Change Dialog Item Text Colour

[colinr]

Hi All,

I'm trying without success to change the text colour from black to red on certain buttons within a dialog.

I have designed the Dialog using an editor and I am displaying it using the DialogBoxParam function.

All the examples that I have seen seem to generate the DialogBox using the CreateWindowX function which is way beyond by knowledge!!

I understand that it uses WM_PAINT but I have no idea how to use this within my code.

Thanks in advance, Colin.

[dedndave]

you can create a hook for the buttons to change color
i used a CBT hook
let me see if i can find some working code...

well - i have done it before - lol
can't find the code, now

[dedndave]

as i recall, it went something like this...
use a CBT hook to sub-class the button
after that, i seem to recall WM_CTLCOLORSTATIC will change the color

Code Select Expand

WM_CTLCOLORSTATIC:
invoke SetTextColor....
mov eax,hBrush
ret

[colinr]

I wish that I knew what you were talking about  :(

It is simple enough to change the actual text from within a button, however, changing the text colour is another thing! - I've looked at loads of examples and never once managed to get it to work!

Thanks, Colin.

[dedndave]

sorry Colin - i didn't have time to play with it, yesterday
today, i will see if i can make an example
one of the other guys will probably beat me to it - lol

this code is wrong  :'(

Code Select Expand

WM_CTLCOLORSTATIC:
invoke SetTextColor....
mov eax,hBrush
ret
you return the background brush handle for WM_CTLCOLORSTATIC - not the forground

[donkey]

If you just want to change the text color in a button you should be using owner draw buttons, they're pretty simple to use. I put together this example in about 10 minutes, you store the text color in GWL_USERDATA, only single line buttons are supported for the example and it handles disabled buttons. (GoAsm syntax ofcourse and you need my headers to build it, executable is included)

Edgar

[dedndave]

yes - but you don't get the nice UxTheme gradient button   :P

[donkey]

yes - but you don't get the nice UxTheme gradient button   :P

Ah well, can't have everything I suppose, though you can draw pretty much anything you want to the DC while you own it so you can always use the DrawThemeXXXX functions instead.

[dedndave]

i have done it with MessageBox, before - it wasn't that bad
although, changing the color of the message text requires completely different code than the button   :P

[dedndave]

i haven't forgotten you, Colin
still playing with code   :P

[dedndave]

ok - i give up - lol
i thought i had done this before - maybe it was with a custom MessageBox, which is a bit different
other than subclassing the button and wriiting your own paint routine, i can't see how to do it with a non-owner-drawn button
it is easy to do for a static text control   :P

[colinr]

OK, thanks for all your efforts anyway  :bg

I'm just having a look at Windows XP calculator, see if I can work out how MS have done it!

Just out of interest what does hDC have to equal?

[dedndave]

hDC is a handle to the "device context"
normally, it comes from the PAINTSTRUCT after BeginPaint, in response to receiving a WM_PAINT message
(BeginPaint also returns the hDC in EAX)

a lot of good reading...
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd183315%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd162467%28v=VS.85%29.aspx