AnimatedWindow

Opening and Closing Windows with Animation

The AnimateWindow function allows four types of special effects when showing or hiding windows: roll, slide, expand, and fade. The call is made to #user32, passing the handle of the window (handle), the duration of animation in milliseconds (dwTime), and the desired effects (dwFlags).

Function AnimateWindow(handle, dwTime, dwFlags)
    CallDLL #user32, "AnimateWindow", _
        handle as uLong, _
        dwTime as Long, _
        dwFlags as Long, _
        result as Boolean
End Function

The functions returns a zero if the function fails, or a non-zero if the function is successful.

Specifying the Animation Types

AW_SLIDE Uses slide animation, the default is AW_ROLL
AW_HOR_POSITIVE Animates the window from left to right, used with AW_SLIDE, or the default AW_ROLL
AW_HOR_NEGATIVE Animates the window from right to left, used with AW_SLIDE, or the default AW_ROLL
AW_VER_POSITIVE Animates the window from top to bottom, used with AW_SLIDE, or the default AW_ROLL
AW_VER_NEGATIVE Animates the window from bottom to top, used with AW_SLIDE, or the default AW_ROLL
AW_CENTER Expands the window from centerpoint outward when opening, negates any other direction flags
AW_BLEND Uses a fade in effect when opening, or a fade out effect when closing, ignored if AW_CENTER is also assigned
AW_ACTIVATE Activates the window, should not be used with AW_HIDE
AW_HIDE Hides the window, the default is a visible window

Defining the Animation Values

Liberty BASIC recognizes many of the Windows constants. These animated window constants are not recognized. The values will need to be defined within the code.

    AW.SLIDE = HexDec("&H40000")
    AW.HOR.POSITIVE = HexDec("&H1")
    AW.HOR.NEGATIVE = HexDec("&H2")
    AW.VER.POSITIVE = HexDec("&H4")
    AW.VER.NEGATIVE = HexDec("&H8")
    AW.CENTER = HexDec("&H10")
    AW.BLEND = HexDec("&H80000")
    AW.ACTIVATE = HexDec("&20000")
    AW.HIDE = HexDec("&H10000")

If these values need to be seen within several subs or functions, it may be best to declare them Global in the beginning of your program.

    Global AW.SLIDE
    Global AW.HOR.POSITIVE, AW.HOR.NEGATIVE
    Global AW.VER.POSITIVE, AW.VER.NEGATIVE
    Global AW.CENTER
    Global AW.ACTIVATE, AW.HIDE
    Global AW.BLEND

Showing and Hiding Windows

To show a window opening using an animation, that window must first be in AW_HIDE mode. Assign the stylebits _WS_VISIBLE in the removebits position before opening the window.

    Stylebits #a, 0, _WS_VISIBLE, 0, 0

The Demo

The following demo uses various combinations of the AW values. Some effects are more pleasing than others. Not all combinations work with all types of windows. MSDN suggests 200 milliseconds as the value for dwTime. This demo uses a greater dwTime value for illustrative purposes. Adjust the value according to the needs of your program.

 
'Nomainwin
    WindowWidth = 500
    WindowHeight = 400
    UpperLeftX = Int((DisplayWidth - WindowWidth) /2)
    UpperLeftY = Int((DisplayHeight - WindowHeight) /2)
    Button #demo.b1, " Horizontal L -> R ", AnimWindowOpen, UL, 100, 80, 120, 30
    Button #demo.b2, " Horizontal R -> L ", AnimWindowOpen, UL, 100, 120, 120, 30
    Button #demo.b3, " Vertical T -> B ", AnimWindowOpen, UL, 100, 160, 120, 30
    Button #demo.b4, " Vertical B -> T ", AnimWindowOpen, UL, 100, 200, 120, 30
    Button #demo.b5, " Diagonal L -> R", AnimWindowOpen, UL, 280, 80, 120, 30
    Button #demo.b6, " Diagonal R -> L ", AnimWindowOpen, UL, 280, 120, 120, 30
    Button #demo.b7, " Expand from Center ", AnimWindowOpen, UL, 280, 160, 120, 30
    Button #demo.b8, " Fade In ", AnimWindowOpen, UL, 280, 200, 120, 30
    Open "Animated Window" for Window as #demo
    #demo, "Trapclose XbyTrap"
 
' Undefined Windows Constants
    Global AW.HOR.POSITIVE, AW.HOR.NEGATIVE
    Global AW.VER.POSITIVE, AW.VER.NEGATIVE
    Global AW.CENTER, AW.HIDE, AW.ACTIVATE
    Global AW.SLIDE, AW.BLEND
    AW.HOR.POSITIVE = HexDec("&H1")
    AW.HOR.NEGATIVE = HexDec("&H2")
    AW.VER.POSITIVE = HexDec("&H4")
    AW.VER.NEGATIVE = HexDec("&H8")
    AW.CENTER = HexDec("&H10")
    AW.HIDE = HexDec("&H10000")
    AW.ACTIVATE = HexDec("&20000")
    AW.SLIDE = HexDec("&H40000")
    AW.BLEND = HexDec("&H80000")
 
Wait
 
Sub XbyTrap handle$
    Close #demo
End
End Sub
 
Sub AnimWindowOpen handle$
    Select Case Right$(handle$, 1)
        Case "1"
            dwFlags = AW.HOR.POSITIVE or AW.SLIDE
            Button #a.1, "Close", AnimWindowClose, UL, 150, 100
            title$ = "Horizontal Slide Left to Right"
        Case "2"
            dwFlags = AW.HOR.NEGATIVE or AW.SLIDE
            Button #a.2, "Close", AnimWindowClose, UL, 150, 100
            title$ = "Horizontal Slide Right to Left"
        Case "3"
            dwFlags = AW.VER.POSITIVE or AW.SLIDE
            Button #a.3, "Close", AnimWindowClose, UL, 150, 100
            title$ = "Vertical Slide Top to Bottom"
        Case "4"
            dwFlags = AW.VER.NEGATIVE or AW.SLIDE
            Button #a.4, "Close", AnimWindowClose, UL, 150, 100
            title$ = "Vertical Slide Bottom to Top"
        Case "5"
            dwFlags = AW.HOR.POSITIVE or AW.VER.NEGATIVE or AW.SLIDE
            Button #a.5, "Close", AnimWindowClose, UL, 150, 100
            title$ = "Diagonal Left to Right"
        Case "6"
            dwFlags = AW.HOR.NEGATIVE or AW.VER.POSITIVE or AW.SLIDE
            Button #a.6, "Close", AnimWindowClose, UL, 150, 100
            title$ = "Diagonal Right to Left"
        Case "7"
            dwFlags = AW.CENTER or AW.ACTIVATE
            Button #a.7, "Close", AnimWindowClose, UL, 150, 100
            title$ = "Expand from Center Outward"
       Case "8"
            dwFlags = AW.BLEND
            Button #a.8, "Close", AnimWindowClose, UL, 150, 100
            title$ = "Vertical Slide Bottom to Top"
    End Select
    WindowWidth = 400
    WindowHeight = 300
    UpperLeftX = 50
    UpperLeftY = 50
    BackgroundColor$ = "Darkpink"
    Stylebits #a, 0, _WS_VISIBLE, 0, 0
    Open title$ for Dialog_Modal as #a
    #a, "Trapclose NoAnimWindowClose"
    null = AnimateWindow(hWnd(#a), 1000, dwFlags)
End Sub
 
Sub AnimWindowClose handle$
    Select Case Right$(handle$, 1)
        Case "1"
            dwFlags = AW.HOR.NEGATIVE or AW.SLIDE or AW.HIDE
        Case "2"
            dwFlags = AW.HOR.POSITIVE or AW.SLIDE or AW.HIDE
        Case "3"
            dwFlags = AW.VER.NEGATIVE or AW.SLIDE or AW.HIDE
        Case "4"
            dwFlags = AW.VER.POSITIVE or AW.SLIDE or AW.HIDE
        Case "5"
            dwFlags = AW.HOR.NEGATIVE or AW.VER.POSITIVE or AW.SLIDE or AW.HIDE
        Case "6"
            dwFlags = AW.HOR.POSITIVE or AW.VER.NEGATIVE or AW.SLIDE or AW.HIDE
        Case "7"
            dwFlags = AW.CENTER or AW.HIDE ' No effect, unsure why
        Case "8"
            dwFlags = AW.BLEND or AW.HIDE
    End Select
    null = AnimateWindow(hWnd(#a), 500, dwFlags)
    Close #a
End Sub
 
Sub NoAnimWindowClose handle$
    Close #handle$
End Sub
 
Function AnimateWindow(handle, dwTime, dwFlags)
    CallDLL #user32, "AnimateWindow", _
        handle as uLong, _
        dwTime as Long, _
        dwFlags as Long, _
        result as Boolean
End Function

Demo Limitations

Animation while opening the window is easy to achieve. Just be sure the window is in the Hide state first. It hasn't been easy to find the code to close the window using animation. MSDN states

• To take effect when hiding a window, use AW_HIDE and a logical OR operator with the appropriate flags.

AW_BLEND worked well. I was unable to find the correct combination that would show a window closing in either AW_CENTER or AW_SLIDE animation.

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