AnimateWindow

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 uLong, _
 dwFlags as uLong, _
 result as Long
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("&H20000")
 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("&H20000")
 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 uLong, _
 dwFlags as uLong, _
 result as Long
End Function

Where's the Imploding Window?

MSDN states To take effect when hiding a window, use AW_HIDE and a logical OR operator with the appropriate flags and AW_CENTER makes the window appear to collapse inward if AW_HIDE is used or expand outward if the AW_HIDE is not used. Thus far, I haven't found the correct combination to achieve an imploding closing window.

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