FSX Popup windows
Here is a short tutorial on how to create popup windows from a C++ gauge or SimConnect module dll. Do note that i will not be going into where to execute the creation functions from the gauge or SimConnect dll.
First off, in your header file, add the following declarations:
#include <windows.h> #include <process.h> bool CreateWin(); bool ExitWin(); DWORD WINAPI WinThread(LPVOID lpParam); bool RegisterWin(); LRESULT CALLBACK WinQueue(HWND hwnd, UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam); //Replace Win with any identifier name you want
Then, in your cpp file, create the thread that the window message cue will be run from.
bool CreateWin()
{
CreateThread(0, NULL, WinThread, NULL, NULL, NULL);
return true;
//returns true so that you can know that you have sent the command to open the new window
}
Also create a function to call to shut down the window(This window does come with a little red box in the upper right corner so this function is just an alternative(also can be called on shutdown)).
bool ExitWin()
{
SendMessage(hwnd, WM_CLOSE, 0, 0);
return false;
}
Next is your function to register the class. Note that i have made it a template of the FS98FLOAT class to save some code lines.
bool RegisterWin()
{
WNDCLASSW wc;
memset(&wc,0,sizeof(WNDCLASS));
if(GetClassInfo(NULL, L"FS98FLOAT", &wc))
{
wc.lpszClassName = L"MYFLOAT";//Choose your class name
wc.hInstance = GetModuleHandle(L"MY_DLL.dll");//place your dll name here
wc.lpfnWndProc = (WNDPROC) WinQueue;//Your message que function
wc.hbrBackground = (HBRUSH)GetStockObject(WHITE_BRUSH);
if(RegisterClass(&wc))
return true;
else
return false;
}
else
return false;
}
And now your thread function
DWORD WINAPI ACMProc(LPVOID lpParam)
{
MSG msg;
RegisterWin();//Register the class
hwnd = CreateWindowEx(
WS_EX_LEFT | WS_EX_LTRREADING | WS_EX_RIGHTSCROLLBAR | WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW | WS_EX_WINDOWEDGE,//necessary styles etc
L"MYFLOAT", // Your class name L"My Window",//Window caption
WS_CAPTION | WS_POPUP | WS_CLIPSIBLINGS | WS_SYSMENU | WS_THICKFRAME,//necessary styles etc
0,0, 800,600,//Window position/Dimensions
FindWindow(L"FS98MAIN", L"Microsoft Flight Simulator X"),//The Parent window
NULL,
GetModuleHandle(L"MY_DLL.dll"),
NULL );
ShowWindow (hwnd, SW_SHOWNORMAL);//Shows the window
while (GetMessage (&msg, NULL, 0, 0))
{
TranslateMessage(&msg);
DispatchMessage(&msg);
}
return 1;
}
And finally, the message cue. You can do pretty much whatever you want from here out
LRESULT CALLBACK ACMQueue(HWND hwnd, UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
{
switch(message)
{
case WM_CREATE: // sent by the windows system just before the window will be displayed the first time
// here is the best location to prepare your window i.e. connecting to SimConnect
break;
case WM_ERASEBKGND: // sent by windows if t he entire window will be renewed.
break; // if y ou create your own background, do it here in and return (1) instead using 'break'
case WM_PAINT:
{
PAINTSTRUCT ps;
HDC hdc;
wchar_t *WinOutput[] = {{L"Hello World!"},{L"This window was created out of a DLL."}};
hdc = BeginPaint(hwnd, &ps); // now we have a valid device context to modify the window's content
TextOut(hdc,20,20,WinOutput[0],wcslen(WinOutput[0]));
MoveToEx(hdc,20,40,NULL);
LineTo(hdc,120,40);
TextOut(hdc,20,60,WinOutput[1],wcslen(WinOutput[1]));
// do all drawing of your window here in
EndPaint(hwnd,&ps);
}
break;
case WM_DESTROY: // sent by the windows system just before the window will be destroyed
// disconnect from SimConnect out of this message
break;
case WM_CLOSE:
break;
}
return (DefWindowProcA(hwnd, message, wParam, lParam));
}
Enjoy!!
