Making a non .NET window a parent of a .NET one.

[Colin Jack]

Hi,

I am working on a project where by a .NET framework DLL links into a non
..NET application and adds functionality to it. Part of the functionality we
are adding is displayed through a .NET form.

The problem I am having is that I cannot find a way to make my .NET form a
child window of the main application. I have tried using APIs such as:

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern long SetParent(long hWndChild, long hWndNewParent);

However this API, and some of the others, dont seem to work even if you are
just dealing with two .NET forms.

Anyway I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction as
I'm sure there must be a way to do it ?

Thanks,

Colin

[Mattias Sjögren]

Colin,

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern long SetParent(long hWndChild, long hWndNewParent);

However this API, and some of the others, dont seem to work even if you are
just dealing with two .NET forms.

Try it like this instead.

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern IntPtr SetParent(IntPtr hWndChild, IntPtr
hWndNewParent);

Mattias

--
Mattias Sjögren [MVP] mattias @ mvps.org
http://www.msjogren.net/dotnet/
Please reply only to the newsgroup.

[jorich]

After much searching I have amalgamated several posts from different sites into this set of routines as there was no one place that gave all the information

In order to get a .NET form to use any other application as its parent you can do the following in vb (Replace Application by the name of your parent APP as it appears in the task list)

In general Declarations:

Imports System.diagnostics

In the form Declarations:

Declare Auto Function SetParent Lib "user32" (ByVal hWndChild As IntPtr, ByVal hWndNewParent As IntPtr) As IntPtr

In the form load event:

Dim procs() As Process
        procs = Process.GetProcessesByName("Application Name")
        If (procs.Length <> 0) Then
            For i As Integer = 0 To procs.Length - 1
                Dim ParentApp As New WindowWrapper(procs(i).MainWindowHandle)
                SetParent(Me.Handle, ParentApp.Handle)
            Next
        End If

Create a new class as:

Public Class WindowWrapper
    Implements System.Windows.Forms.IWin32Window
    Private _hwnd As IntPtr
 
    Public Sub New(ByVal handle As IntPtr)
        _hwnd = handle
    End Sub
 
    Public ReadOnly Property Handle() As System.IntPtr Implements System.Windows.Forms.IWin32Window.Handle
        Get
            Return _hwnd
        End Get
    End Property
 
    End Class