Visual Styles Reference

This section describes the following API elements used with Visual Styles.

Functions

Topic	Contents
BeginBufferedAnimation	Begins a buffered animation operation. The animation consists of a cross-fade between the contents of two buffers over a specified period of time.
BeginBufferedPaint	Begins a buffered paint operation.
BeginPanningFeedback	Notifies the system to send feedback about a target window affected by panning gestures.
BufferedPaintClear	Clears a specified rectangle in the buffer to ARGB = {0,0,0,0}.
BufferedPaintInit	Initialize buffered painting for the current thread.
BufferedPaintRenderAnimation	Paints the next frame of a buffered paint animation.
BufferedPaintSetAlpha	Sets the alpha to a specified value in a given rectangle. The alpha controls the amount of transparency applied when blending with the buffer onto the destination target device context (DC).
BufferedPaintStopAllAnimations	Stops all buffered animations for the given window.
BufferedPaintUnInit	Closes down buffered painting for the current thread. Called once for each call to BufferedPaintInit after calls to BeginBufferedPaint are no longer needed.
CloseThemeData	Closes the theme data handle.
DrawThemeBackground	Draws the border and fill defined by the visual style for the specified control part.
DrawThemeBackgroundEx	Draws the background image defined by the visual style for the specified control part.
DrawThemeEdge	Draws one or more edges defined by the visual style of a rectangle.
DrawThemeIcon	Draws an image from an image list with the icon effect defined by the visual style.
DrawThemeParentBackground	Draws the part of a parent control that is covered by a partially-transparent or alpha-blended child control.
DrawThemeParentBackgroundEx	Used by partially-transparent or alpha-blended child controls to draw the part of their parent in front of which they appear. Sends a WM_ERASEBKGND message followed by a WM_PRINTCLIENT.
DrawThemeText	Draws text using the color and font defined by the visual style.
DrawThemeTextEx	Draws text using the color and font defined by the visual style. Extends DrawThemeText by allowing additional text format options.
EnableThemeDialogTexture	Enables or disables the visual style of a dialog window's background.
EnableTheming	Enables or disables visual styles for the current user in the current and later sessions.
EndBufferedAnimation	Renders the first frame of a buffered animation operation and starts the animation timer.
EndBufferedPaint	Completes a buffered paint operation and frees the associated buffered paint handle.
EndPanningFeedback	Terminates any existing animation that was in process or set up by BeginPanningFeedback and UpdatePanningFeedback.
GetBufferedPaintBits	Retrieves a pointer to the buffer bitmap if the buffer is a device-independent bitmap (DIB).
GetBufferedPaintDC	Gets the paint DC. This is the same value retrieved by BeginBufferedPaint.
GetBufferedPaintTargetDC	Retrieves the target DC.
GetBufferedPaintTargetRect	Retrieves the target rectangle specified by BeginBufferedPaint.
GetCurrentThemeName	Retrieves the name of the current visual style, and optionally retrieves the color scheme name and size name.
GetThemeAppProperties	Retrieves the property flags that control how visual styles are applied in the current application.
GetThemeBackgroundContentRect	Retrieves the size of the content area for the background defined by the visual style.
GetThemeBackgroundExtent	Calculates the size and location of the background, defined by the visual style, given the content area.
GetThemeBackgroundRegion	Computes the region for a regular or partially transparent background that is bounded by a specified rectangle.
GetThemeBitmap	Retrieves the bitmap associated with a particular theme, part, state, and property.
GetThemeBool	Retrieves the value of a BOOL property from the SysMetrics section of theme data.
GetThemeColor	Retrieves the value of a color property.
GetThemeDocumentationProperty	Retrieves the value for a theme property from the documentation section of the specified theme file.
GetThemeEnumValue	Retrieves the value of an enumerated type property.
GetThemeFilename	Retrieves the value of a filename property.
GetThemeFont	Retrieves the value of a font property.
GetThemeInt	Retrieves the value of an int property.
GetThemeIntList	Retrieves a list of int data from a visual style.
GetThemeMargins	Retrieves the value of a MARGINS property.
GetThemeMetric	Retrieves the value of a metric property.
GetThemePartSize	Calculates the original size of the part defined by a visual style.
GetThemePosition	Retrieves the value of a position property.
GetThemePropertyOrigin	Retrieves the location of the theme property definition for a property.
GetThemeRect	Retrieves the value of a RECT property.
GetThemeStream	Retrieves a data stream corresponding to a specified theme, starting from a specified part, state, and property.
GetThemeString	Retrieves the value of a string property.
GetThemeSysBool	Retrieves the Boolean value of a system metric.
GetThemeSysColor	Retrieves the value of a system color.
GetThemeSysColorBrush	Retrieves a system color brush.
GetThemeSysFont	Retrieves the LOGFONT of a system font.
GetThemeSysInt	Retrieves the value of a system int.
GetThemeSysSize	Retrieves the value of a system size metric from theme data.
GetThemeSysString	Retrieves the value of a system string.
GetThemeTextExtent	Calculates the size and location of the specified text when rendered in the visual style font.
GetThemeTextMetrics	Retrieves information about the font specified by a visual style for a particular part.
GetThemeTransitionDuration	Gets the duration for the specified transition.
GetWindowTheme	Retrieves a theme handle to a window that has visual styles applied.
HitTestThemeBackground	Retrieves a hit test code for a point in the background specified by a visual style.
IsAppThemed	Reports whether the current application's user interface displays using visual styles.
IsCompositionActive	Determines whether Desktop Window Manager (DWM) composition effects are available to the theme.
IsThemeActive	Tests if a visual style for the current application is active.
IsThemeBackgroundPartiallyTransparent	Retrieves whether the background specified by the visual style has transparent pieces or alpha-blended pieces.
IsThemeDialogTextureEnabled	Reports whether a specified dialog window supports background texturing.
IsThemePartDefined	Retrieves whether a visual style has defined parameters for the specified part and state.
OpenThemeData	Opens the theme data for a window and its associated class.
OpenThemeDataEx	Opens the theme data associated with a window for specified theme classes.
SetThemeAppProperties	Sets the flags that determine how visual styles are implemented in the calling application.
SetWindowTheme	Causes a window to use a different set of visual style information than its class normally uses.
SetWindowThemeAttribute	Sets attributes to control how visual styles are applied to a specified window.
SetWindowThemeNonClientAttributes	Sets non-client attributes to control how visual styles are applied to a specified window.
UpdatePanningFeedback	Updates clients about state of a window resulting from a panning gesture. This function can only be called after a BeginPanningFeedback call.

Visual Styles Structures

Topic	Contents
BP_ANIMATIONPARAMS	Defines animation parameters for the BP_PAINTPARAMS structure used by BeginBufferedPaint.
BP_PAINTPARAMS	Defines paint operation parameters for BeginBufferedPaint.
DTBGOPTS	Defines the options for the DrawThemeBackgroundEx function.
DTTOPTS	Defines the options for the DrawThemeTextEx function.
INTLIST	Contains an array or list of int data items from a visual style.
MARGINS	Returned by the GetThemeMargins function to define the margins of windows that have visual styles applied.
WTA_OPTIONS	Defines options that are used to set window visual style attributes.

Enumerated Types

Topic	Contents
PROPERTYORIGIN	Returned by GetThemePropertyOrigin to specify where a property was found.
THEMESIZE	Identifies the size of the visual style part to retrieve.
TM_PROPS	Not currently supported.
WINDOWTHEMEATTRIBUTETYPE	Specifies the type of visual style attribute to set on a window.

Visual Styles Topics

Topic	Contents
Aero Style Classes, Parts, and States	Describes the classes, parts, and states supported by the Aero theme, which defines the visual styles that Windows Vista uses by default
Theme File Format	Discusses the format of Theme (.theme) files.
Format Values	Lists the values that are used with the dwTextFlags parameter of the DrawThemeText and GetThemeTextExtent functions.
Hit Test Options	Lists the option values that are used with the dwOptions parameter of the HitTestThemeBackground function.
Hit Test Return Values	Lists the hit test code values that are returned in the pwHitTestCode parameter of the HitTestThemeBackground function.
Parts and States	Describes the parts and states that you use to change the appearance of controls when visual styles are enabled.
Property Identifiers	Contains information about defined values that are used to retrieve properties of visual styles.