Object State Constants

This topic describes the constant values used to describe the state of objects in an application UI. The state constants are defined in oleacc.h.

An object is associated with one or more of these state values at any time. The following object state constants are not used: STATE_SYSTEM_ALERT_HIGH, STATE_SYSTEM_ALERT_MEDIUM, STATE_SYSTEM_ALERT_LOW, and STATE_SYSTEM_FLOATING.

Clients retrieve an object's state by calling IAccessible::get_accState, which returns an integer that is a combination of the following bit flags. Clients call GetStateText with the state value to retrieve a localized string that describes the object's state.

When the state of an object changes, servers should call NotifyWinEvent with the EVENT_OBJECT_STATECHANGE event constant. However, objects with the STATE_SYSTEM_INVISIBLE, STATE_SYSTEM_FOCUSED, and STATE_SYSTEM_ SELECTED object state constants have their own event constants. For these objects, do not use EVENT_OBJECT_STATECHANGE. Instead, use the individual event constant.

The following are object state constants:

Constant	Description
STATE_SYSTEM_ALERT_HIGH	(This object state constant is not supported.) Indicates important information to be immediately conveyed to the user. For example, when a battery reaches a critically low level, a level indicator generates a high-level alert. As a result, a blind access tool immediately announces this information to the user, and a screen magnification program scrolls the screen so that the battery indicator is in view. This state is also appropriate for any prompt or operation that must be completed before the user can continue.
STATE_SYSTEM_ALERT_MEDIUM	(This object state constant is not supported.) Indicates important information that is not conveyed immediately to the user. For example, when a battery is starting to reach a low level, a level indicator generates a medium-level alert. A blind access tool then generates a sound to let the user know that important information is available, without actually interrupting the user's work. The user could then query the alert information when convenient.
STATE_SYSTEM_ALERT_LOW	(This object state constant is not supported.) Indicates low-priority information that is not important to the user. This state is used, for example, when Word changes the appearance of the TipWizard button on its toolbar to indicate that it has a hint for the user.
STATE_SYSTEM_ANIMATED	The object's appearance changes rapidly or constantly. Graphics that are animated occasionally are described as ROLE_SYSTEM_GRAPHIC with the State property set to STATE_SYSTEM_ANIMATED. This state is used to indicate that the object's location is changing.
STATE_SYSTEM_BUSY	The control cannot accept input at this time.
STATE_SYSTEM_CHECKED	The object's check box is selected.
STATE_SYSTEM_COLLAPSED	The object's children that have the ROLE_SYSTEM_OUTLINEITEM role are hidden.
STATE_SYSTEM_DEFAULT	This state represents the default button in a window.
STATE_SYSTEM_EXPANDED	The object's children that have the ROLE_SYSTEM_OUTLINEITEM role are displayed.
STATE_SYSTEM_EXTSELECTABLE	Indicates that an object extends its selection by using SELFLAG_EXTENDSELECTION in the IAccessible::accSelect method.
STATE_SYSTEM_FLOATING	(This object state constant is not supported.) The object is not clipped to the boundary of its parent object, and it does not move automatically when the parent moves.
STATE_SYSTEM_FOCUSABLE	The object is on the active window and is ready to receive keyboard focus.
STATE_SYSTEM_FOCUSED	The object has the keyboard focus. Do not confuse object focus with object selection. For more information, see Selection and Focus Properties and Methods. For objects with this object state, send the EVENT_OBJECT_SHOW or EVENT_OBJECT_HIDE WinEvents to notify client applications about state changes. Do not use EVENT_OBJECT_STATECHANGE.
STATE_SYSTEM_HASPOPUP	When invoked, the object displays a pop-up menu or a window.
STATE_SYSTEM_HOTTRACKED	The object is hot-tracked by the mouse, which means that the object's appearance has changed to indicate that the mouse pointer is located over it.
STATE_SYSTEM_INVISIBLE	The object is programmatically hidden. For example, menu itmes are programmatically hidden until a user activates the menu. Because objects with this state are not available to users, client applications must not communicate information about the object to users. However, if client applications find an object with this state, they should check whether STATE_SYSTEM_OFFSCREEN is also set. If this second state is defined, clients can communicate the information about the object to users. For example, a list box can have both STATE_SYSTEM_INVISIBLE and STATE_SYSTEM_OFFSCREEN set. In this case, the client application can communicate all items in the list to users. If a client application is navigating through an IAccessible tree and encounters a parent object that is invisible, Microsoft Active Accessibility will not expose information about any possible children of the parent as long as the parent is invisible.
STATE_SYSTEM_LINKED	Indicates that the object is formatted as a hyperlink. The object's role will usually be ROLE_SYSTEM_TEXT.
STATE_SYSTEM_MARQUEED	Indicates scrolling or moving text or graphics.
STATE_SYSTEM_MIXED	Indicates that the state of a three-state check box or toolbar button is not determined. The check box is neither selected nor cleared and is therefore in the third or mixed state.
STATE_SYSTEM_MOVEABLE	Indicates that the object can be moved. For example, a user can click the object's title bar and drag the object to a new location.
STATE_SYSTEM_MULTISELECTABLE	Indicates that the object accepts multiple selected items; that is, SELFLAG_ADDSELECTION for the IAccessible::accSelect method is valid.
STATE_SYSTEM_NORMAL	Indicates that the object does not have another state assigned to it.
STATE_SYSTEM_OFFSCREEN	The object is clipped or has scrolled out of view, but it is not programmatically hidden. If the user makes the viewport larger, more of the object will be visible on the computer screen.
STATE_SYSTEM_PRESSED	The object is pressed.
STATE_SYSTEM_PROTECTED	The object is a password-protected edit control.
STATE_SYSTEM_READONLY	The object is designated read-only.
STATE_SYSTEM_SELECTABLE	The object accepts selection.
STATE_SYSTEM_SELECTED	The object is selected.
STATE_SYSTEM_SELFVOICING	The object or child uses text-to-speech (TTS) technology for description purposes. When an object with this state has the focus, a speech-based accessibility aid does not announce information because the object automatically announces it.
STATE_SYSTEM_SIZEABLE	The object can be resized. For example, a user could change the size of a window by dragging it by the border.
STATE_SYSTEM_TRAVERSED	The object is a hyperlink that has been visited (previously clicked) by a user.
STATE_SYSTEM_UNAVAILABLE	The object is unavailable.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Header	Oleacc.h