Re: Replacing MFC dll
On Fri, 2 Jun 2006 09:45:27 -0500, "Eric Margheim"
<NOSPAM***eric@prism-grp.com***NOSPAM> wrote:
I am systematically changing the look of the common GUI controls for my
application. I'm shooting for a more XP look but not completely. I am
making good progress but I'm wondering if there is a better way. Currently
I am having to override the drawing code for each control and am having to
duplicate effort in many places. It'd be nice to put together a
replacement set of controls that are automatically used instead of the
default MFC controls. For example, I need to change the look of the
scrollbar. I'd have to go through all the list type controls that use
scrollbars and update them to make the changes uniform. I'm looking to
flip a switch, so to speak, as Microsoft does in XP when you can toggle
between classic and XP look.
Concerning the "list type controls", you're in luck, or maybe not. The
controls wrapped by CListBox and CListCtrl use system scrollbars, which
aren't real controls; they are part of the non-client area Windows manages
without using controls.
Can I create a MFC replacement DLL? If so, any resources I could read on
this topic.
I would not want to compile my own MFC and have to maintain it. Besides,
this shouldn't be necessary for your purposes except for those controls MFC
draws for itself, which are few. What you're proposing reminds me of what
MS did back in the early 90's to achieve a 3D look for controls that were
ordinarily 2D. MS accomplished this with a DLL called Ctrl3D.dll. I'm not
sure exactly how it worked, but I would think it subclassed (at the Windows
level, not the MFC level) controls and took over their drawing. To do this
transparently, you would have to hook Window creation and subclass the
controls at that time. For dialog boxes, you could simply call your
recursive subclassing function from your OnInitDialog handler.
--
Doug Harrison
Visual C++ MVP