The FlashWindow function flashes the specified
window once, whereas the FlashWindowEx function flashes a specified number of
times.
Flashing a window means changing the appearance of its caption bar as if the
window were changing from inactive to active status, or vice versa. (An inactive
caption bar changes to an active caption bar; an active caption bar changes to
an inactive caption bar.)
Typically, a window is flashed to inform the user that the window requires
attention but that it does not currently have the keyboard focus.
The FlashWindow function flashes the window only once; for repeated flashing,
the application should create a system timer.
This API is useful when the application wants to drag the attention of the user
that a particular process is complete.
- Run the code. A small window will open
with one button
- Click the button "Flash".
- The window will start flashing at once.
Irrespective of the other windows this window will flash.
Source Code
API
structure
:
Public Shared
Function <DllImport("user32")> _
FlashWindow(ByVal hwnd As
Integer, _
ByVal bInvert As
Integer) As
Integer
End Function
This API class is imported
by writing the following statement. This makes the code written in the API class
available to the form.
Imports
FlashWindow.API
After a form is shown the button
"Flash" is pressed. This enables the timer.
timer1.Interval = 2000
timer1.Enabled = True
And the following statement thus
calls the API.
Dim iInt
As Integer
'imports flashwindow.api
imports the api class.
iInt = FlashWindow(form1.Handle, 1)
General Description
Typically, you flash a window to inform the user that the window
requires attention but does not currently have the keyboard focus. When a window
flashes, it appears to change from inactive to active status. An inactive
caption bar changes to an active caption bar; an active caption bar changes to
an inactive caption bar.