[perl-win32-gui-users] Animated windows

[Luigino Masarati]

Hi,
    I searched in this mailing list how to create animated windows like start 
menu in W2K/XP (see Win32 SDK - Layered Windows 
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/winui/winui/windowsuserinterface/windowing/windows/windowreference/windowfunctions/animatewindow.asp)
 and found nothing about it, so i searched on MSDN and found the API code and 
tried until i got it.

Note that this functionality is fully supported by Windows 98/2000/XP only.

Here is the code, hope it will be useful to someone else...

#-----------------------------
# use Win32::GUI etc... 

use Win32;
use Win32::API;

use constant AW_HOR_POSITIVE => 0x00000001;
use constant AW_HOR_NEGATIVE => 0x00000002;
use constant AW_VER_POSITIVE => 0x00000004;
use constant AW_VER_NEGATIVE => 0x00000008;
use constant AW_CENTER       => 0x00000010;
use constant AW_HIDE         => 0x00010000;
use constant AW_ACTIVATE     => 0x00020000;
use constant AW_SLIDE        => 0x00040000;
use constant AW_BLEND        => 0x00080000;

# BOOL AnimateWindow(
# HWND hwnd,
# DWORD dwTime,
# DWORD dwFlags
# );
my $AnimateWindow = new Win32::API("user32", "AnimateWindow", [ 'N', 'N', 'N' 
], 'N') or $reg{'UI'}{'Fading'} = 0;

# ... here create your window object ($winObj) as ususal...

# set animation duration in ms (usually 200ms)
my $msec = 200;

# FADE IN
# use this command in place of $objWin->Show()
$AnimateWindow->Call($winObj->{-handle}, $msec, AW_ACTIVATE | AW_BLEND );

# FADE OUT
# use this command in place of $objWin->Hide() for example in winObj_Terminate()
$AnimateWindow->Call($winObj->{-handle}, $msec, AW_HIDE | AW_BLEND );


# Some alternatives follows...

# APPEAR from LEFT-TOP
# use this command in place of $objWin->Show()
# $AnimateWindow->Call($winObj->{-handle}, $msec, AW_ACTIVATE | AW_SLIDE | 
AW_HOR_POSITIVE | AW_VER_POSITIVE );

# DISAPPEAR from RIGHT-BOTTOM
# use this command in place of $objWin->Hide() for example in winObj_Terminate()
# $AnimateWindow->Call($winObj->{-handle}, $msec, AW_HIDE | AW_SLIDE | 
AW_HOR_NEGATIVE | AW_VER_NEGATIVE );

# GROW from CENTER
# use this command in place of $objWin->Show()
# $AnimateWindow->Call($winObj->{-handle}, $msec, AW_ACTIVATE | AW_CENTER );

# SHRINK to CENTER
# use this command in place of $objWin->Hide() for example in winObj_Terminate()
# $AnimateWindow->Call($winObj->{-handle}, $msec, AW_HIDE | AW_CENTER );

#-----------------------------

Bye.

    Luigino Masarati
    OutSys snc.