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AutoIt v3.3.16.1 has been released. Thanks to @jpm and the MVPs who were responsible for the majority of code in this version. Download it here. Complete list of changes: History

GuiFlatButton is a UDF to easily create regular buttons with different colors for background, foreground, border, hover, focus, etc.. This started as an effort to change the background color of a button and eventually grew into a full UDF. If you've looked around forums for changing button background colors, you have probably noticed that each proposed workaround has its own set of issues/side-effects. The answers usually circle back to 'use ownerdrawn buttons' and 'not worth it'. Well, now it is possible for anyone to easily create ownerdrawn buttons - totally worth it! Some issues with other workarounds such as drawing with GDI+ or using a colored label as a 'button': Not 'real' buttons so you lose built-in functionality that windows gives to buttons Messy / inefficient code in the main while loop to check for mouse position Slow to respond to click, paint, etc... Having to deal with GUIRegisterMsg messages Not straight-forward to implement GuiFlatButton is not a workaround; it is a technique to respond to Windows' built-in owner-drawn button events. With minimal effort, we can now create true simple colored buttons. The idea is to create an owner-drawn button using GUICtrlCreateButton then subclass the GUI and controls to handle the button-specific events to paint it however we want. This UDF magically does all of this for us! No need to worry about event handling or main while loop logic. How to use It couldn't be any easier! Simply create a new button using the familiar syntax. This creates an ownerdrawn button with default colors. $mybutton1 = GuiFlatButton_Create("Button 1", 78, 20, 120, 40) If you want to change the background and text colors: GuiFlatButton_SetBkColor(-1, 0x5555FF) GuiFlatButton_SetColor(-1, 0xFFFFFF) Advanced Usage Set background/text/border all at once GuiFlatButton_SetColors(-1, 0x0000FF, 0xFFFFFF, 0x9999FF) Set ALL colors for ALL button states! (normal, focus, hover, selected) Local $aColorsEx = [0x0000FF, 0xFFFFFF, -2, 0x4444FF, 0xFFFFFF, 0xAAAAFF, 0x6666FF, 0xFFFFFF, 0xCCCCFF, 0x0000EE, 0xFFFFFF, 0x7777EE] GuiFlatButton_SetColorsEx(-1, $aColorsEx) Set default colors to apply to any future buttons ;set colors GuiFlatButton_SetDefaultColors(0x0000FF, 0xFFFFFF, 0x9999FF) ;create buttons $mybutton1 = GuiFlatButton_Create("Button 1", 12, 20, 120, 40) $mybutton2 = GuiFlatButton_Create("Button 2", 143, 20, 120, 40) Set ALL color defaults ;set colors Local $aColorsEx = [0x0000FF, 0xFFFFFF, -2, 0x4444FF, 0xFFFFFF, 0xAAAAFF, 0x6666FF, 0xFFFFFF, 0xCCCCFF, 0x0000EE, 0xFFFFFF, 0x7777EE] GuiFlatButton_SetDefaultColorsEx($aColorsEx) ;create buttons $mybutton1 = GuiFlatButton_Create("Button 1", 12, 20, 120, 40) $mybutton2 = GuiFlatButton_Create("Button 2", 143, 20, 120, 40) Available Functions Simple Example #include <GUIConstantsEx.au3> #include <MsgBoxConstants.au3> #include "GuiFlatButton.au3" Example() ;GUI with one button Func Example() Local $hGUI, $mybutton1 $hGUI = GUICreate("GuiFlatButton Ex0", 275, 120) GUISetBkColor(0x333333) Local $idLabel = GUICtrlCreateLabel("Click the button", 10, 100, 150, 30) GUICtrlSetColor(-1, 0xFFFFFF) ;create new button then set the background and foreground colors $mybutton1 = GuiFlatButton_Create("Button 1" & @CRLF & "Line 2", 78, 20, 120, 40, $BS_MULTILINE) GuiFlatButton_SetBkColor(-1, 0x5555FF) GuiFlatButton_SetColor(-1, 0xFFFFFF) GUISetState(@SW_SHOW, $hGUI) Local $i = 0 Local $iMsg While 1 $iMsg = GUIGetMsg() Switch $iMsg Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE ExitLoop Case $mybutton1 $i += 1 GUICtrlSetData($idLabel, $i) ConsoleWrite($i & @CRLF) EndSwitch Sleep(10) WEnd GUIDelete() EndFunc ;==>Example Menu/Toolbar Example #include <GUIConstantsEx.au3> #include <MsgBoxConstants.au3> #include "GuiFlatButton.au3" Example() ;Example GUI with toolbar Func Example() Local $hGUI, $idLabel, $aButtons, $iTbSize $hGUI = GUICreate("GuiFlatButton Ex2", 300, 200) GUISetBkColor(0x444444) $idLabel = GUICtrlCreateLabel("Click a button", 10, 180, 150, 30) GUICtrlSetColor(-1, 0xFFFFFF) $aButtons = createToolbar() $iTbSize = UBound($aButtons) GUISetState(@SW_SHOW, $hGUI) Local $i = 0 Local $iMsg While 1 $iMsg = GUIGetMsg() Switch $iMsg Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE ExitLoop Case $aButtons[0] To $aButtons[$iTbSize - 1] ConsoleWrite("1") GUICtrlSetData($idLabel, GuiFlatButton_Read($iMsg)) EndSwitch Sleep(10) WEnd GUIDelete() EndFunc ;==>Example Func createToolbar() Local $aButtons[6] Local $bkColor = 0x777777 Local $textColor = 0xFFFFFF Local $borderColor = 0x999999 Local $aBtnClrs[12] = [0x777777, 0xFFFFFF, $GUI_BKCOLOR_TRANSPARENT, 0x888888, 0xFFFFFF, $GUI_BKCOLOR_TRANSPARENT, 0x999999, 0xFFFFFF, $GUI_BKCOLOR_TRANSPARENT, 0x666666, 0xFFFFFF, $GUI_BKCOLOR_TRANSPARENT] For $i = 0 To UBound($aButtons) - 1 $aButtons[$i] = GuiFlatButton_Create("B" & $i, $i * 50, 0, 50, 17) GuiFlatButton_SetColorsEx($aButtons[$i], $aBtnClrs) Next Return $aButtons EndFunc ;==>createToolbar Icon Example You can even easily add icons to your buttons -- just create a new button and send it an icon! #include <GDIPlus.au3> #include "GuiFlatButton.au3" Example() ;buttons with Icon images Func Example() ;get images for demonstration _GDIPlus_Startup() ;initialize GDI+ Local $hIcon = _WinAPI_ShellExtractIcon(@SystemDir & '\shell32.dll', 258, 24, 24) ;extract the 'Save' icon Local $hBitmap = _GDIPlus_BitmapCreateFromHICON($hIcon) ;Create Bitmap from Icon (for demonstration) Local $hHBitmap = _GDIPlus_BitmapCreateHBITMAPFromBitmap($hBitmap) ;Create HBitmap from Bitmap _GDIPlus_BitmapDispose($hBitmap) ;dispose the bitmap _GDIPlus_Shutdown() ;done with GDI+ Local $hGUI = GUICreate("GuiFlatButton Ex5", 255, 400) GUISetBkColor(0xEEEEEE) ;set default colors of future buttons Local $aColorsEx = _ [0xE2E5E8, 0X000000, 0x888888, _ ; normal : Background, Text, Border 0xE2E5E8, 0X000000, 0x333333, _ ; focus : Background, Text, Border 0xE8E8E8, 0X000000, 0x666666, _ ; hover : Background, Text, Border 0xDDDDDD, 0X000000, 0xAAAAAA] ; selected : Background, Text, Border GuiFlatButton_SetDefaultColorsEx($aColorsEx) ;normal button with icon $label1 = GUICtrlCreateLabel( "$BS_TOOLBUTTON -->", 5, 10) GUICtrlSetBkColor(-1, $GUI_BKCOLOR_TRANSPARENT) Local $mybutton1 = GuiFlatButton_Create("Save", 130, 5, 50, 48, $BS_TOOLBUTTON) _WinAPI_DeleteObject(_SendMessage(GUICtrlGetHandle($mybutton1), $BM_SETIMAGE, $IMAGE_ICON, $hIcon)) ;align top Local $mybuttonT = GuiFlatButton_Create("Top", 5, 65, 120, 55, $BS_TOP) _WinAPI_DeleteObject(_SendMessage(GUICtrlGetHandle($mybuttonT), $BM_SETIMAGE, $IMAGE_ICON, $hIcon)) ;align top-left Local $mybuttonTL = GuiFlatButton_Create("Top-Left", 5, 125, 120, 55, BITOR($BS_TOP, $BS_LEFT)) _WinAPI_DeleteObject(_SendMessage(GUICtrlGetHandle($mybuttonTL), $BM_SETIMAGE, $IMAGE_ICON, $hIcon)) ;align top-right Local $mybuttonTR = GuiFlatButton_Create("Top-Right", 5, 185, 120, 55, BITOR($BS_TOP, $BS_RIGHT)) _WinAPI_DeleteObject(_SendMessage(GUICtrlGetHandle($mybuttonTR), $BM_SETIMAGE, $IMAGE_ICON, $hIcon)) ;align left Local $mybuttonL = GuiFlatButton_Create("Left", 5, 245, 120, 55, $BS_LEFT) _WinAPI_DeleteObject(_SendMessage(GUICtrlGetHandle($mybuttonL), $BM_SETIMAGE, $IMAGE_ICON, $hIcon)) ;align bottom Local $mybuttonB = GuiFlatButton_Create("Bottom", 130, 65, 120, 55, $BS_BOTTOM) _WinAPI_DeleteObject(_SendMessage(GUICtrlGetHandle($mybuttonB), $BM_SETIMAGE, $IMAGE_ICON, $hIcon)) ;align bottom-left Local $mybuttonBL = GuiFlatButton_Create("Bottom-Left", 130, 125, 120, 55, BITOR($BS_BOTTOM, $BS_LEFT)) _WinAPI_DeleteObject(_SendMessage(GUICtrlGetHandle($mybuttonBL), $BM_SETIMAGE, $IMAGE_ICON, $hIcon)) ;align bottom-right Local $mybuttonBR = GuiFlatButton_Create("Bottom-Right", 130, 185, 120, 55, BITOR($BS_BOTTOM, $BS_RIGHT)) _WinAPI_DeleteObject(_SendMessage(GUICtrlGetHandle($mybuttonBR), $BM_SETIMAGE, $IMAGE_ICON, $hIcon)) ;align right Local $mybuttonR = GuiFlatButton_Create("Right", 130, 245, 120, 55, $BS_RIGHT) _WinAPI_DeleteObject(_SendMessage(GUICtrlGetHandle($mybuttonR), $BM_SETIMAGE, $IMAGE_ICON, $hIcon)) GuiFlatButton_SetState($mybuttonR, $GUI_DISABLE ) ;disabled Local $mybuttonDisable = GuiFlatButton_Create("Disabled", 130, 310, 120, 55, $BS_TOOLBUTTON) _WinAPI_DeleteObject(_SendMessage(GUICtrlGetHandle($mybuttonDisable), $BM_SETIMAGE, $IMAGE_BITMAP, $hHBitmap)) GuiFlatButton_SetState($mybuttonDisable, $GUI_DISABLE ) ;clean up! _WinAPI_DestroyIcon( $hIcon ) _WinAPI_DeleteObject( $hHBitmap ) GUISetState(@SW_SHOW, $hGUI) Local $iMsg While 1 $iMsg = GUIGetMsg() Switch $iMsg Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE ExitLoop EndSwitch Sleep(10) WEnd GUIDelete() EndFunc ;==>Example I'm sure there are some use-cases I've forgotten, so feedback is welcome! Download the latest UDF and several more examples: GuiFlatButton_20220919.zip (1,121) Update 2022-09-19 Added update from 05/25 back in after it was accidentally removed Update 2022-09-01 Added $BS_MULTILINE button style Added ellipses when text is longer than the button Fixed compatibility with Opt("MustDeclareVars", 1) Update 2022-05-25 Fixed issue, buttons disappear when a GUI containing a child window with WS_EX_MDICHILD extended style is moved Update 2022-05-24 Fixed issue releasing subclassing when GUI is deleted but program is not closed Fixed occasional white background flicker Added function GuiFlatButton_GetPos Update 2021-01-02 Fixed bug, not drawing correctly after deleting GUI with GUIDelete() Fixed bug, changing default colors changed all buttons, even previously created buttons Made some internal functions more efficient Update 2019-04-14 Fixed bug, not showing pressed down state when clicking rapidly Added Icon/Bitmap support! Added function GuiFlatButton_SetPos to change the position and/or size of a button Update 2019-02-09 Added 2 new functions to set the button colors globally for all future buttons. GuiFlatButton_SetDefaultColors GuiFlatButton_SetDefaultColorsEx Credits to: Melba23 (UDF template) LarsJ (general subclassing code) 4ggr35510n (TrackMouseEvent example) binhnx (disable dragging with $WS_EX_CONTROLPARENT) GUIRegisterMsg in AutoIt Help (owner-draw button example) funkey (_WinAPI_DrawState example)

Thanks lot for your information. I will take care of these. Best regards mike

@argumentum Nice ideas, I will make sure to include this in the next update! Thanks for the contribution. BTW, I still have light / dark mode color adjustment in the back of my mind. I haven't forgotten about your request. I just haven't dug deep enough to implement it yet.

for non-standard / portable use: Global $au3InstallPath = IniRead($sIniPath, "Settings", "AutoIt3FullPath", @ProgramFilesDir & "\AutoIt3\AutoIt3.exe") If StringInStr(@AutoItExe, "\AutoIt3.exe") Or StringInStr(@AutoItExe, "\AutoIt3_x64.exe") Then $au3InstallPath = @AutoItExe .... .... ;run the temporary file If Not FileExists($au3InstallPath) Then Local $sFileOpenDialog = FileOpenDialog("Select AutoIt3.exe", @ProgramFilesDir, "(*.exe)", $FD_FILEMUSTEXIST, "AutoIt3.exe") If @error Then MsgBox(1, "Error", "Could not find AutoIt3.exe") Return Else $au3InstallPath = $sFileOpenDialog IniWrite($sIniPath, "Settings", "AutoIt3FullPath", $au3InstallPath) EndIf EndIf

It looks like the filenames are located in the Files property, so you would use _WD_ElementAction to access them, ie -- $sFiles = _WD_ElementAction($sSession, $sElement, 'property', 'files')

Today i found this thread because i am looking too for an solution to autoset the Default Printer via autostart / cmd-script. After about 1 hours of work here is my Kind of solution.... #include <Array.au3> #include <Constants.au3> #include <GUIConstantsEx.au3> #include <MsgBoxConstants.au3> ; Turn off tray icon Opt("TrayIconHide", 1) ; Set some program constants Const $ProgramName = "Default Printer Selector" Const $ProgramVersion = "1.0.1" Const $WindowTitle = $ProgramName & " " & $ProgramVersion Const $INIfile="SetDefaultPrinter.ini" If not FileExists($INIFile) Then FileWrite($INIFile, "; INI File to store the last DefaultPrinter") FileWrite($INIFile, @CRLF) EndIf ; Store result of _GetPrinters() function $arrPrinters = _GetPrinters() ; Check if any printers were found If UBound($arrPrinters) = 1 Then MsgBox(16, $WindowTitle, "Error - No Printers Found for user " & @Username) Exit EndIf ; Get the default printer name $strDefaultPrinter = _GetDefaultPrinter() ; read last selected DefaultPrinter from INI file $strINIDefaultPrinter=IniRead($INIfile, "Options", "DefaultPrinter", "") ; check for parameter "autoset" if $cmdline[0] > 0 Then if StringInStr( $cmdline[1], "autoset") then For $i = 1 to UBound($arrPrinters)-1 If $arrPrinters[$i][0] = $strINIDefaultPrinter Then RegWrite("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows", "Device", "REG_SZ", $arrPrinters[$i][0] & "," & $arrPrinters[$i][1]) INIWrite($INIfile, "Options", "DefaultPrinter", $arrPrinters[$i][0]) EndIf Next Else Msgbox(0,"Parameter Error", "The given parameter '" & $cmdline[1] & "' isn't correct." & @CRLF & @CRLF & "use the paramater AUTOSET.", 5) EndIf Exit EndIf ; create GUI and fill the ComboControl Global $GUI1id = GUICreate("Set Default Printer", 600, 80) Global $GUI1Select=GUICtrlCreateCombo("", 10, 12, 440, 21) GUICtrlSetFont(-1, 14) Global $GUI1Button1=GUICtrlCreateButton("Save and Exit", 460, 10, 130, 32) GUICtrlSetFont(-1, 14) $temp=$arrPrinters[1][0] For $i = 2 to UBound($arrPrinters)-1 $temp=$temp & "|" & $arrPrinters[$i][0] Next GUICtrlSetData($GUI1Select, $temp, $strDefaultPrinter) GUISetState() While 1 ; Get any tray menu messages $guiMsg = GUIGetMsg() $tMsg = TrayGetMsg() ; Quit if user clicks exit If $guiMsg=$GUI_EVENT_CLOSE Then INIWrite($INIfile, "Options", "DefaultPrinter", $strDefaultPrinter) Exit EndIf If $guiMsg=$GUI1Button1 Then For $i = 1 to UBound($arrPrinters)-1 If GUICtrlRead($GUI1Select) = $arrPrinters[$i][0] Then RegWrite("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows", "Device", "REG_SZ", $arrPrinters[$i][0] & "," & $arrPrinters[$i][1]) INIWrite($INIfile, "Options", "DefaultPrinter", $arrPrinters[$i][0]) EndIf Next Exit EndIf WEnd Func _GetDefaultPrinter() ; Read the default printer name from the registry Local $strDefaultPrinter = RegRead("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows", "Device") ;msgbox(0,"", $strDefaultPrinter) ; Only need the part up to the first comma (rest of line is port details) $strDefaultPrinter = StringLeft($strDefaultPrinter, StringInStr($strDefaultPrinter, ",")-1) ; Return the printer name Return $strDefaultPrinter EndFunc Func _GetPrinters() ; Local array to hold one row of printer details - printer name, port details, tray menu handle Local $arrLocalPrinters[1][3] ; Counter for looping through registry Local $i = 1 ; While there are still registry entries to read While 1 ; String location of registry to read Local $strREGKEY = "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PrinterPorts" ; Get the next printer name from the registry value Local $strPrinter = RegEnumVal($strRegKey, $i) ; Exit if there are no more registry entries If @error Then ExitLoop ; Read the printer port details for this printer Local $strPort = RegRead("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PrinterPorts", $strPrinter) ; Only need the part from start of string to first colon $strPort = StringLeft($strPort, StringInStr($strPort, ":")) ; Add this printer to the array Local $intMax = UBound($arrLocalPrinters) ; Add an new row to the array ReDim $arrLocalPrinters[$intMax+1][3] ; Store the printer name in column 1 $arrLocalPrinters[$intMax][0] = $strPrinter ; Store the printer port details in column 2 $arrLocalPrinters[$intMax][1] = $strPort ; Increase the loop counter to get the next registry value $i += 1 WEnd ; Sort the printer array alphabetically _ArraySort($arrLocalPrinters) ; Return the array Return $arrLocalPrinters EndFunc starting the script will present the Combobox with all Printers.. Now you can select the Printer With an click at "save and Exit" the Default printer will set and stored into the ini-file "SetDefaultPrinter.ini". The INI File is stored und searched at Script Path. with this ini file it's possible to set the Default Printer automatically by starting the script with an parameter "/autoset". SetDefaultPrinter.au3