu.exe is a sample in the Microsoft Software Library that demonstrates how to add menus to a dialog box. Placing a menu on a dialog box is not part of the Common User Access (CUA) standard, however, Windows does support it.

This article discusses some requirements that must be observed to use a menu on a dialog box.

MORE INFORMATION

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

DbMenu.exe

For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

Microsoft used the most current virus detection software available on the date of posting to scan this file for viruses. Once posted, the file is housed on secure servers that prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

To properly use a menu on a dialog box, an application must use certain dialog box styles and avoid others. For the user to traverse a dialog box menu using the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys, the dialog box must have both the WS_CAPTION and WS_SYSMENU styles. The WS_SYSMENU style adds a system menu to the dialog box. To enable the user to close the dialog box by choosing Close from the system menu, process the WM_COMMAND message in the dialog box procedure. If wParam is set to IDCANCEL, the user has closed the dialog box in this manner.

The dialog box must not use the DS_MODALFRAME style because the menu is not painted properly when this style is specified. If desired, use the WS_BORDER style to place a thin black border around the dialog box. Do not use the WS_CHILD style in any dialog box. Include the WS_VISIBLE style to ensure that the dialog box is drawn on the screen.

Accelerator keys can be used only on modeless dialog boxes created by one of the CreateDialog* functions. An application processes accelerator keys by calling the TranslateAccelerator() function in its main message loop. Modal dialog boxes have a "private" message loop and the application cannot insert the necessary call to TranslateAccelerator().

An application can simulate a modal dialog box with a modeless dialog box by calling EnableWindow() to disable the application's main window once the dialog box is displayed. The application must call EnableWindow() to enable the main window before destroying the modeless dialog box.

Do not use the following key combinations as accelerators: CTRL+H, CTRL+I, and CTRL+M. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q67293 Some CTRL Accelerator Keys Conflict with Edit Controls

The following code demonstrates the additional function calls needed in the main message loop for an application to process accelerator keys on a modeless dialog box:

Sample Code

  // Accelerators for the main window and dialog are in the same
   // accelerator table
   hAccel = LoadAccelerators(ghInstance, "ACCELTABLE");

   while (GetMessage(&msg, NULL, NULL, NULL))
   {
      // Determine the destination for this message
      hWndAccel = GetActiveWindow();

      if (!(hWndAccel
            && TranslateAccelerator(hWndAccel, hAccel, (LPMSG)&msg)))
      {
         // Note: If the dialog does not exist, ghModelessDlg is 0
         if (!(ghModelessDlg && IsDialogMessage(ghModelessDlg, &msg)))
         {
            TranslateMessage(&msg);
            DispatchMessage(&msg);
         }
      }
   }

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbfile kbsample kb16bitonly kbDlg kbGrpDSUser kbOSWin310 kbOSWin300
Issue type :
Technology : kbAudDeveloper kbWin3xSearch kbSDKSearch kbWinSDKSearch kbWinSDK300 kbWinSDK310