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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)

The function below is from the script that connects to the Yahoo Finance server that I referred to earlier. I have separate functions for enqueuing events and processing events. Basically, the function below is called to wait for and enqueue responses from the websocket server. It polls until there is data and then reads the data until there is no more being sent. As you can see, I can also set how long I want the function to wait for data before timing out and returning. Once this function returns, I usually call a function that processes the queued data. Func enqueue_received_events($iWsSocketId, $iTimeoutTicks = 3000) Local $sReceivedEvents = "", _ $sJqCmdOutput = "" Local $hTimeoutTimer = -1 Local $iPrevDataLen = 0 ;Clear the event queue ReDim $gaEventQueue[0][2] ;Initialize timeout timer $hTimeoutTimer = TimerInit() ;Receive until timeout or data received Do Sleep(100) $sReceivedEvents &= TCPRecv($iWsSocketId, 2048) Until TimerDiff($hTimeoutTimer) >= $iTimeoutTicks Or $sReceivedEvents <> "" Or $gbStopMonitoring If StringLen($sReceivedEvents) = 0 Then Return SetError(1, 0, "") ;Timeout occurred waiting for events or user aborted ;Receive until no more data received Do Sleep(100) $iPrevDataLen = StringLen($sReceivedEvents) $sReceivedEvents &= TCPRecv($iWsSocketId, 2048) Until StringLen($sReceivedEvents) = $iPrevDataLen ;Parse JSON events into the event queue $sJqCmdOutput = _jqExec($sReceivedEvents, $JQ_PARSE_EVENTS) If @error Then Return SetError(2, 0, "") _ArrayAdd($gaEventQueue, $sJqCmdOutput) ;Add new events to the queue If @error Then Return SetError(3, 0, @error) Return True EndFunc $sReceivedEvents, once I've received all of the events that the server has sent at the time, will look something like this: {"event": "message", "text": "This is a test."} {"event": "message", "text": "This is a test."} {"event": "message", "text": "This is a test."} I have no need for EOL or other markers. jq, which is what I use to process the JSON events from sgcWebSocketClient, handles the multiple responses just as they are (a collection of JSON objects) and filters out the information that I want to enqueue (in a single call/execution). I have jq output a pipe-delimited list of data that I pass to ArrayAdd(). My event queue is a 2D array that contain event type and any additional details that I need for processing. The event type is necessary so I can identify (and process) all of the events (connect, disconnect, message, & error).

Perhaps try using the _WinAPI_UniqueHardwareID function instead. Hopefully that will provide more reliable, stable results. _WinAPI_UniqueHardwareID()

Okay, this is exciting. I'm proud to introduce CompileIt - an experimental compiler, that allows to compile AutoIt to machine code. ...Kind of. CompileIt does compilation in a similar way the Glasgow Haskell compiler does: translates the code into a lower-level language (in CompileIt's case it's C), and then compiles the code in that language. Now, this project is still in its infancy, since, although it is simple to use, AutoIt is incredibly complex on the inside (automation, COM, etc.). So, CompileIt can compile only a very small subset of what we know as AutoIt. Here's a list of things CompileIt (partially) supports (or not): Numbers, booleans, strings Some built-in functions If, For and While statements Exporting DLL functions (you can now write DLL's in AutoIt, guys!) No arrays, automation, GUI or COM. A more detailed list is included with CompileIt. CompileIt is written in AutoIt (the compiler interface), JavaScript (parser, executed with ChakraCore), and of course C. GCC is required to compile scripts. After you extract the files, run CompileIt.exe and configure it to work with GCC.

All done. I have updated the function.