How to change the color of the title bar in c#?

I need to cange the color of the title bar depending on
the state of my application. It seems the only way to do
this is to intercept the WM_NCPAINT message and take
responsiblility for drawing the entire bar - close box,
maximize box, etc.

Isn't there some way I can just tell the OS to change the
color without all this extra work?

Jonny
Mon Aug 04 07:16:22 CDT 2003

Sorry I made a mistake, you should intercept the WM_NCPAINT
not WM_PAINT.

regards,

Jonny

"Jonny" <jonnyyu@pub.xaonline.com> wrote in message
news:OUJXN%23nWDHA.1900@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> hello, Jack,
> You may try set system color to your own when the window is
> activated,and
> restore the original color when you app's window is deactivated. the
example
> code is like this:
>
> [DllImport("user32.dll")]
> private static extern Int32 GetSysColor(Int32 Index);
> [DllImport("user32.dll")]
> private static extern bool SetSysColors(int cElements,Int32[]
> lpaElements,Int32[] lpaRgbValues);
> private const int COLOR_ACTIVECAPTION = 2;
> private int old_color ;
> private static int[] element = new int[]{COLOR_ACTIVECAPTION};
> private static int[] rgb = null;
> private static int[] rgb_old = null;
>
> private void Form1_Activated(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
> {
> if(rgb == null)
> {
> old_color = GetSysColor(COLOR_ACTIVECAPTION);
> rgb = new int[]{Color.White.ToArgb() & 0x00ffffff};
> }
> bool b = SetSysColors(1,element,rgb);
> }
>
> private void Form1_Deactivate(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
> {
> if (rgb_old == null)
> rgb_old = new int[] {old_color};
> bool b = SetSysColors(1,element,rgb_old);
> }
>
> But as you can see, it's not efficient because the system will broadcast
> WM_SYSCOLORCHANGE message and send WM_PAINT to all affected windows, maybe
> it's performance is acceptable when there are only a few top-level
windows.
> You should intercept the WM_PAINT msg and draw the title bar by yourself
if
> you want better performance.
>
> Note WM_NCPAINT only draw the frame of the window, if you want to draw the
> title bar you should intercept the WM_PAINT.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jonny Yu
>
> "Jack Charbonneau" <john@3dweb.com> wrote in message
> news:01c701c35a09$fe3e09f0$a401280a@phx.gbl...
> > I need to cange the color of the title bar depending on
> > the state of my application. It seems the only way to do
> > this is to intercept the WM_NCPAINT message and take
> > responsiblility for drawing the entire bar - close box,
> > maximize box, etc.
> >
> > Isn't there some way I can just tell the OS to change the
> > color without all this extra work?
> >
> >
>
>

Joe
Mon Aug 04 08:03:27 CDT 2003

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but take a look at calling
the FlashWindow API function via P/Invoke.

This won't let you pick any arbitrary color, but if you're trying to
flash the title bar to get the user's attention, FlashWindow is the way
to go.


Jack Charbonneau wrote:
> I need to cange the color of the title bar depending on
> the state of my application. It seems the only way to do
> this is to intercept the WM_NCPAINT message and take
> responsiblility for drawing the entire bar - close box,
> maximize box, etc.
>
> Isn't there some way I can just tell the OS to change the
> color without all this extra work?