Windows

Changing windows' opacity

• Demonstration
• Functionality:
  • Create 48 (8 columns x 6 rows) windows covering (as tiling) the work area of the screen (see the demonstration application).
    • Size of windows depends on the size of the work area of the screen in the moment of running the application.
  • Features of windows:
    • No caption bar.
    • No border.
    • The background filled with the color of the active window caption's bar.
    • Only one window visible on the task bar and in the task switch window (Alt+Tab).
    • Full opacity of all windows at the beginning of the application.
  • 4 times per second the current position of the mouse cursor is checked and if the cursor is over a window, the window decreases its opacity (i.e. it becomes more transparent) by 12.5% of the full range of opacity's values.
• Hints:
  • RECT rc;
    SystemParametersInfo(SPI_GETWORKAREA, 0, &rc, 0);
  • WS_EX_LAYERED, SetLayeredWindowAttributes(), GetLayeredWindowAttributes()
    • for the GetLayeredWindowAttributes function, the _WIN32_WINNT value must be defined as 0x0501 or higher value (see the stdafx.h file) - this function is available for Windows XP and newer versions of Windows
  • SetTimer(), WM_TIMER
  • POINT pt;
    GetCursorPos(&pt);

• Approximate points:
  • 48 windows: 1.0
  • windows arrangment: 1.5
  • features of windows: 2.5
  • changing opacity of windows: 5.0

• Links for uploading:
  • Solutions
  • Corrections