Button Styles

Specifies a combination of button styles. If you create a button using the BUTTON class with the CreateWindow or CreateWindowEx function, you can specify any of the button styles listed below.

Example

HRESULT Button::CreateText(HWND hParent, const TCHAR *szCaption, int nID, 
                               const Rect& rcBound)
{
    CREATESTRUCT create;
	ZeroMemory(&create, sizeof(CREATESTRUCT));

    create.x = rcBound.left;
    create.y = rcBound.top;
    create.cx = rcBound.right - create.x;
    create.cy = rcBound.bottom - create.y;

    create.hwndParent = hParent;
    create.lpszName = szCaption;
    create.hMenu = (HMENU)(INT_PTR)nID;
    create.lpszClass = TEXT("BUTTON");
    create.style = BS_PUSHBUTTON | BS_FLAT;
    return Control::Create(create);
}

Example from Windows Classic Samples on GitHub.

Constants

Constant	Description
BS_3STATE	Creates a button that is the same as a check box, except that the box can be grayed as well as checked or cleared. Use the grayed state to show that the state of the check box is not determined.
BS_AUTO3STATE	Creates a button that is the same as a three-state check box, except that the box changes its state when the user selects it. The state cycles through checked, indeterminate, and cleared.
BS_AUTOCHECKBOX	Creates a button that is the same as a check box, except that the check state automatically toggles between checked and cleared each time the user selects the check box.
BS_AUTORADIOBUTTON	Creates a button that is the same as a radio button, except that when the user selects it, the system automatically sets the button's check state to checked and automatically sets the check state for all other buttons in the same group to cleared.
BS_BITMAP	Specifies that the button displays a bitmap. See the Remarks section for its interaction with BS_ICON.
BS_BOTTOM	Places text at the bottom of the button rectangle.
BS_CENTER	Centers text horizontally in the button rectangle.
BS_CHECKBOX	Creates a small, empty check box with text. By default, the text is displayed to the right of the check box. To display the text to the left of the check box, combine this flag with the BS_LEFTTEXT style (or with the equivalent BS_RIGHTBUTTON style).
BS_COMMANDLINK	Creates a command link button that behaves like a BS_PUSHBUTTON style button, but the command link button has a green arrow on the left pointing to the button text. A caption for the button text can be set by sending the BCM_SETNOTE message to the button.
BS_DEFCOMMANDLINK	Creates a command link button that behaves like a BS_PUSHBUTTON style button. If the button is in a dialog box, the user can select the command link button by pressing the ENTER key, even when the command link button does not have the input focus. This style is useful for enabling the user to quickly select the most likely (default) option.
BS_DEFPUSHBUTTON	Creates a push button that behaves like a BS_PUSHBUTTON style button, but has a distinct appearance. If the button is in a dialog box, the user can select the button by pressing the ENTER key, even when the button does not have the input focus. This style is useful for enabling the user to quickly select the most likely (default) option.
BS_DEFSPLITBUTTON	Creates a split button that behaves like a BS_PUSHBUTTON style button, but also has a distinctive appearance. If the split button is in a dialog box, the user can select the split button by pressing the ENTER key, even when the split button does not have the input focus. This style is useful for enabling the user to quickly select the most likely (default) option.
BS_GROUPBOX	Creates a rectangle in which other controls can be grouped. Any text associated with this style is displayed in the rectangle's upper left corner.
BS_ICON	Specifies that the button displays an icon. See the Remarks section for its interaction with BS_BITMAP.
BS_FLAT	Specifies that the button is two-dimensional; it does not use the default shading to create a 3-D image.
BS_LEFT	Left-justifies the text in the button rectangle. However, if the button is a check box or radio button that does not have the BS_RIGHTBUTTON style, the text is left justified on the right side of the check box or radio button.
BS_LEFTTEXT	Places text on the left side of the radio button or check box when combined with a radio button or check box style. Same as the BS_RIGHTBUTTON style.
BS_MULTILINE	Wraps the button text to multiple lines if the text string is too long to fit on a single line in the button rectangle.
BS_NOTIFY	Enables a button to send BN_KILLFOCUS and BN_SETFOCUS notification codes to its parent window. Note that buttons send the BN_CLICKED notification code regardless of whether it has this style. To get BN_DBLCLK notification codes, the button must have the BS_RADIOBUTTON or BS_OWNERDRAW style.
BS_OWNERDRAW	Creates an owner-drawn button. The owner window receives a WM_DRAWITEM message when a visual aspect of the button has changed. Do not combine the BS_OWNERDRAW style with any other button styles.
BS_PUSHBUTTON	Creates a push button that posts a WM_COMMAND message to the owner window when the user selects the button.
BS_PUSHLIKE	Makes a button (such as a check box, three-state check box, or radio button) look and act like a push button. The button looks raised when it isn't pushed or checked, and sunken when it is pushed or checked.
BS_RADIOBUTTON	Creates a small circle with text. By default, the text is displayed to the right of the circle. To display the text to the left of the circle, combine this flag with the BS_LEFTTEXT style (or with the equivalent BS_RIGHTBUTTON style). Use radio buttons for groups of related, but mutually exclusive choices.
BS_RIGHT	Right-justifies text in the button rectangle. However, if the button is a check box or radio button that does not have the BS_RIGHTBUTTON style, the text is right justified on the right side of the check box or radio button.
BS_RIGHTBUTTON	Positions a radio button's circle or a check box's square on the right side of the button rectangle. Same as the BS_LEFTTEXT style.
BS_SPLITBUTTON	Creates a split button. A split button has a drop down arrow.
BS_TEXT	Specifies that the button displays text.
BS_TOP	Places text at the top of the button rectangle.
BS_TYPEMASK	Do not use this style. A composite style bit that results from using the OR operator on BS_* style bits. It can be used to mask out valid BS_* bits from a given bitmask. Note that this is out of date and does not correctly include all valid styles. Thus, you should not use this style.
BS_USERBUTTON	Obsolete, but provided for compatibility with 16-bit versions of Windows. Applications should use BS_OWNERDRAW instead.
BS_VCENTER	Places text in the middle (vertically) of the button rectangle.

Remarks

For illustrations of the principal button styles such as BS_CHECKBOX and BS_GROUPBOX, see Button Types.

The appearance of text or an icon or both on a button control depends on the BS_ICON and BS_BITMAP styles, and whether the BM_SETIMAGE message is sent. The possible results are as follows.

BS_ICON or BS_BITMAP set?	BM_SETIMAGE called?	Result
Yes	Yes	Show icon only.
No	Yes	Show icon and text.
Yes	No	Show text only.
No	No	Show text only

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Header	Winuser.h