Image Search Library

[rockets]

can you use .png's as your image to search for?

[Sundance]

Hey. Great library. I just made some chages, so i can search any HBitmap, too ( _WinAPI_LoadImage, _GDIPlus_BitmapCreateHBITMAPFromBitmap)

ImageSearch.zip (659.4K) Number of downloads:

//Edit: added speedshare mirror as requested by mortelrdv: http://www.speedshare.org/download.php?id=5B284B0413

Hi,

the downloadlinks are dead. Can you provide another location? To look for an image which comes from the harddrive is not as good as the HBitmap solution...

greetz and thx in advance

Sundance

[ProgAndy]

OK. New download for HBITMAP-modification:

ImageSearchDLL.zip

[Zedna]

Here is original ImageSearch DLL with AU3 wrapper and also with C++ sources.

ImageSearch.zip

[Sundance]

Here is original ImageSearch DLL with AU3 wrapper and also with C++ sources.

Thx both of you :-)

Now going t work...

greetz

Sundance

[bald1]

Thanks for updating the links

[Sundance]

Back again at home i tried to use both ImageSearch Versions but get the same error on both:

D:\Eigene Dateien\Programmierung\AutoIt Skripte\ImageSearch\ImageSearch.au3 (41) : ==> Subscript used with non-Array variable.:

if $result[0]="0" then return 0

if $result^ ERROR

->22:58:29 AutoIT3.exe ended.rc:1

@error is giving me 1 which means: unable to use the DLL file

I'am calling ImageSearch with the following parameters

_ImageSearch("d:\pic.bmp", 0, 900, 563, 1020, 638, $iResultX, $iResultY)

The BMP file exists and the coordinates are in the range of my desktop width/heigth

Don't know where my problem lies... Somebody got a hint?

greetz

Sundance

PS: I tried the ImageSearchDemo and it gives me the same error!! All files are from the original ImageSearch archive..

I should say, that i run under Windows 7 64Bit

Edited November 18, 2009 by Sundance

[Zedna]

Back again at home i tried to use both ImageSearch Versions but get the same error on both:

D:\Eigene Dateien\Programmierung\AutoIt Skripte\ImageSearch\ImageSearch.au3 (41) : ==> Subscript used with non-Array variable.:

if $result[0]="0" then return 0

if $result^ ERROR

->22:58:29 AutoIT3.exe ended.rc:1

...

PS: I tried the ImageSearchDemo and it gives me the same error!! All files are from the original ImageSearch archive..

I should say, that i run under Windows 7 64Bit

Read previous posts in this topic. This was reported already.

On 64bit OS it doesn't work.

It's probably because DLL is compiled as 32bit. Try to recompile DLL from sources as 64bit one.

But I'm not sure about that.

[xgend]

Got it to work already - however, I don't think the problem of transparency has been resolved? Or am I just missing the right post? The image is in my screen but I don't think AutoIt can see it due to transparency around the image.

[Sundance]

Read previous posts in this topic. This was reported already.

On 64bit OS it doesn't work.

It's probably because DLL is compiled as 32bit. Try to recompile DLL from sources as 64bit one.

But I'm not sure about that.

Hi Zedna,

after some hours of sleep i saw the post you mean. Sorry i did my post. I hate people who don't read older posts...

sleepy greetz from germany

Sundance

[Negative1]

Read previous posts in this topic. This was reported already.

On 64bit OS it doesn't work.

It's probably because DLL is compiled as 32bit. Try to recompile DLL from sources as 64bit one.

But I'm not sure about that.

I'm getting the same error below however I am running 32 bit XP.

Anything else that can cause this error? Thanks

C:\Program Files\AutoIt3\Include\ImageSearch.au3 (44) : ==> Subscript used with non-Array variable.:

if $result[0]="0" then return 0

if $result^ ERROR

>Exit code: 1 Time: 0.837

[yashrai]

i.want.to.make.a.input.text.search.my.app...............

how.to.do...that........

[HansHenrik]

when i compile the source as x86,

its just Incredibly slow on Win7 Ultimate x64 (compared to WinXP Pro) takes like 5 seconds for each image search >.< (whereas XP takes just a few milliseconds..)

when i compile the source as x64 (No other changes than 32->64) i get this error from autoit

C:\Program Files (x86)\AutoIt3\Include\ImageSearch.au3 (40) : ==> Subscript used with non-Array variable.:

if $result[0]="0" then return 00

ideas how i can make it more effective on Win7?

Edited January 22, 2010 by HansHenrik

[Dauser]

when i compile the source as x86,

its just Incredibly slow on Win7 Ultimate x64 (compared to WinXP Pro) takes like 5 seconds for each image search >.< (whereas XP takes just a few milliseconds..)

when i compile the source as x64 (No other changes than 32->64) i get this error from autoit

C:\Program Files (x86)\AutoIt3\Include\ImageSearch.au3 (40) : ==> Subscript used with non-Array variable.:

if $result[0]="0" then return 00

ideas how i can make it more effective on Win7?

Hi,

could you please upload the DLL for x64 systems. I tried to compile it with Visual C++ but didn't succeed. (Never did C++ before)

for your problem with the source as x64 look at this post: #701541

[HansHenrik]

hmm the speed problem is gone for me, idk why it happened, i must have had something else eating the cpu or something without knowing it

anyway heres the 64-bit build as requested ^, note however

I cant get the 64-bit dll to work. (not even by removing the array [0] part. (then it ALWAYS return false it seems, tho i have just tested it 2 times, could be that i messed up again.)

(i merged post here)

i may have a hardware-issue, or i was probably allot more tired than i thought while posting above post, or evil chinese hackers mess up my autoit, or some other magic..

now i have no problem getting either 32-bit or 64-bit build to work. ... wth?!??!?!?????????

but now i got a friend witch get same problem on both dll's (again, wth??)

btw could it be that the DllCall() fails?

also heres a stupid workaround for the error that stops compiling, according to the link posted ^, it may help..

$result = DllCall("ImageSearchDLL.dll","str","ImageSearch","int",$x1,"int",$y1,"int",$right,"int",$bottom,"str",$findImage)

; If error exit
    if IsArray($result) Then;heres the workaround..
    if $result[0]="0" then return 0
    Else
        if $result="0" then return 0
        EndIf

ImageSearchDLL32-64.dll.rar

Edited January 26, 2010 by HansHenrik

[HansHenrik]

dont know if it will actually help but i created this

expandcollapse popup

#define HHB_PRINT_FAIL_IMAGE_SEARCH
/*
AutoHotkey

Copyright 2003-2007 Chris Mallett (support@autohotkey.com)
DLL conversion 2008: kangkengkingkong@hotmail.com

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
*/

#include "stdafx.h" // pre-compiled headers
#include <olectl.h> // for OleLoadPicture()
#include <Gdiplus.h> // Used by LoadPicture().
#include <windef.h>
#include <windows.h>
#include <winuser.h>
#include <malloc.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <shellapi.h>

#ifdef HHB_PRINT_FAIL_IMAGE_SEARCH
std::string ERROR="";
#endif
#define CLR_DEFAULT 0x808080
#define ToWideChar(source, dest, dest_size_in_wchars) MultiByteToWideChar(CP_ACP, 0, source, -1, dest, dest_size_in_wchars)

#define CLR_NONE 0xFFFFFFFF
#define IS_SPACE_OR_TAB(c) (c == ' ' || c == '\t')

char answer[50];

HINSTANCE g_hInstance;

#define SET_COLOR_RANGE \
{\
    red_low = (aVariation > search_red) ? 0 : search_red - aVariation;\
    green_low = (aVariation > search_green) ? 0 : search_green - aVariation;\
    blue_low = (aVariation > search_blue) ? 0 : search_blue - aVariation;\
    red_high = (aVariation > 0xFF - search_red) ? 0xFF : search_red + aVariation;\
    green_high = (aVariation > 0xFF - search_green) ? 0xFF : search_green + aVariation;\
    blue_high = (aVariation > 0xFF - search_blue) ? 0xFF : search_blue + aVariation;\
}
#define bgr_to_rgb(aBGR) rgb_to_bgr(aBGR)

inline COLORREF rgb_to_bgr(DWORD aRGB)
// Fancier methods seem prone to problems due to byte alignment or compiler issues.
{
    return RGB(GetBValue(aRGB), GetGValue(aRGB), GetRValue(aRGB));
}

COLORREF ColorNameToBGR(char *aColorName)
// These are the main HTML color names.  Returns CLR_NONE if a matching HTML color name can't be found.
// Returns CLR_DEFAULT only if aColorName is the word Default.
{
    if (!aColorName || !*aColorName) return CLR_NONE;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Black"))  return 0x000000;  // These colors are all in BGR format, not RGB.
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Silver")) return 0xC0C0C0;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Gray"))   return 0x808080;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "White"))  return 0xFFFFFF;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Maroon")) return 0x000080;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Red"))    return 0x0000FF;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Purple")) return 0x800080;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Fuchsia"))return 0xFF00FF;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Green"))  return 0x008000;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Lime"))   return 0x00FF00;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Olive"))  return 0x008080;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Yellow")) return 0x00FFFF;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Navy"))   return 0x800000;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Blue"))   return 0xFF0000;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Teal"))   return 0x808000;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Aqua"))   return 0xFFFF00;
    if (!_stricmp(aColorName, "Default"))return CLR_DEFAULT;
    return CLR_NONE;
}

inline char *StrChrAny(char *aStr, char *aCharList)
// Returns the position of the first char in aStr that is of any one of the characters listed in aCharList.
// Returns NULL if not found.
// Update: Yes, this seems identical to strpbrk().  However, since the corresponding code would
// have to be added to the EXE regardless of which was used, there doesn't seem to be much
// advantage to switching (especially since if the two differ in behavior at all, things might
// get broken).  Another reason is the name "strpbrk()" is not as easy to remember.
{
    if (aStr == NULL || aCharList == NULL) return NULL;
    if (!*aStr || !*aCharList) return NULL;
    // Don't use strchr() because that would just find the first occurrence
    // of the first search-char, which is not necessarily the first occurrence
    // of *any* search-char:
    char *look_for_this_char, char_being_analyzed;
    for (; *aStr; ++aStr)
        // If *aStr is any of the search char's, we're done:
        for (char_being_analyzed = *aStr, look_for_this_char = aCharList; *look_for_this_char; ++look_for_this_char)
            if (char_being_analyzed == *look_for_this_char)
                return aStr;  // Match found.
    return NULL; // No match.
}
inline char *omit_leading_whitespace(char *aBuf) // 10/17/2006: __forceinline didn't help significantly.
// While aBuf points to a whitespace, moves to the right and returns the first non-whitespace
// encountered.
{
    for (; IS_SPACE_OR_TAB(*aBuf); ++aBuf);
    return aBuf;
}

inline bool IsHex(char *aBuf) // 10/17/2006: __forceinline worsens performance, but physically ordering it near ATOI64() [via /ORDER] boosts by 3.5%.
// Note: AHK support for hex ints reduces performance by only 10% for decimal ints, even in the tightest
// of math loops that have SetBatchLines set to -1.
{
    // For whatever reason, omit_leading_whitespace() benches consistently faster (albeit slightly) than
    // the same code put inline (confirmed again on 10/17/2006, though the difference is hardly anything):
    //for (; IS_SPACE_OR_TAB(*aBuf); ++aBuf);
    aBuf = omit_leading_whitespace(aBuf); // i.e. caller doesn't have to have ltrimmed.
    if (!*aBuf)
        return false;
    if (*aBuf == '-' || *aBuf == '+')
        ++aBuf;
    // The "0x" prefix must be followed by at least one hex digit, otherwise it's not considered hex:
    #define IS_HEX(buf) (*buf == '0' && (*(buf + 1) == 'x' || *(buf + 1) == 'X') && isxdigit(*(buf + 2)))
    return IS_HEX(aBuf);
}

inline int ATOI(char *buf)
{
    // Below has been updated because values with leading zeros were being intepreted as
    // octal, which is undesirable.
    // Formerly: #define ATOI(buf) strtol(buf, NULL, 0) // Use zero as last param to support both hex & dec.
    return IsHex(buf) ? strtol(buf, NULL, 16) : atoi(buf); // atoi() has superior performance, so use it when possible.
}

void strlcpy(char *aDst, const char *aSrc, size_t aDstSize) // Non-inline because it benches slightly faster that way.
// Caller must ensure that aDstSize is greater than 0.
// Caller must ensure that the entire capacity of aDst is writable, EVEN WHEN it knows that aSrc is much shorter
// than the aDstSize.  This is because the call to strncpy (which is used for its superior performance) zero-fills
// any unused portion of aDst.
// Description:
// Same as strncpy() but guarantees null-termination of aDst upon return.
// No more than aDstSize - 1 characters will be copied from aSrc into aDst
// (leaving room for the zero terminator, which is always inserted).
// This function is defined in some Unices but is not standard.  But unlike
// other versions, this one uses void for return value for reduced code size
// (since it's called in so many places).
{
    // Disabled for performance and reduced code size:
    //if (!aDst || !aSrc || !aDstSize) return aDstSize;  // aDstSize must not be zero due to the below method.
    // It might be worthwhile to have a custom char-copying-loop here someday so that number of characters
    // actually copied (not including the zero terminator) can be returned to callers who want it.
    --aDstSize; // Convert from size to length (caller has ensured that aDstSize > 0).
    strncpy(aDst, aSrc, aDstSize); // NOTE: In spite of its zero-filling, strncpy() benchmarks considerably faster than a custom loop, probably because it uses 32-bit memory operations vs. 8-bit.
    aDst[aDstSize] = '\0';
}

LPCOLORREF getbits(HBITMAP ahImage, HDC hdc, LONG &aWidth, LONG &aHeight, bool &aIs16Bit, int aMinColorDepth = 8)
// Helper function used by PixelSearch below.
// Returns an array of pixels to the caller, which it must free when done.  Returns NULL on failure,
// in which case the contents of the output parameters is indeterminate.
{
    HDC tdc = CreateCompatibleDC(hdc);
    if (!tdc)
        return NULL;

    // From this point on, "goto end" will assume tdc is non-NULL, but that the below
    // might still be NULL.  Therefore, all of the following must be initialized so that the "end"
    // label can detect them:
    HGDIOBJ tdc_orig_select = NULL;
    LPCOLORREF image_pixel = NULL;
    bool success = false;

    // Confirmed:
    // Needs extra memory to prevent buffer overflow due to: "A bottom-up DIB is specified by setting
    // the height to a positive number, while a top-down DIB is specified by setting the height to a
    // negative number. THE BITMAP COLOR TABLE WILL BE APPENDED to the BITMAPINFO structure."
    // Maybe this applies only to negative height, in which case the second call to GetDIBits()
    // below uses one.
    struct BITMAPINFO3
    {
        BITMAPINFOHEADER    bmiHeader;
        RGBQUAD             bmiColors[260];  // v1.0.40.10: 260 vs. 3 to allow room for color table when color depth is 8-bit or less.
    } bmi;

    bmi.bmiHeader.biSize = sizeof(BITMAPINFOHEADER);
    bmi.bmiHeader.biBitCount = 0; // i.e. "query bitmap attributes" only.
    if (!GetDIBits(tdc, ahImage, 0, 0, NULL, (LPBITMAPINFO)&bmi, DIB_RGB_COLORS)
        || bmi.bmiHeader.biBitCount < aMinColorDepth) // Relies on short-circuit boolean order.
        goto end;

    // Set output parameters for caller:
    aIs16Bit = (bmi.bmiHeader.biBitCount == 16);
    aWidth = bmi.bmiHeader.biWidth;
    aHeight = bmi.bmiHeader.biHeight;

    int image_pixel_count = aWidth * aHeight;
    if (   !(image_pixel = (LPCOLORREF)malloc(image_pixel_count * sizeof(COLORREF)))   )
        goto end;

    // v1.0.40.10: To preserve compatibility with callers who check for transparency in icons, don't do any
    // of the extra color table handling for 1-bpp images.  Update: For code simplification, support only
    // 8-bpp images.  If ever support lower color depths, use something like "bmi.bmiHeader.biBitCount > 1
    // && bmi.bmiHeader.biBitCount < 9";
    bool is_8bit = (bmi.bmiHeader.biBitCount == 8);
    if (!is_8bit)
        bmi.bmiHeader.biBitCount = 32;
    bmi.bmiHeader.biHeight = -bmi.bmiHeader.biHeight; // Storing a negative inside the bmiHeader struct is a signal for GetDIBits().

    // Must be done only after GetDIBits() because: "The bitmap identified by the hbmp parameter
    // must not be selected into a device context when the application calls GetDIBits()."
    // (Although testing shows it works anyway, perhaps because GetDIBits() above is being
    // called in its informational mode only).
    // Note that this seems to return NULL sometimes even though everything still works.
    // Perhaps that is normal.
    tdc_orig_select = SelectObject(tdc, ahImage); // Returns NULL when we're called the second time?

    // Appparently there is no need to specify DIB_PAL_COLORS below when color depth is 8-bit because
    // DIB_RGB_COLORS also retrieves the color indices.
    if (   !(GetDIBits(tdc, ahImage, 0, aHeight, image_pixel, (LPBITMAPINFO)&bmi, DIB_RGB_COLORS))   )
        goto end;

    if (is_8bit) // This section added in v1.0.40.10.
    {
        // Convert the color indicies to RGB colors by going through the array in reverse order.
        // Reverse order allows an in-place conversion of each 8-bit color index to its corresponding
        // 32-bit RGB color.
        LPDWORD palette = (LPDWORD)_alloca(256 * sizeof(PALETTEENTRY));
        GetSystemPaletteEntries(tdc, 0, 256, (LPPALETTEENTRY)palette); // Even if failure can realistically happen, consequences of using uninitialized palette seem acceptable.
        // Above: GetSystemPaletteEntries() is the only approach that provided the correct palette.
        // The following other approaches didn't give the right one:
        // GetDIBits(): The palette it stores in bmi.bmiColors seems completely wrong.
        // GetPaletteEntries()+GetCurrentObject(hdc, OBJ_PAL): Returned only 20 entries rather than the expected 256.
        // GetDIBColorTable(): I think same as above or maybe it returns 0.

        // The following section is necessary because apparently each new row in the region starts on
        // a DWORD boundary.  So if the number of pixels in each row isn't an exact multiple of 4, there
        // are between 1 and 3 zero-bytes at the end of each row.
        int remainder = aWidth % 4;
        int empty_bytes_at_end_of_each_row = remainder ? (4 - remainder) : 0;

        // Start at the last RGB slot and the last color index slot:
        BYTE *byte = (BYTE *)image_pixel + image_pixel_count - 1 + (aHeight * empty_bytes_at_end_of_each_row); // Pointer to 8-bit color indices.
        DWORD *pixel = image_pixel + image_pixel_count - 1; // Pointer to 32-bit RGB entries.

        int row, col;
        for (row = 0; row < aHeight; ++row) // For each row.
        {
            byte -= empty_bytes_at_end_of_each_row;
            for (col = 0; col < aWidth; ++col) // For each column.
                *pixel-- = rgb_to_bgr(palette[*byte--]); // Caller always wants RGB vs. BGR format.
        }
    }

    // Since above didn't "goto end", indicate success:
    success = true;

end:
    if (tdc_orig_select) // i.e. the original call to SelectObject() didn't fail.
        SelectObject(tdc, tdc_orig_select); // Probably necessary to prevent memory leak.
    DeleteDC(tdc);
    if (!success && image_pixel)
    {
        free(image_pixel);
        image_pixel = NULL;
    }
    return image_pixel;
}

HBITMAP LoadPicture(char *aFilespec, int aWidth, int aHeight, int &aImageType, int aIconNumber
    , bool aUseGDIPlusIfAvailable)
// Returns NULL on failure.
// If aIconNumber > 0, an HICON or HCURSOR is returned (both should be interchangeable), never an HBITMAP.
// However, aIconNumber==1 is treated as a special icon upon which LoadImage is given preference over ExtractIcon
// for .ico/.cur/.ani files.
// Otherwise, .ico/.cur/.ani files are normally loaded as HICON (unless aUseGDIPlusIfAvailable is true or
// something else unusual happened such as file contents not matching file's extension).  This is done to preserve
// any properties that HICONs have but HBITMAPs lack, namely the ability to be animated and perhaps other things.
//
// Loads a JPG/GIF/BMP/ICO/etc. and returns an HBITMAP or HICON to the caller (which it may call
// DeleteObject()/DestroyIcon() upon, though upon program termination all such handles are freed
// automatically).  The image is scaled to the specified width and height.  If zero is specified
// for either, the image's actual size will be used for that dimension.  If -1 is specified for one,
// that dimension will be kept proportional to the other dimension's size so that the original aspect
// ratio is retained.
{
    HBITMAP hbitmap = NULL;
    aImageType = -1; // The type of image currently inside hbitmap.  Set default value for output parameter as "unknown".

    if (!*aFilespec) // Allow blank filename to yield NULL bitmap (and currently, some callers do call it this way).
        return NULL;
    if (aIconNumber < 0) // Allowed to be called this way by GUI and others (to avoid need for validation of user input there).
        aIconNumber = 0; // Use the default behavior, which is "load icon or bitmap, whichever is most appropriate".

    char *file_ext = strrchr(aFilespec, '.');
    if (file_ext)
        ++file_ext;


    // v1.0.43.07: If aIconNumber is zero, caller didn't specify whether it wanted an icon or bitmap.  Thus,
    // there must be some kind of detection for whether ExtractIcon is needed instead of GDIPlus/OleLoadPicture.
    // Although this could be done by attempting ExtractIcon only after GDIPlus/OleLoadPicture fails (or by
    // somehow checking the internal nature of the file), for performance and code size, it seems best to not
    // to incur this extra I/O and instead make only one attempt based on the file's extension.
    // Must use ExtractIcon() if either of the following is true:
    // 1) Caller gave an icon index of the second or higher icon in the file.  Update for v1.0.43.05: There
    //    doesn't seem to be any reason to allow a caller to explicitly specify ExtractIcon as the method of
    //    loading the *first* icon from a .ico file since LoadImage is likely always superior.  This is
    //    because unlike ExtractIcon/Ex, LoadImage: 1) Doesn't distort icons, especially 16x16 icons; 2) is
    //    capable of loading icons other than the first by means of width and height parameters.
    // 2) The target file is of type EXE/DLL/ICL/CPL/etc. (LoadImage() is documented not to work on those file types).
    //    ICL files (v1.0.43.05): Apparently ICL files are an unofficial file format. Someone on the newsgroups
    //    said that an ICL is an "ICon Library... a renamed 16-bit Windows .DLL (an NE format executable) which
    //    typically contains nothing but a resource section. The ICL extension seems to be used by convention."
    bool ExtractIcon_was_used = aIconNumber > 1 || (file_ext && (
           !_stricmp(file_ext, "exe")
        || !_stricmp(file_ext, "dll")
        || !_stricmp(file_ext, "icl") // Icon library: Unofficial dll container, see notes above.
        || !_stricmp(file_ext, "cpl") // Control panel extension/applet (ExtractIcon is said to work on these).
        || !_stricmp(file_ext, "scr") // Screen saver (ExtractIcon should work since these are really EXEs).
        // v1.0.44: Below are now omitted to reduce code size and improve performance. They are still supported
        // indirectly because ExtractIcon is attempted whenever LoadImage() fails further below.
        //|| !_stricmp(file_ext, "drv") // Driver (ExtractIcon is said to work on these).
        //|| !_stricmp(file_ext, "ocx") // OLE/ActiveX Control Extension
        //|| !_stricmp(file_ext, "vbx") // Visual Basic Extension
        //|| !_stricmp(file_ext, "acm") // Audio Compression Manager Driver
        //|| !_stricmp(file_ext, "bpl") // Delphi Library (like a DLL?)
        // Not supported due to rarity, code size, performance, and uncertainty of whether ExtractIcon works on them.
        // Update for v1.0.44: The following are now supported indirectly because ExtractIcon is attempted whenever
        // LoadImage() fails further below.
        //|| !_stricmp(file_ext, "nil") // Norton Icon Library
        //|| !_stricmp(file_ext, "wlx") // Total/Windows Commander Lister Plug-in
        //|| !_stricmp(file_ext, "wfx") // Total/Windows Commander File System Plug-in
        //|| !_stricmp(file_ext, "wcx") // Total/Windows Commander Plug-in
        //|| !_stricmp(file_ext, "wdx") // Total/Windows Commander Plug-in
        ));
    if (ExtractIcon_was_used)
    {
        aImageType = IMAGE_ICON;
        hbitmap = (HBITMAP)ExtractIcon(g_hInstance, aFilespec, aIconNumber > 0 ? aIconNumber - 1 : 0);
        // Above: Although it isn't well documented at MSDN, apparently both ExtractIcon() and LoadIcon()
        // scale the icon to the system's large-icon size (usually 32x32) regardless of the actual size of
        // the icon inside the file.  For this reason, callers should call us in a way that allows us to
        // give preference to LoadImage() over ExtractIcon() (unless the caller needs to retain backward
        // compatibility with existing scripts that explicitly specify icon #1 to force the ExtractIcon
        // method to be used).
        if (hbitmap < (HBITMAP)2) // i.e. it's NULL or 1. Return value of 1 means "incorrect file type".
            return NULL; // v1.0.44: Fixed to return NULL vs. hbitmap, since 1 is an invalid handle (perhaps rare since no known bugs caused by it).
        //else continue on below so that the icon can be resized to the caller's specified dimensions.
    }
    else if (aIconNumber > 0) // Caller wanted HICON, never HBITMAP, so set type now to enforce that.
        aImageType = IMAGE_ICON; // Should be suitable for cursors too, since they're interchangeable for the most part.
    else if (file_ext) // Make an initial guess of the type of image if the above didn't already determine the type.
    {
        if (!_stricmp(file_ext, "ico"))
            aImageType = IMAGE_ICON;
        else if (!_stricmp(file_ext, "cur") || !_stricmp(file_ext, "ani"))
            aImageType = IMAGE_CURSOR;
        else if (!_stricmp(file_ext, "bmp"))
            aImageType = IMAGE_BITMAP;
        //else for other extensions, leave set to "unknown" so that the below knows to use IPic or GDI+ to load it.
    }
    //else same comment as above.

    if ((aWidth == -1 || aHeight == -1) && (!aWidth || !aHeight))
        aWidth = aHeight = 0; // i.e. One dimension is zero and the other is -1, which resolves to the same as "keep original size".
    bool keep_aspect_ratio = (aWidth == -1 || aHeight == -1);

    // Caller should ensure that aUseGDIPlusIfAvailable==false when aIconNumber > 0, since it makes no sense otherwise.
    HINSTANCE hinstGDI = NULL;
    if (aUseGDIPlusIfAvailable && !(hinstGDI = LoadLibrary("gdiplus"))) // Relies on short-circuit boolean order for performance.
        aUseGDIPlusIfAvailable = false; // Override any original "true" value as a signal for the section below.

    if (!hbitmap && aImageType > -1 && !aUseGDIPlusIfAvailable)
    {
        // Since image hasn't yet be loaded and since the file type appears to be one supported by
        // LoadImage() [icon/cursor/bitmap], attempt that first.  If it fails, fall back to the other
        // methods below in case the file's internal contents differ from what the file extension indicates.
        int desired_width, desired_height;
        if (keep_aspect_ratio) // Load image at its actual size.  It will be rescaled to retain aspect ratio later below.
        {
            desired_width = 0;
            desired_height = 0;
        }
        else
        {
            desired_width = aWidth;
            desired_height = aHeight;
        }
        // For LoadImage() below:
        // LR_CREATEDIBSECTION applies only when aImageType == IMAGE_BITMAP, but seems appropriate in that case.
        // Also, if width and height are non-zero, that will determine which icon of a multi-icon .ico file gets
        // loaded (though I don't know the exact rules of precedence).
        // KNOWN LIMITATIONS/BUGS:
        // LoadImage() fails when requesting a size of 1x1 for an image whose orig/actual size is small (e.g. 1x2).
        // Unlike CopyImage(), perhaps it detects that division by zero would occur and refuses to do the
        // calculation rather than providing more code to do a correct calculation that doesn't divide by zero.
        // For example:
        // LoadImage() Success:
        //   Gui, Add, Pic, h2 w2, bitmap 1x2.bmp
        //   Gui, Add, Pic, h1 w1, bitmap 4x6.bmp
        // LoadImage() Failure:
        //   Gui, Add, Pic, h1 w1, bitmap 1x2.bmp
        // LoadImage() also fails on:
        //   Gui, Add, Pic, h1, bitmap 1x2.bmp
        // And then it falls back to GDIplus, which in the particular case above appears to traumatize the
        // parent window (or its picture control), because the GUI window hangs (but not the script) after
        // doing a FileSelectFolder.  For example:
        //   Gui, Add, Button,, FileSelectFile
        //   Gui, Add, Pic, h1, bitmap 1x2.bmp  ; Causes GUI window to hang after FileSelectFolder (due to LoadImage failing then falling back to GDIplus; i.e. GDIplus is somehow triggering the problem).
        //   Gui, Show
        //   return
        //   ButtonFileSelectFile:
        //   FileSelectFile, outputvar
        //   return
        //printf("\nloading image %s",(LPCTSTR)aFilespec);
        if (hbitmap = (HBITMAP)LoadImage(NULL, aFilespec, aImageType, desired_width, desired_height
            , LR_LOADFROMFILE | LR_CREATEDIBSECTION))
        {
            // The above might have loaded an HICON vs. an HBITMAP (it has been confirmed that LoadImage()
            // will return an HICON vs. HBITMAP is aImageType is IMAGE_ICON/CURSOR).  Note that HICON and
            // HCURSOR are identical for most/all Windows API uses.  Also note that LoadImage() will load
            // an icon as a bitmap if the file contains an icon but IMAGE_BITMAP was passed in (at least
            // on Windows XP).
            //printf("\n got here");
            if (!keep_aspect_ratio) // No further resizing is needed.
                return hbitmap;
            // Otherwise, continue on so that the image can be resized via a second call to LoadImage().
        }
        // v1.0.40.10: Abort if file doesn't exist so that GDIPlus isn't even attempted. This is done because
        // loading GDIPlus apparently disrupts the color palette of certain games, at least old ones that use
        // DirectDraw in 256-color depth.
        else if (GetFileAttributes(aFilespec) == 0xFFFFFFFF) // For simplicity, we don't check if it's a directory vs. file, since that should be too rare.
            return NULL;
        // v1.0.43.07: Also abort if caller wanted an HICON (not an HBITMAP), since the other methods below
        // can't yield an HICON.
        else if (aIconNumber > 0)
        {
            // UPDATE for v1.0.44: Attempt ExtractIcon in case its some extension that's
            // was recognized as an icon container (such as AutoHotkeySC.bin) and thus wasn't handled higher above.
            hbitmap = (HBITMAP)ExtractIcon(g_hInstance, aFilespec, aIconNumber - 1);
            if (hbitmap < (HBITMAP)2) // i.e. it's NULL or 1. Return value of 1 means "incorrect file type".
                return NULL;
            ExtractIcon_was_used = true;
        }
        //else file exists, so continue on so that the other methods are attempted in case file's contents
        // differ from what the file extension indicates, or in case the other methods can be successful
        // even when the above failed.
    }

    IPicture *pic = NULL; // Also used to detect whether IPic method was used to load the image.

    if (!hbitmap) // Above hasn't loaded the image yet, so use the fall-back methods.
    {
        // At this point, regardless of the image type being loaded (even an icon), it will
        // definitely be converted to a Bitmap below.  So set the type:
        aImageType = IMAGE_BITMAP;
        // Find out if this file type is supported by the non-GDI+ method.  This check is not foolproof
        // since all it does is look at the file's extension, not its contents.  However, it doesn't
        // need to be 100% accurate because its only purpose is to detect whether the higher-overhead
        // calls to GdiPlus can be avoided.
        if (aUseGDIPlusIfAvailable || !file_ext || (_stricmp(file_ext, "jpg")
            && _stricmp(file_ext, "jpeg") && _stricmp(file_ext, "gif"))) // Non-standard file type (BMP is already handled above).
            if (!hinstGDI) // We don't yet have a handle from an earlier call to LoadLibary().
                hinstGDI = LoadLibrary("gdiplus");
        // If it is suspected that the file type isn't supported, try to use GdiPlus if available.
        // If it's not available, fall back to the old method in case the filename doesn't properly
        // reflect its true contents (i.e. in case it really is a JPG/GIF/BMP internally).
        // If the below LoadLibrary() succeeds, either the OS is XP+ or the GdiPlus extensions have been
        // installed on an older OS.
        if (hinstGDI)
        {
            // LPVOID and "int" are used to avoid compiler errors caused by... namespace issues?
            typedef int (WINAPI *GdiplusStartupType)(ULONG_PTR*, LPVOID, LPVOID);
            typedef VOID (WINAPI *GdiplusShutdownType)(ULONG_PTR);
            typedef int (WINGDIPAPI *GdipCreateBitmapFromFileType)(LPVOID, LPVOID);
            typedef int (WINGDIPAPI *GdipCreateHBITMAPFromBitmapType)(LPVOID, LPVOID, DWORD);
            typedef int (WINGDIPAPI *GdipDisposeImageType)(LPVOID);
            GdiplusStartupType DynGdiplusStartup = (GdiplusStartupType)GetProcAddress(hinstGDI, "GdiplusStartup");
            GdiplusShutdownType DynGdiplusShutdown = (GdiplusShutdownType)GetProcAddress(hinstGDI, "GdiplusShutdown");
            GdipCreateBitmapFromFileType DynGdipCreateBitmapFromFile = (GdipCreateBitmapFromFileType)GetProcAddress(hinstGDI, "GdipCreateBitmapFromFile");
            GdipCreateHBITMAPFromBitmapType DynGdipCreateHBITMAPFromBitmap = (GdipCreateHBITMAPFromBitmapType)GetProcAddress(hinstGDI, "GdipCreateHBITMAPFromBitmap");
            GdipDisposeImageType DynGdipDisposeImage = (GdipDisposeImageType)GetProcAddress(hinstGDI, "GdipDisposeImage");

            ULONG_PTR token;
            Gdiplus::GdiplusStartupInput gdi_input;
            Gdiplus::GpBitmap *pgdi_bitmap;
            if (DynGdiplusStartup && DynGdiplusStartup(&token, &gdi_input, NULL) == Gdiplus::Ok)
            {
                WCHAR filespec_wide[MAX_PATH];
                ToWideChar(aFilespec, filespec_wide, MAX_PATH); // Dest. size is in wchars, not bytes.
                if (DynGdipCreateBitmapFromFile(filespec_wide, &pgdi_bitmap) == Gdiplus::Ok)
                {
                    if (DynGdipCreateHBITMAPFromBitmap(pgdi_bitmap, &hbitmap, CLR_DEFAULT) != Gdiplus::Ok)
                        hbitmap = NULL; // Set to NULL to be sure.
                    DynGdipDisposeImage(pgdi_bitmap); // This was tested once to make sure it really returns Gdiplus::Ok.
                }
                // The current thought is that shutting it down every time conserves resources.  If so, it
                // seems justified since it is probably called infrequently by most scripts:
                DynGdiplusShutdown(token);
            }
            FreeLibrary(hinstGDI);
        }
        else // Using old picture loading method.
        {
            // Based on code sample at http://www.codeguru.com/Cpp/G-M/bitmap/article.php/c4935/
            HANDLE hfile = CreateFile(aFilespec, GENERIC_READ, 0, NULL, OPEN_EXISTING, 0, NULL);
            if (hfile == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
                return NULL;
            DWORD size = GetFileSize(hfile, NULL);
            HGLOBAL hglobal = GlobalAlloc(GMEM_MOVEABLE, size);
            if (!hglobal)
            {
                CloseHandle(hfile);
                return NULL;
            }
            LPVOID hlocked = GlobalLock(hglobal);
            if (!hlocked)
            {
                CloseHandle(hfile);
                GlobalFree(hglobal);
                return NULL;
            }
            // Read the file into memory:
            ReadFile(hfile, hlocked, size, &size, NULL);
            GlobalUnlock(hglobal);
            CloseHandle(hfile);
            LPSTREAM stream;
            if (FAILED(CreateStreamOnHGlobal(hglobal, FALSE, &stream)) || !stream)  // Relies on short-circuit boolean order.
            {
                GlobalFree(hglobal);
                return NULL;
            }
            // Specify TRUE to have it do the GlobalFree() for us.  But since the call might fail, it seems best
            // to free the mem ourselves to avoid uncertainy over what it does on failure:
            if (FAILED(OleLoadPicture(stream, 0, FALSE, IID_IPicture, (void **)&pic)))
                pic = NULL;
            stream->Release();
            GlobalFree(hglobal);
            if (!pic)
                return NULL;
            pic->get_Handle((OLE_HANDLE *)&hbitmap);
            // Above: MSDN: "The caller is responsible for this handle upon successful return. The variable is set
            // to NULL on failure."
            if (!hbitmap)
            {
                pic->Release();
                return NULL;
            }
            // Don't pic->Release() yet because that will also destroy/invalidate hbitmap handle.
        } // IPicture method was used.
    } // IPicture or GDIPlus was used to load the image, not a simple LoadImage() or ExtractIcon().

    // Above has ensured that hbitmap is now not NULL.
    // Adjust things if "keep aspect ratio" is in effect:
    if (keep_aspect_ratio)
    {
        HBITMAP hbitmap_to_analyze;
        ICONINFO ii; // Must be declared at this scope level.
        if (aImageType == IMAGE_BITMAP)
            hbitmap_to_analyze = hbitmap;
        else // icon or cursor
        {
            if (GetIconInfo((HICON)hbitmap, &ii)) // Works on cursors too.
                hbitmap_to_analyze = ii.hbmMask; // Use Mask because MSDN implies hbmColor can be NULL for monochrome cursors and such.
            else
            {
                DestroyIcon((HICON)hbitmap);
                return NULL; // No need to call pic->Release() because since it's an icon, we know IPicture wasn't used (it only loads bitmaps).
            }
        }
        // Above has ensured that hbitmap_to_analyze is now not NULL.  Find bitmap's dimensions.
        BITMAP bitmap;
        GetObject(hbitmap_to_analyze, sizeof(BITMAP), &bitmap); // Realistically shouldn't fail at this stage.
        if (aHeight == -1)
        {
            // Caller wants aHeight calculated based on the specified aWidth (keep aspect ratio).
            if (bitmap.bmWidth) // Avoid any chance of divide-by-zero.
                aHeight = (int)(((double)bitmap.bmHeight / bitmap.bmWidth) * aWidth + .5); // Round.
        }
        else
        {
            // Caller wants aWidth calculated based on the specified aHeight (keep aspect ratio).
            if (bitmap.bmHeight) // Avoid any chance of divide-by-zero.
                aWidth = (int)(((double)bitmap.bmWidth / bitmap.bmHeight) * aHeight + .5); // Round.
        }
        if (aImageType != IMAGE_BITMAP)
        {
            // It's our reponsibility to delete these two when they're no longer needed:
            DeleteObject(ii.hbmColor);
            DeleteObject(ii.hbmMask);
            // If LoadImage() vs. ExtractIcon() was used originally, call LoadImage() again because
            // I haven't found any other way to retain an animated cursor's animation (and perhaps
            // other icon/cursor attributes) when resizing the icon/cursor (CopyImage() doesn't
            // retain animation):
            if (!ExtractIcon_was_used)
            {
                DestroyIcon((HICON)hbitmap); // Destroy the original HICON.
                // Load a new one, but at the size newly calculated above.
                // Due to an apparent bug in Windows 9x (at least Win98se), the below call will probably
                // crash the program with a "divide error" if the specified aWidth and/or aHeight are
                // greater than 90.  Since I don't know whether this affects all versions of Windows 9x, and
                // all animated cursors, it seems best just to document it here and in the help file rather
                // than limiting the dimensions of .ani (and maybe .cur) files for certain operating systems.
                return (HBITMAP)LoadImage(NULL, aFilespec, aImageType, aWidth, aHeight, LR_LOADFROMFILE);
            }
        }
    }

    ;int test=LR_COPYRETURNORG;

    HBITMAP hbitmap_new; // To hold the scaled image (if scaling is needed).
    if (pic) // IPicture method was used.
    {
        // The below statement is confirmed by having tested that DeleteObject(hbitmap) fails
        // if called after pic->Release():
        // "Copy the image. Necessary, because upon pic's release the handle is destroyed."
        // MSDN: CopyImage(): "[If either width or height] is zero, then the returned image will have the
        // same width/height as the original."
        // Note also that CopyImage() seems to provide better scaling quality than using MoveWindow()
        // (followed by redrawing the parent window) on the static control that contains it:
        hbitmap_new = (HBITMAP)CopyImage(hbitmap, IMAGE_BITMAP, aWidth, aHeight // We know it's IMAGE_BITMAP in this case.
            , (aWidth || aHeight) ? 0 : LR_COPYRETURNORG); // Produce original size if no scaling is needed.
        pic->Release();
        // No need to call DeleteObject(hbitmap), see above.
    }
    else // GDIPlus or a simple method such as LoadImage or ExtractIcon was used.
    {
        if (!aWidth && !aHeight) // No resizing needed.
            return hbitmap;
        // The following will also handle HICON/HCURSOR correctly if aImageType == IMAGE_ICON/CURSOR.
        // Also, LR_COPYRETURNORG|LR_COPYDELETEORG is used because it might allow the animation of
        // a cursor to be retained if the specified size happens to match the actual size of the
        // cursor.  This is because normally, it seems that CopyImage() omits cursor animation
        // from the new object.  MSDN: "LR_COPYRETURNORG returns the original hImage if it satisfies
        // the criteria for the copy—that is, correct dimensions and color depth—in which case the
        // LR_COPYDELETEORG flag is ignored. If this flag is not specified, a new object is always created."
        // KNOWN BUG: Calling CopyImage() when the source image is tiny and the destination width/height
        // is also small (e.g. 1) causes a divide-by-zero exception.
        // For example:
        //   Gui, Add, Pic, h1 w-1, bitmap 1x2.bmp  ; Crash (divide by zero)
        //   Gui, Add, Pic, h1 w-1, bitmap 2x3.bmp  ; Crash (divide by zero)
        // However, such sizes seem too rare to document or put in an exception handler for.
        hbitmap_new = (HBITMAP)CopyImage(hbitmap, aImageType, aWidth, aHeight, LR_COPYRETURNORG | LR_COPYDELETEORG);
        // Above's LR_COPYDELETEORG deletes the original to avoid cascading resource usage.  MSDN's
        // LoadImage() docs say:
        // "When you are finished using a bitmap, cursor, or icon you loaded without specifying the
        // LR_SHARED flag, you can release its associated memory by calling one of [the three functions]."
        // Therefore, it seems best to call the right function even though DeleteObject might work on
        // all of them on some or all current OSes.  UPDATE: Evidence indicates that DestroyIcon()
        // will also destroy cursors, probably because icons and cursors are literally identical in
        // every functional way.  One piece of evidence:
        //> No stack trace, but I know the exact source file and line where the call
        //> was made. But still, it is annoying when you see 'DestroyCursor' even though
        //> there is 'DestroyIcon'.
        // "Can't be helped. Icons and cursors are the same thing" (Tim Robinson (MVP, Windows SDK)).
        //
        // Finally, the reason this is important is that it eliminates one handle type
        // that we would otherwise have to track.  For example, if a gui window is destroyed and
        // and recreated multiple times, its bitmap and icon handles should all be destroyed each time.
        // Otherwise, resource usage would cascade upward until the script finally terminated, at
        // which time all such handles are freed automatically.
    }
    return hbitmap_new;
}


HBITMAP IconToBitmap(HICON ahIcon, bool aDestroyIcon)
// Converts HICON to an HBITMAP that has ahIcon's actual dimensions.
// The incoming ahIcon will be destroyed if the caller passes true for aDestroyIcon.
// Returns NULL on failure, in which case aDestroyIcon will still have taken effect.
// If the icon contains any transparent pixels, they will be mapped to CLR_NONE within
// the bitmap so that the caller can detect them.
{
    if (!ahIcon)
        return NULL;

    HBITMAP hbitmap = NULL;  // Set default.  This will be the value returned.

    HDC hdc_desktop = GetDC(HWND_DESKTOP);
    HDC hdc = CreateCompatibleDC(hdc_desktop); // Don't pass NULL since I think that would result in a monochrome bitmap.
    if (hdc)
    {
        ICONINFO ii;
        if (GetIconInfo(ahIcon, &ii))
        {
            BITMAP icon_bitmap;
            // Find out how big the icon is and create a bitmap compatible with the desktop DC (not the memory DC,
            // since its bits per pixel (color depth) is probably 1.
            if (GetObject(ii.hbmColor, sizeof(BITMAP), &icon_bitmap)
                && (hbitmap = CreateCompatibleBitmap(hdc_desktop, icon_bitmap.bmWidth, icon_bitmap.bmHeight))) // Assign
            {
                // To retain maximum quality in case caller needs to resize the bitmap we return, convert the
                // icon to a bitmap that matches the icon's actual size:
                HGDIOBJ old_object = SelectObject(hdc, hbitmap);
                if (old_object) // Above succeeded.
                {
                    // Use DrawIconEx() vs. DrawIcon() because someone said DrawIcon() always draws 32x32
                    // regardless of the icon's actual size.
                    // If it's ever needed, this can be extended so that the caller can pass in a background
                    // color to use in place of any transparent pixels within the icon (apparently, DrawIconEx()
                    // skips over transparent pixels in the icon when drawing to the DC and its bitmap):
                    RECT rect = {0, 0, icon_bitmap.bmWidth, icon_bitmap.bmHeight}; // Left, top, right, bottom.
                    HBRUSH hbrush = CreateSolidBrush(CLR_DEFAULT);
                    FillRect(hdc, &rect, hbrush);
                    DeleteObject(hbrush);
                    // Probably something tried and abandoned: FillRect(hdc, &rect, (HBRUSH)GetStockObject(NULL_BRUSH));
                    DrawIconEx(hdc, 0, 0, ahIcon, icon_bitmap.bmWidth, icon_bitmap.bmHeight, 0, NULL, DI_NORMAL);
                    // Debug: Find out properties of new bitmap.
                    //BITMAP b;
                    //GetObject(hbitmap, sizeof(BITMAP), &<img src='http://www.autoitscript.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />;
                    SelectObject(hdc, old_object); // Might be needed (prior to deleting hdc) to prevent memory leak.
                }
            }
            // It's our reponsibility to delete these two when they're no longer needed:
            DeleteObject(ii.hbmColor);
            DeleteObject(ii.hbmMask);
        }
        DeleteDC(hdc);
    }
    ReleaseDC(HWND_DESKTOP, hdc_desktop);
    if (aDestroyIcon)
        DestroyIcon(ahIcon);
    return hbitmap;
}



int WINAPI ImageTest(int a)
{
    return a + a;
}
// ResultType Line::ImageSearch(int aLeft, int aTop, int aRight, int aBottom, char *aImageFile)
char* WINAPI ImageSearch(int aLeft, int aTop, int aRight, int aBottom, char *aImageFile)
// Author: ImageSearch was created by Aurelian Maga.
{

    // Many of the following sections are similar to those in PixelSearch(), so they should be
    // maintained together.
    //Var *output_var_x = ARGVAR1;  // Ok if NULL. RAW wouldn't be safe because load-time validation actually
    //Var *output_var_y = ARGVAR2;  // requires a minimum of zero parameters so that the output-vars can be optional.

    // Set default results, both ErrorLevel and output variables, in case of early return:
    //g_ErrorLevel->Assign(ERRORLEVEL_ERROR2);  // 2 means error other than "image not found".
    //if (output_var_x)
    //  output_var_x->Assign();  // Init to empty string regardless of whether we succeed here.
    //if (output_var_y)
    //  output_var_y->Assign(); // Same.
    RECT rect = {0}; // Set default (for CoordMode == "screen").
    //if (!(g.CoordMode & COORD_MODE_PIXEL)) // Using relative vs. screen coordinates.
    //{
    //  if (!GetWindowRect(GetForegroundWindow(), &rect))
    //      return OK; // Let ErrorLevel tell the story.
    //  aLeft   += rect.left;
    //  aTop    += rect.top;
    //  aRight  += rect.left;  // Add left vs. right because we're adjusting based on the position of the window.
    //  aBottom += rect.top;   // Same.
    //}

    // Options are done as asterisk+option to permit future expansion.
    // Set defaults to be possibly overridden by any specified options:
    int aVariation = 0;  // This is named aVariation vs. variation for use with the SET_COLOR_RANGE macro.
    COLORREF trans_color = CLR_NONE; // The default must be a value that can't occur naturally in an image.
    int icon_number = 0; // Zero means "load icon or bitmap (doesn't matter)".
    int width = 0, height = 0;
    // For icons, override the default to be 16x16 because that is what is sought 99% of the time.
    // This new default can be overridden by explicitly specifying w0 h0:
    char *cp = strrchr(aImageFile, '.');
    if (cp)
    {
        ++cp;
        if (!(_stricmp(cp, "ico") && _stricmp(cp, "exe") && _stricmp(cp, "dll")))
            width = GetSystemMetrics(SM_CXSMICON), height = GetSystemMetrics(SM_CYSMICON);
    }

    char color_name[32], *dp;
    cp = omit_leading_whitespace(aImageFile); // But don't alter aImageFile yet in case it contains literal whitespace we want to retain.
    while (*cp == '*')
    {
        ++cp;
        switch (toupper(*cp))
        {
        case 'W': width = ATOI(cp + 1); break;
        case 'H': height = ATOI(cp + 1); break;
        default:
            if (!_strnicmp(cp, "Icon", 4))
            {
                cp += 4;  // Now it's the character after the word.
                icon_number = ATOI(cp); // LoadPicture() correctly handles any negative value.
            }
            else if (!_strnicmp(cp, "Trans", 5))
            {
                cp += 5;  // Now it's the character after the word.
                // Isolate the color name/number for ColorNameToBGR():
                strlcpy(color_name, cp, sizeof(color_name));
                if (dp = StrChrAny(color_name, " \t")) // Find space or tab, if any.
                    *dp = '\0';
                // Fix for v1.0.44.10: Treat trans_color as containing an RGB value (not BGR) so that it matches
                // the documented behavior.  In older versions, a specified color like "TransYellow" was wrong in
                // every way (inverted) and a specified numeric color like "Trans0xFFFFAA" was treated as BGR vs. RGB.
                trans_color = ColorNameToBGR(color_name);
                if (trans_color == CLR_NONE) // A matching color name was not found, so assume it's in hex format.
                    // It seems strtol() automatically handles the optional leading "0x" if present:
                    trans_color = strtol(color_name, NULL, 16);
                    // if color_name did not contain something hex-numeric, black (0x00) will be assumed,
                    // which seems okay given how rare such a problem would be.
                else
                    trans_color = bgr_to_rgb(trans_color); // v1.0.44.10: See fix/comment above.

            }
            else // Assume it's a number since that's the only other asterisk-option.
            {
                aVariation = ATOI(cp); // Seems okay to support hex via ATOI because the space after the number is documented as being mandatory.
                if (aVariation < 0)
                    aVariation = 0;
                if (aVariation > 255)
                    aVariation = 255;
                // Note: because it's possible for filenames to start with a space (even though Explorer itself
                // won't let you create them that way), allow exactly one space between end of option and the
                // filename itself:
            }
        } // switch()
        if (   !(cp = StrChrAny(cp, " \t"))   ) // Find the first space or tab after the option.
#ifdef HHB_PRINT_FAIL_IMAGE_SEARCH
error="It failed at nr 1, errorlevel is: "+ErrorLevel;
return error.c_str();
#else
        return "0"; //new
#endif
        //  return OK; // Bad option/format.  Let ErrorLevel tell the story.
        // Now it's the space or tab (if there is one) after the option letter.  Advance by exactly one character
        // because only one space or tab is considered the delimiter.  Any others are considered to be part of the
        // filename (though some or all OSes might simply ignore them or tolerate them as first-try match criteria).
        aImageFile = ++cp; // This should now point to another asterisk or the filename itself.
        // Above also serves to reset the filename to omit the option string whenever at least one asterisk-option is present.
        cp = omit_leading_whitespace(cp); // This is done to make it more tolerant of having more than one space/tab between options.
    }

    // Update: Transparency is now supported in icons by using the icon's mask.  In addition, an attempt
    // is made to support transparency in GIF, PNG, and possibly TIF files via the *Trans option, which
    // assumes that one color in the image is transparent.  In GIFs not loaded via GDIPlus, the transparent
    // color might always been seen as pure white, but when GDIPlus is used, it's probably always black
    // like it is in PNG -- however, this will not relied upon, at least not until confirmed.
    // OLDER/OBSOLETE comment kept for background:
    // For now, images that can't be loaded as bitmaps (icons and cursors) are not supported because most
    // icons have a transparent background or color present, which the image search routine here is
    // probably not equipped to handle (since the transparent color, when shown, typically reveals the
    // color of whatever is behind it; thus screen pixel color won't match image's pixel color).
    // So currently, only BMP and GIF seem to work reliably, though some of the other GDIPlus-supported
    // formats might work too.
    int image_type;
    HBITMAP hbitmap_image = LoadPicture(aImageFile, width, height, image_type, icon_number, false);
    // The comment marked OBSOLETE below is no longer true because the elimination of the high-byte via
    // 0x00FFFFFF seems to have fixed it.  But "true" is still not passed because that should increase
    // consistency when GIF/BMP/ICO files are used by a script on both Win9x and other OSs (since the
    // same loading method would be used via "false" for these formats across all OSes).
    // OBSOLETE: Must not pass "true" with the above because that causes bitmaps and gifs to be not found
    // by the search.  In other words, nothing works.  Obsolete comment: Pass "true" so that an attempt
    // will be made to load icons as bitmaps if GDIPlus is available.
    if (!hbitmap_image)
#ifdef HHB_PRINT_FAIL_IMAGE_SEARCH
error="It failed at nr 2, errorlevel is: "+ErrorLevel;
return error.c_str();
#else
        return "0"; // new
#endif
    //  return OK; // Let ErrorLevel tell the story.

    HDC hdc = GetDC(NULL);
    if (!hdc)
    {
        DeleteObject(hbitmap_image);
#ifdef HHB_PRINT_FAIL_IMAGE_SEARCH
error="It failed at nr 3, errorlevel is: "+ErrorLevel;
return error.c_str();
#else
        return "0"; // new
        #endif
        // return OK; // Let ErrorLevel tell the story.
    }

    // From this point on, "goto end" will assume hdc and hbitmap_image are non-NULL, but that the below
    // might still be NULL.  Therefore, all of the following must be initialized so that the "end"
    // label can detect them:
    HDC sdc = NULL;
    HBITMAP hbitmap_screen = NULL;
    LPCOLORREF image_pixel = NULL, screen_pixel = NULL, image_mask = NULL;
    HGDIOBJ sdc_orig_select = NULL;
    bool found = false; // Must init here for use by "goto end".

    bool image_is_16bit;
    LONG image_width, image_height;

    if (image_type == IMAGE_ICON)
    {
        // Must be done prior to IconToBitmap() since it deletes (HICON)hbitmap_image:
        ICONINFO ii;
        if (GetIconInfo((HICON)hbitmap_image, &ii))
        {
            // If the icon is monochrome (black and white), ii.hbmMask will contain twice as many pixels as
            // are actually in the icon.  But since the top half of the pixels are the AND-mask, it seems
            // okay to get all the pixels given the rarity of monochrome icons.  This scenario should be
            // handled properly because: 1) the variables image_height and image_width will be overridden
            // further below with the correct icon dimensions; 2) Only the first half of the pixels within
            // the image_mask array will actually be referenced by the transparency checker in the loops,
            // and that first half is the AND-mask, which is the transparency part that is needed.  The
            // second half, the XOR part, is not needed and thus ignored.  Also note that if width/height
            // required the icon to be scaled, LoadPicture() has already done that directly to the icon,
            // so ii.hbmMask should already be scaled to match the size of the bitmap created later below.
            image_mask = getbits(ii.hbmMask, hdc, image_width, image_height, image_is_16bit, 1);
            DeleteObject(ii.hbmColor); // DeleteObject() probably handles NULL okay since few MSDN/other examples ever check for NULL.
            DeleteObject(ii.hbmMask);
        }
        if (   !(hbitmap_image = IconToBitmap((HICON)hbitmap_image, true))   )
        #ifdef HHB_PRINT_FAIL_IMAGE_SEARCH
return "It failed at nr 4";
#else
            return "0"; //new
#endif

        //  return OK; // Let ErrorLevel tell the story.
    }

    if (   !(image_pixel = getbits(hbitmap_image, hdc, image_width, image_height, image_is_16bit))   )
        goto end;

    // Create an empty bitmap to hold all the pixels currently visible on the screen that lie within the search area:
    int search_width = aRight - aLeft + 1;
    int search_height = aBottom - aTop + 1;
    if (   !(sdc = CreateCompatibleDC(hdc)) || !(hbitmap_screen = CreateCompatibleBitmap(hdc, search_width, search_height))   )
        goto end;

    if (   !(sdc_orig_select = SelectObject(sdc, hbitmap_screen))   )
        goto end;

    // Copy the pixels in the search-area of the screen into the DC to be searched:
    if (   !(BitBlt(sdc, 0, 0, search_width, search_height, hdc, aLeft, aTop, SRCCOPY))   )
        goto end;

    LONG screen_width, screen_height;
    bool screen_is_16bit;
    if (   !(screen_pixel = getbits(hbitmap_screen, sdc, screen_width, screen_height, screen_is_16bit))   )
        goto end;

    LONG image_pixel_count = image_width * image_height;
    LONG screen_pixel_count = screen_width * screen_height;
    int i, j, k, x, y; // Declaring as "register" makes no performance difference with current compiler, so let the compiler choose which should be registers.

    // If either is 16-bit, convert *both* to the 16-bit-compatible 32-bit format:
    if (image_is_16bit || screen_is_16bit)
    {
        if (trans_color != CLR_NONE)
            trans_color &= 0x00F8F8F8; // Convert indicated trans-color to be compatible with the conversion below.
        for (i = 0; i < screen_pixel_count; ++i)
            screen_pixel[i] &= 0x00F8F8F8; // Highest order byte must be masked to zero for consistency with use of 0x00FFFFFF below.
        for (i = 0; i < image_pixel_count; ++i)
            image_pixel[i] &= 0x00F8F8F8;  // Same.
    }

    // v1.0.44.03: The below is now done even for variation>0 mode so its results are consistent with those of
    // non-variation mode.  This is relied upon by variation=0 mode but now also by the following line in the
    // variation>0 section:
    //     || image_pixel[j] == trans_color
    // Without this change, there are cases where variation=0 would find a match but a higher variation
    // (for the same search) wouldn't.
    for (i = 0; i < image_pixel_count; ++i)
        image_pixel[i] &= 0x00FFFFFF;

    // Search the specified region for the first occurrence of the image:
    if (aVariation < 1) // Caller wants an exact match.
    {
        // Concerning the following use of 0x00FFFFFF, the use of 0x00F8F8F8 above is related (both have high order byte 00).
        // The following needs to be done only when shades-of-variation mode isn't in effect because
        // shades-of-variation mode ignores the high-order byte due to its use of macros such as GetRValue().
        // This transformation incurs about a 15% performance decrease (percentage is fairly constant since
        // it is proportional to the search-region size, which tends to be much larger than the search-image and
        // is therefore the primary determination of how long the loops take). But it definitely helps find images
        // more successfully in some cases.  For example, if a PNG file is displayed in a GUI window, this
        // transformation allows certain bitmap search-images to be found via variation==0 when they otherwise
        // would require variation==1 (possibly the variation==1 success is just a side-effect of it
        // ignoring the high-order byte -- maybe a much higher variation would be needed if the high
        // order byte were also subject to the same shades-of-variation analysis as the other three bytes [RGB]).
        for (i = 0; i < screen_pixel_count; ++i)
            screen_pixel[i] &= 0x00FFFFFF;

        for (i = 0; i < screen_pixel_count; ++i)
        {
            // Unlike the variation-loop, the following one uses a first-pixel optimization to boost performance
            // by about 10% because it's only 3 extra comparisons and exact-match mode is probably used more often.
            // Before even checking whether the other adjacent pixels in the region match the image, ensure
            // the image does not extend past the right or bottom edges of the current part of the search region.
            // This is done for performance but more importantly to prevent partial matches at the edges of the
            // search region from being considered complete matches.
            // The following check is ordered for short-circuit performance.  In addition, image_mask, if
            // non-NULL, is used to determine which pixels are transparent within the image and thus should
            // match any color on the screen.
            if ((screen_pixel[i] == image_pixel[0] // A screen pixel has been found that matches the image's first pixel.
                || image_mask && image_mask[0]     // Or: It's an icon's transparent pixel, which matches any color.
                || image_pixel[0] == trans_color)  // This should be okay even if trans_color==CLR_NONE, since CLR_NONE should never occur naturally in the image.
                && image_height <= screen_height - i/screen_width // Image is short enough to fit in the remaining rows of the search region.
                && image_width <= screen_width - i%screen_width)  // Image is narrow enough not to exceed the right-side boundary of the search region.
            {
                // Check if this candidate region -- which is a subset of the search region whose height and width
                // matches that of the image -- is a pixel-for-pixel match of the image.
                for (found = true, x = 0, y = 0, j = 0, k = i; j < image_pixel_count; ++j)
                {
                    if (!(found = (screen_pixel[k] == image_pixel[j] // At least one pixel doesn't match, so this candidate is discarded.
                        || image_mask && image_mask[j]      // Or: It's an icon's transparent pixel, which matches any color.
                        || image_pixel[j] == trans_color))) // This should be okay even if trans_color==CLR_NONE, since CLR none should never occur naturally in the image.
                        break;
                    if (++x < image_width) // We're still within the same row of the image, so just move on to the next screen pixel.
                        ++k;
                    else // We're starting a new row of the image.
                    {
                        x = 0; // Return to the leftmost column of the image.
                        ++y;   // Move one row downward in the image.
                        // Move to the next row within the current-candiate region (not the entire search region).
                        // This is done by moving vertically downward from "i" (which is the upper-left pixel of the
                        // current-candidate region) by "y" rows.
                        k = i + y*screen_width; // Verified correct.
                    }
                }
                if (found) // Complete match found.
                    break;
            }
        }
    }
    else // Allow colors to vary by aVariation shades; i.e. approximate match is okay.
    {
        // The following section is part of the first-pixel-check optimization that improves performance by
        // 15% or more depending on where and whether a match is found.  This section and one the follows
        // later is commented out to reduce code size.
        // Set high/low range for the first pixel of the image since it is the pixel most often checked
        // (i.e. for performance).
        //BYTE search_red1 = GetBValue(image_pixel[0]);  // Because it's RGB vs. BGR, the B value is fetched, not R (though it doesn't matter as long as everything is internally consistent here).
        //BYTE search_green1 = GetGValue(image_pixel[0]);
        //BYTE search_blue1 = GetRValue(image_pixel[0]); // Same comment as above.
        //BYTE red_low1 = (aVariation > search_red1) ? 0 : search_red1 - aVariation;
        //BYTE green_low1 = (aVariation > search_green1) ? 0 : search_green1 - aVariation;
        //BYTE blue_low1 = (aVariation > search_blue1) ? 0 : search_blue1 - aVariation;
        //BYTE red_high1 = (aVariation > 0xFF - search_red1) ? 0xFF : search_red1 + aVariation;
        //BYTE green_high1 = (aVariation > 0xFF - search_green1) ? 0xFF : search_green1 + aVariation;
        //BYTE blue_high1 = (aVariation > 0xFF - search_blue1) ? 0xFF : search_blue1 + aVariation;
        // Above relies on the fact that the 16-bit conversion higher above was already done because like
        // in PixelSearch, it seems more appropriate to do the 16-bit conversion prior to setting the range
        // of high and low colors (vs. than applying 0xF8 to each of the high/low values individually).

        BYTE red, green, blue;
        BYTE search_red, search_green, search_blue;
        BYTE red_low, green_low, blue_low, red_high, green_high, blue_high;

        // The following loop is very similar to its counterpart above that finds an exact match, so maintain
        // them together and see above for more detailed comments about it.
        for (i = 0; i < screen_pixel_count; ++i)
        {
            // The following is commented out to trade code size reduction for performance (see comment above).
            //red = GetBValue(screen_pixel[i]);   // Because it's RGB vs. BGR, the B value is fetched, not R (though it doesn't matter as long as everything is internally consistent here).
            //green = GetGValue(screen_pixel[i]);
            //blue = GetRValue(screen_pixel[i]);
            //if ((red >= red_low1 && red <= red_high1
            //  && green >= green_low1 && green <= green_high1
            //  && blue >= blue_low1 && blue <= blue_high1 // All three color components are a match, so this screen pixel matches the image's first pixel.
            //      || image_mask && image_mask[0]         // Or: It's an icon's transparent pixel, which matches any color.
            //      || image_pixel[0] == trans_color)      // This should be okay even if trans_color==CLR_NONE, since CLR none should never occur naturally in the image.
            //  && image_height <= screen_height - i/screen_width // Image is short enough to fit in the remaining rows of the search region.
            //  && image_width <= screen_width - i%screen_width)  // Image is narrow enough not to exceed the right-side boundary of the search region.

            // Instead of the above, only this abbreviated check is done:
            if (image_height <= screen_height - i/screen_width    // Image is short enough to fit in the remaining rows of the search region.
                && image_width <= screen_width - i%screen_width)  // Image is narrow enough not to exceed the right-side boundary of the search region.
            {
                // Since the first pixel is a match, check the other pixels.
                for (found = true, x = 0, y = 0, j = 0, k = i; j < image_pixel_count; ++j)
                {
                    search_red = GetBValue(image_pixel[j]);
                    search_green = GetGValue(image_pixel[j]);
                    search_blue = GetRValue(image_pixel[j]);
                    SET_COLOR_RANGE
                    red = GetBValue(screen_pixel[k]);
                    green = GetGValue(screen_pixel[k]);
                    blue = GetRValue(screen_pixel[k]);

                    if (!(found = red >= red_low && red <= red_high
                        && green >= green_low && green <= green_high
                        && blue >= blue_low && blue <= blue_high
                            || image_mask && image_mask[j]     // Or: It's an icon's transparent pixel, which matches any color.
                            || image_pixel[j] == trans_color)) // This should be okay even if trans_color==CLR_NONE, since CLR_NONE should never occur naturally in the image.
                        break; // At least one pixel doesn't match, so this candidate is discarded.
                    if (++x < image_width) // We're still within the same row of the image, so just move on to the next screen pixel.
                        ++k;
                    else // We're starting a new row of the image.
                    {
                        x = 0; // Return to the leftmost column of the image.
                        ++y;   // Move one row downward in the image.
                        k = i + y*screen_width; // Verified correct.
                    }
                }
                if (found) // Complete match found.
                    break;
            }
        }
    }

    //if (!found) // Must override ErrorLevel to its new value prior to the label below.
    //  g_ErrorLevel->Assign(ERRORLEVEL_ERROR); // "1" indicates search completed okay, but didn't find it.

end:
    // If found==false when execution reaches here, ErrorLevel is already set to the right value, so just
    // clean up then return.
    ReleaseDC(NULL, hdc);
    DeleteObject(hbitmap_image);
    if (sdc)
    {
        if (sdc_orig_select) // i.e. the original call to SelectObject() didn't fail.
            SelectObject(sdc, sdc_orig_select); // Probably necessary to prevent memory leak.
        DeleteDC(sdc);
    }
    if (hbitmap_screen)
        DeleteObject(hbitmap_screen);
    if (image_pixel)
        free(image_pixel);
    if (image_mask)
        free(image_mask);
    if (screen_pixel)
        free(screen_pixel);

    if (!found) // Let ErrorLevel, which is either "1" or "2" as set earlier, tell the story.
#ifdef HHB_PRINT_FAIL_IMAGE_SEARCH
error="It failed at nr 5, errorlevel is: "+ErrorLevel;
return error.c_str();
#else
        return "0";
#endif
    // Otherwise, success.  Calculate xpos and ypos of where the match was found and adjust
    // coords to make them relative to the position of the target window (rect will contain
    // zeroes if this doesn't need to be done):
    //if (output_var_x && !output_var_x->Assign((aLeft + i%screen_width) - rect.left))
    //  return FAIL;
    //if (output_var_y && !output_var_y->Assign((aTop + i/screen_width) - rect.top))
    //  return FAIL;

    int locx,locy;

    //return g_ErrorLevel->Assign(ERRORLEVEL_NONE); // Indicate success.
    if (found)
    {
        locx = (aLeft + i%screen_width) - rect.left;
        locy = (aTop + i/screen_width) - rect.top;
//      printf("\nFOUND!!!!%d   %d",locx,locy);
        sprintf_s(answer,"1|%d|%d|%d|%d",locx,locy,image_width,image_height);
        return answer;
        //return "ZZ";
    }
#ifdef HHB_PRINT_FAIL_IMAGE_SEARCH
error="It failed at nr 6, errorlevel is: "+ErrorLevel;
return error.c_str();
#else
    return "0";
#endif
}

i guess it would be more informative..

in ImageSearch.au3 replace

if $result[0]="0" then return 0

with

if IsArray($result) Then
                MsgBox("teddybear2", "teddy title2","it IS an array, and it returned:"+$result+"")
    if $result[0]="0" then return 0
    Else
        MsgBox("teddybear2", "teddy title2","it is NOT an array, and it returned:"+$result+"")
        if $result="0" then return 0
        EndIf

btw here is a pre-compiled 32-bit dll

could someone __WITH THE PROBLEM__ test and post the results?

ImageSearchDLL.dll-HHB_PRINT_FAIL_IMAGE_SEARCH.rar

Edited January 26, 2010 by HansHenrik

[kjmarket]

I'm on Vista X64 and the original dll didnt work for me so I tried the 64 bit dll, and it didnt work either. I changed ImageSearch.dll with the code you provided and it gave me 0 with the second MsgBox for both dll's. So the dllcall failed in both.

Edited January 28, 2010 by kjmarket

[kjmarket]

I have a fix for this for 64 bt OS, at least Vista. If you installed AutoIT and clicked to use x64 features, uninstall and reinstall telling it not to. Works fine now.

[Shothic]

can used images from resource to imagesearch.au3 ??

[Zedna]

can used images from resource to imagesearch.au3 ??

No unless somebody skilled make modification to this DLL.

Look at post #50 here

http://www.autoitscript.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=65748&view=findpost&p=727357