Color Picker for WTL with XP themes

• Download source files - 18 Kb
• Download demo project - 49 Kb

Introduction

Using the Color Picker Button by James White who in turn based his work on Office 97 Colour Picker Control by Chris Maunder, I have created an updated color picker control based on the Office XP designed intended for use with WTL.

Among the list of changes are:

1. Modified for use with WTL.
2. Update style to more closely resemble the Office XP color picker.
3. Optional support for XP themes.
4. Control uses WM_NOTIFY instead of WM_COMMAND.
5. Finally got rid of that damn annoying dialog bar focus problem by using a captive message loop to process the picker.
6. The code is really phat now.  I mean really phat.

NOTE: VS.NET/ATL7/WTL7 are required to get the full functionality of this control.  It is untested with ATL3/WTL3 but since the theme support if optional, there is a good chance it could work.

Adding CColorButton to a WTL application.

1. The first step is to copy CColorButton.h and CColorButton.cpp into you application directory.
2. Next, add the two files into your project.
3. Many little features will not be enabled unless you have WINVER and _WIN32_WINNT defined properly. You can defined these values in your stdafx.h. 
4. If you want XP theme support, add "#include <atltheme.h>" to your stdafx.h file. This should be placed after all the other ATL includes.
5. CColorButton makes heavy use of helper types from ATL. You will need to make sure that "atltypes.h" and "atlgdi.h" are being included in stdafx.h.
6. Add a button to the dialog in question using the resource editor.  You don't have to make and style adjustments to the button.
7. Edit the class definition for the dialog box. To the message map, add "REFLECT_NOTIFICATIONS ()".
8. Add "#include "ColorButton.h"" prior to the definition of the dialog box class.
9. Add a new member variable to the dialog. The class will be "CColorButton" and give it any name you desire. 
10. Inside your OnInitDialog for the dialog, add a line to subclass the control. It is important that is it subclassed and not just assigned a window handle.

Here is an example of how to properly subclass the control.

LRESULT CMainDlg::OnInitDialog(UINT /*uMsg*/, WPARAM /*wParam*/, 
                               LPARAM /*lParam*/, BOOL& /*bHandled*/)
{
	// center the dialog on the screen

	CenterWindow();

	m_btnMyColor1 .SubclassWindow (GetDlgItem (IDC_COLOR_1));
	m_btnMyColor2 .SubclassWindow (GetDlgItem (IDC_COLOR_2));
	m_btnMyColor3 .SubclassWindow (GetDlgItem (IDC_COLOR_3));

	m_btnMyColor2 .SetDefaultText (_T (""));
	m_btnMyColor2 .SetCustomText (_T (""));
	m_btnMyColor3 .SetDefaultText (_T ("My Default Text"));
	m_btnMyColor3 .SetCustomText (_T (""));
	return TRUE;
}

Here is a list of the different features enabled by defines.

Define	Value	Features Enabled
_WIN32_WINNT	0x0501	Theme support
		XP flat menu support
		XP drop shadow support
WINVER	0x0500	Multi-monitor support
		XP menu highlight color support
WINVER	0x0501	XP menu highlight color support

For most applications, both _WIN32_WINNT and WINVER should be defined to be 0x0501.  The CColorButton control will automatically downgrade if the operating system doesn't provide the functionality enabled by _WIN32_WINNT and WINVER.

How the Color Picker handles Colors

The color picker supports three types of colors, default, custom and palette.  The palette colors are the colors shown to the user as an array of little tiles of color.  The default color is shown to the user as a large button on the top of the picker with text supplied by the application.  The default for this text is "Automatic".  The custom color is shown to the user as a large button on the bottom of the picker with text supplied by the application.  The default for this text is "Custom...".

The nice thing about the way Chris originally implemented the color picker is that 99% of this is totally transparent to the application developer.  When the application interacts with the color picker, all it needs to be concerned about is the currently selected color.  This color is a standard COLORREF and can be easily set using the RGB (red, green, blue) macro.  When an application needs to set the color picker to a specific value, just pass the COLORREF value into the SetColor method.  When it needs to retrieve the current color, just invoke the GetColor method.  

Well, except for handling the default color.

Working With the Default Color

The default color is handled using a special COLORREF value of CLR_DEFAULT.  When this value is passed to the SetColor method, the color button recognizes it as a specialized value.  When the actual picker is displayed, the default selection will be highlighted.  However, when the default color is set, the color button must know what color to display in the button. This color can be set by using the SetDefaultColor method.  If this value isn't set, then the color button will display the default color for application workspace backgrounds.

When the user selects the default color in the color picker, the GetColor method will return CLR_DEFAULT. This allows the application to tell the difference between the default color being selected and a color from the palette being selected that matches in RGB value to the actual default color.

Working With the Custom Colors

Custom colors are totally transparent to the application developer.  No special programming is needed.

The CColorButton public member functions

// Return the currently selected color


COLORREF GetColor (void) const;

// Set the current color


void SetColor (COLORREF clrCurrent);

// Get the default color


COLORREF GetDefaultColor (void) const;

// Set the default color.  This value should be a real color value

// and not CLR_DEFAULT.


void SetDefaultColor (COLORREF clrDefault);

// Set the custom text.  Specify _T ("") to disable the custom 

// text button.


void SetCustomText (LPCTSTR pszText);

// Set the custom text via a resource string.  Specify a 0 to

// disable the custom text button.


void SetCustomText (UINT nID);

// Set the default text.  Specify _T ("") to disable the default 

// text button.


void SetDefaultText (LPCTSTR pszText);

// Set the default text via a resource string.  Specify a 0 to

// disable the default text buttom.


void SetDefaultText (UINT nID);

// Get the tracking flag


BOOL GetTrackSelection (void) const;

// Set the tracking flag.  When enabled, the application will be

// sent color change notifications as the user tracks around the

// picker.


void SetTrackSelection (BOOL fTrack);

// Set both strings from a resource


void SetText (UINT nDefault, UINT nCustom);

// Do we have custom text


BOOL HasCustomText () const;

// Do we have default text


BOOL HasDefaultText () const;

Handling Notifications

Notifications are sent using the standard WM_NOTIFY message.  

#define CPN_SELCHANGE        0x8000	/* Colour Picker Selection change */
#define CPN_DROPDOWN         0x8001	/* Colour Picker drop down */
#define CPN_CLOSEUP          0x8002	/* Colour Picker close up */
#define CPN_SELENDOK         0x8003	/* Colour Picker end OK */
#define CPN_SELENDCANCEL     0x8004	/* Colour Picker end (cancelled) */

struct NMCOLORBUTTON
{
	NMHDR	hdr;
	BOOL	fColorValid;
	COLORREF	clr;
};

CPN_SELCHANGE is sent to the parent window after the user changes the current selection.  It is also sent as the user tracks over different buttons in the picker window.  If the user cancels the picker while tracking, CPN_SELCHANGE will be sent to the parent window when the color is restored back to the selected color prior to the picker being displayed.  When CPN_SELCHANGE is sent as part of tracking, the fColorValid element of the notification structure is set to true if the user is tracking over a valid color selection.  When false, the user has moved the mouse outside of the picker window.

CPN_DROPDOWN is sent to the parent window prior to the picker window being displayed.

CPN_CLOSEUP is sent to the parent window after the picker window has been closed.

CPN_SELENDOK is sent to the parent window after the picker window has been closed with a valid selection and not canceled.

CPN_SELENDCANCEL is sent to the parent window after the picker window has been closed but canceled by the user.

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Not friendly to ComboBox JJ@BC 15:42 18 Apr '05   This is really cool, and it helped me so much. Thank you Tim! There is just one thing weird: it doesn't work well with ComboBoxes. I put this control on a frame window (not a dialog), which is a CFrameWindowImpl object. As well, there are 2 comboboxes (with CBS_DROPDOWNLIST style, but without owner-drawn) and other controls on the frame window. When the combobox's list is shown, the background color of the items is black, which is supposed to be white. The interesting thing is, if I remove the REFLECT_NOTIFICATIONS macro from the frame window's message map, the comboboxes have right appearence; but of course, the color picker button is not drawn at all. Does any body have same experience? Tim, do you have any idea? Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink 5.00/5 (1 vote) Looks very good Kefirius 12:23 12 Nov '04   Great work and thanks for such cool control! Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Greate and one question bektek 22:52 31 Oct '04   At first, thanks for the great class.. I'm wondering why you write this kind of code.. m_clrLoLight = RGB ( (GetRValue (m_clrBackground) * (255 - nAlpha) + GetRValue (m_clrHiLightBorder) * nAlpha) >> 8, (GetGValue (m_clrBackground) * (255 - nAlpha) + GetGValue (m_clrHiLightBorder) * nAlpha) >> 8, (GetBValue (m_clrBackground) * (255 - nAlpha) + GetBValue (m_clrHiLightBorder) * nAlpha) >> 8); How did you get the idea about that kind of code? Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Greate and one question Tim Smith 4:05 1 Nov '04   That specific code is from earlier versions of the control. However, it is just standard alpha blending. Tim Smith I'm going to patent thought. I have yet to see any prior art. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Greate and one question bektek 6:50 1 Nov '04   Alpha blending.... I didn't know that.. Thank you very much Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Great! And a suggestion Michael Dunn 17:49 3 Sep '04   Great class, it worked like a charm for me on VC 6. One downside is that I get fifty of these warnings: LINK : warning LNK4199: /DELAYLOAD:uxtheme.dll ignored; no imports found from uxtheme.dll which is odd since the color button code definitely calls the theme APIs. uxtheme.dll is properly delay-loaded, even with those errors, so I guess in the end it's harmless. This is just a nitpick, but you could make things a bit more "WTL-ish" by combining the two SetCustomText() and SetDefaultText() methods into one each with _U_STRINGorID. Something like: void SetDefaultText ( _U_STRINGorID szText = 0UL ) { CString str = szText.m_lpstr; // Now str holds the passed in text, whether it was a C-style string // or a resource ID ... } --Mike-- Personal stuff:: Ericahist | Homepage Shareware stuff:: 1ClickPicGrabber | RightClick-Encrypt CP stuff:: CP SearchBar v2.0.2 | C++ Forum FAQ ---- Actual sign at the laundromat I go to: "No tinting or dying." Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink 5.00/5 (1 vote) ColorPicker within ATL DLL? balbi21 8:54 10 Aug '04   Hi, is it possible to use the Color Picker Class in a ATLDialog generated within an ATL DLL (with ATL Simple Object)... There I don't have a _Module-Struct... can I use the hInstance or the _AtlModule-Struct for this? Thanks, Bjoern M. Albrecht Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: ColorPicker within ATL DLL? Tim Smith 16:08 10 Aug '04   I think the _AtlModule is the new stuff. The colorpicker was written for the older style _Module from WTL. Either way it should work. Tim Smith I'm going to patent thought. I have yet to see any prior art. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Question Jörgen Sigvardsson 4:58 3 Aug '04   Is there any particular reason why GetColor() returns CLR_DEFAULT (not an RGB value) instead of the default color value? As a client of the color picker, it's more interesting what the color value is, as I've already "explained" to the color picker what default is. COLORREF GetColor (void) const { return (m_clrCurrent == CLR_DEFAULT ? m_clrDefault : m_clrCurrent); } does just what I want. -- Denn du bist, was du isst! Und ihr wisst, was es ist! Es ist mein Teil...? Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Question Tim Smith 5:21 3 Aug '04   Because you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the user selecting DEFAULT and selecting the default color. One is a fixed color value which happens to be the default and the other is the user saying "I don't care what the color is, default is fine." They are two totally different things. When saving user settings, you need to know if the user specified a specific color or the default color. Tim Smith I'm going to patent thought. I have yet to see any prior art. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Sweet! Jörgen Sigvardsson 1:53 3 Aug '04   Just what I was looking for, and it works perfectly. Excellent work Mr Smith! -- Denn du bist, was du isst! Und ihr wisst, was es ist! Es ist mein Teil...? Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Sweet! Tim Smith 5:22 3 Aug '04   Thanks, but this is just a variant on Chris' color picker for WTL. Tim Smith I'm going to patent thought. I have yet to see any prior art. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Hook to toolbar button peter@howudodat.com 6:43 13 May '04   How would you go about hooking this to a toolbar button? Peter Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Hook to toolbar button Tim Smith 9:41 13 May '04   Look at the picker routine. Tim Smith I'm going to patent thought. I have yet to see any prior art. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Can I open this project with VC++ v6? Angus Comber 7:40 13 May '03   Hello I can't seem to open your project using VC++ v6. I see a .sln file but if I try to open this I get a message: The selected file is not a valid Visual Studio solution file. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink 1.00/5 (1 vote) Re: Can I open this project with VC++ v6? Tim Smith 8:24 13 May '03   SLN files are V7 solution files. There isn't a V6 file. Tim Smith I'm going to patent thought. I have yet to see any prior art. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Can I open this project with VC++ v6? Anonymous 5:12 8 Oct '05   Look for PRJCONVERTER tool in codeproject. This tool makes conversion from VS.Net to VC6. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Doesn't work on non-XP systems (fix provded) Nebula__ 12:50 2 May '03   Hi, not sure if you're aware of this, but I've found a small bug that causes the control to fail on Win2k and below. You gotta change this: #if !defined (COLORBUTTON_NOTHEMES) OpenThemeData (L"Button"); #endif to this: #if !defined (COLORBUTTON_NOTHEMES) if(IsThemingSupported()) { OpenThemeData (L"Button"); } #endif in CColorButton::SubclassWindow. Otherwise the app will try to load uxtheme.dll on non-XP systems. Really great control, keep up the good work Kind regards, Daan Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Nope, not a problem, no fix required Tim Smith 13:42 2 May '03   If you look at the source code for OpenThemeData, the first thing it does is call IsThemingSupported. Tim Smith I'm going to patent thought. I have yet to see any prior art. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Nope, not a problem, no fix required Nebula__ 13:57 2 May '03   You're right. Still, the sample app (the exe given in the demo) doesn't work under Win2k (well my Win2k anyway) stating a missing uxtheme.dll and my suggestion fixed it somehow. I'm looking into it... Daan. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Okay :-) It was the demo app exe or something Nebula__ 14:09 2 May '03   Just recompiling (with VC6, I don't have VS.NET) seems to make the problem go away. Daan. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Nope, not a problem, no fix required Tim Smith 2:56 3 May '03   Ok, now that is a bug. I guess I forgot to make it a delay loaded DLL. Strange... Tim Smith I'm going to patent thought. I have yet to see any prior art. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Realy great, but one minor issue Dr. Bonne 0:50 11 Aug '02   First of all; this is realy a great piece of work. Thxalot! But I think I have found one minor issue. If you select the default color and then call GetColor() it returns RGB(0,0,0) and not the default color previously set by SetDefaultColor. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Realy great, but one minor issue Tim Smith 4:01 12 Aug '02   Read the section in the article about handling CLR_DEFAULT. The value being returned is 0xFF000000 which looks a lot like RGB (0,0,0) but isn't. Tim Smith "Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we can not avoid it... If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs, is also complicated, the language itself becomes part of the problem rather that part of the solution." Hoare - 1980 ACM Turing Award Lecture Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Really nice! rpr 12:45 31 Jul '02   I was trying to find a way to convert a drop-down menu button in WTL with XP theme support, and there was your article which goes way beyond what I was trying to do -- thus it made a nice template to work from. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink 2.00/5 (1 vote)

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