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These days you see a lot of software displaying message windows in the right bottom corner of the active screen for a few seconds or until a close button is clicked (f.i. Norton does this after it has checked a download).

I would like to do this using Delphi 7 (and if possible Delphi 2010, since I am slowly migrating my code to the latest version).

I found some posts here on SO regarding forms not receiving focus, but that's only one part of the problem. I'm thinking also on how to determine the exact position of this message window (knowing that f.i. a user may have put his taskbar to the right of the screen.

Thx in advance.

UPDATE 26 Jan, 10: Starting from the code of drorhan I created the following form (in Delphi 7) which works whether the taskbar is displayed at the bottom, the right, the left or the top of the schreen.

fPopupMessage.dpr: object frmPopupMessage: TfrmPopupMessage Left = 537 Top = 233 AlphaBlend = True AlphaBlendValue = 200 BorderStyle = bsToolWindow Caption = 'frmPopupMessage' ClientHeight = 48 ClientWidth = 342 Color = clBtnFace Font.Charset = DEFAULT_CHARSET Font.Color = clWindowText Font.Height = -11 Font.Name = 'MS Sans Serif' Font.Style = [] OldCreateOrder = False OnClose = FormClose OnCreate = FormCreate DesignSize = ( 342 48) PixelsPerInch = 96 TextHeight = 13 object img: TImage Left = 0 Top = 0 Width = 64 Height = 48 Align = alLeft Center = True Transparent = True end object lblMessage: TLabel Left = 72 Top = 8 Width = 265 Height = 34 Alignment = taCenter Anchors = [akLeft, akTop, akRight, akBottom] AutoSize = False Caption = '...' Font.Charset = DEFAULT_CHARSET Font.Color = clNavy Font.Height = -11 Font.Name = 'Verdana' Font.Style = [fsBold] ParentFont = False Transparent = True WordWrap = True end object tmr: TTimer Enabled = False Interval = 3000 OnTimer = tmrTimer Left = 16 Top = 16 end end

and

fPopupMessage.pas

 unit fPopupMessage; interface uses Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Variants, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms, Dialogs, StdCtrls, ExtCtrls, ImgList; type TfrmPopupMessage = class(TForm) tmr: TTimer; img: TImage; lblMessage: TLabel; procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject); procedure tmrTimer(Sender: TObject); procedure FormClose(Sender: TObject; var Action: TCloseAction); private { Private declarations } bBeingDisplayed : boolean; function GetPopupMessage: string; procedure SetPopupMessage(const Value: string); function GetPopupCaption: string; procedure SetPopupCaption(const Value: string); function TaskBarHeight: integer; function TaskBarWidth: integer; procedure ToHiddenPosition; procedure ToVisiblePosition; public { Public declarations } procedure StartAnimationToHide; procedure StartAnimationToShow; property PopupCaption: string read GetPopupCaption write SetPopupCaption; property PopupMessage: string read GetPopupMessage write SetPopupMessage; end; var frmPopupMessage: TfrmPopupMessage; procedure DisplayPopup( sMessage:string; sCaption:string = ''); implementation {$R *.dfm} const DFT_TIME_SLEEP = 5; // the speed you want to show/hide.Increase/descrease this to make it faster or slower DFT_TIME_VISIBLE = 3000; // number of mili-seconds the form is visible before starting to disappear GAP = 2; // pixels between form and right and bottom edge of the screen procedure DisplayPopup( sMessage:string; sCaption:string = ''); begin // we could create the form here if necessary ... if not Assigned(frmPopupMessage) then Exit; frmPopupMessage.PopupCaption := sCaption; frmPopupMessage.PopupMessage := sMessage; if not frmPopupMessage.bBeingDisplayed then begin ShowWindow( frmPopupMessage.Handle, SW_SHOWNOACTIVATE); frmPopupMessage.Visible := True; end; frmPopupMessage.StartAnimationToShow; end; procedure TfrmPopupMessage.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); begin img.Picture.Assign(Application.Icon); Caption := ''; lblMessage.Caption := ''; bBeingDisplayed := False; ToHiddenPosition(); end; procedure TfrmPopupMessage.FormClose(Sender: TObject; var Action: TCloseAction); begin tmr.Enabled := False; Action := caHide; bBeingDisplayed := False; end; function TfrmPopupMessage.TaskBarHeight: integer; // this is just to get the taskbar height to put // my form in the correct position var hTB: HWND; TBRect: TRect; begin hTB := FindWindow('Shell_TrayWnd', ''); if hTB = 0 then Result := 0 else begin GetWindowRect(hTB, TBRect); if TBRect.Top = 0 // tray bar is positioned to the left or to the right then Result := 1 else Result := TBRect.Bottom - TBRect.Top; end; end; function TfrmPopupMessage.TaskBarWidth: integer; // this is just to get the taskbar height to put // my form in the correct position var hTB: HWND; TBRect: TRect; begin hTB := FindWindow('Shell_TrayWnd', ''); if hTB = 0 then Result := 0 else begin GetWindowRect(hTB, TBRect); if TBRect.Left = 0 // tray bar is positioned to the left or to the right then Result := 1 else Result := TBRect.Right - TBRect.Left end; end; procedure TfrmPopupMessage.ToHiddenPosition; begin Self.Left := Screen.Width - TaskbarWidth - Self.Width - GAP; Self.Top := Screen.Height - TaskBarHeight; end; procedure TfrmPopupMessage.ToVisiblePosition; begin Self.Left := Screen.Width - TaskBarWidth - Self.Width - GAP; Self.Top := Screen.Height - Self.Height - TaskBarHeight - GAP; end; procedure TfrmPopupMessage.StartAnimationToShow; var i: integer; begin if bBeingDisplayed then ToVisiblePosition() else begin ToHiddenPosition(); for i := 1 to Self.Height+GAP do begin Self.Top := Self.Top-1; Application.ProcessMessages; Sleep(DFT_TIME_SLEEP); end; end; tmr.Interval := DFT_TIME_VISIBLE; tmr.Enabled := True; bBeingDisplayed := True; end; procedure TfrmPopupMessage.StartAnimationToHide; var i: integer; begin if not bBeingDisplayed then Exit; for i := 1 to Self.Height+GAP do begin Self.Top := Self.Top+1; Application.ProcessMessages; Sleep(DFT_TIME_SLEEP); end; bBeingDisplayed := False; Visible := False; end; procedure TfrmPopupMessage.tmrTimer(Sender: TObject); begin tmr.Enabled := False; StartAnimationToHide(); end; function TfrmPopupMessage.GetPopupMessage: string; begin Result := lblMessage.Caption; end; procedure TfrmPopupMessage.SetPopupMessage(const Value: string); begin lblMessage.Caption := Value; end; function TfrmPopupMessage.GetPopupCaption: string; begin Result := frmPopupMessage.Caption; end; procedure TfrmPopupMessage.SetPopupCaption(const Value: string); begin frmPopupMessage.Caption := Value; end; end.

To be used as in my test form with two buttons:

procedure TfrmMain.button1Click(Sender: TObject); begin DisplayPopup('Message displayed at ' + FormatDateTime('ddd mmm yy zzz', Now),'My Program'); beep; end; procedure TfrmMain.button2Click(Sender: TObject); begin DisplayPopup('Another message displayed at ' + FormatDateTime('hh:nn zzz', Now),'My Program'); end;

The message form will display the application icon, but I will probably add a TImageList and add a property to pass an image index so I can display different icons. I will also use the TcxLabel from the Dev.Express components as this will provide verticle positionting, but the above unit can be used as is.

I tested this with Delphi 7 and Windows XP. If anyone uses this unit with another version of Delphi and/or Windows Vista or Windows 7, please tell me if this unit will work there too.

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7 Answers 7

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5 
unit Unit1; interface uses Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Variants, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms, Dialogs, StdCtrls; type TForm1 = class(TForm) Button1: TButton; procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject); procedure Button1Click(Sender: TObject); private { Private declarations } public { Public declarations } end; var Form1: TForm1; implementation {$R *.dfm} procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); function TaskBarHeight: integer; // this is just to get the taskbar height to put // my form in the correct position var hTB: HWND; TBRect: TRect; begin hTB := FindWindow('Shell_TrayWnd', ''); if hTB = 0 then Result := 0 else begin GetWindowRect(hTB, TBRect); Result := TBRect.Bottom - TBRect.Top; end; end; begin Self.Left := Screen.Width - Self.Width; Self.Top := Screen.Height-Self.Height-TaskBarHeight; end; procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); var i: integer; TimeSleep: integer; begin TimeSleep := 5; // the speed you want to show/hide.Increase/descrease this to make it faster or slower for i := 1 to Self.Height do begin Self.Top := Self.Top+1; Sleep(TimeSleep); end; // now let's show it again(use this as code as the show code) for i := 1 to Self.Height do begin Self.Top := Self.Top-1; Sleep(TimeSleep); end; end; end.

via http://www.experts-exchange.com/Programming/Languages/Pascal/Delphi/Q_25043483.html

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4

Try using the TJvDesktopAlert component wich is included in the JVCL, you can find an example in jvcl\examples\JvDesktopAlert\JvDesktopAlertDemo.dpr

alt text
(source: agnisoft.com)

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Thx for the answer. Unfortunaly, I don't use the JVCL components, althought I installed it once. I will look at the code to see how they do it, but they inherited their from from their own TJvExForm class. I don't want to drag in a lot of code or classes just for this.
2

What you are searching for are Balloon Tips in a System Tray. For general WinAPI here's a nice tutorial for it, that you shouldn't have problems translating to Delphi.

You can find some ready to use code for balloon tips in Delphi here.

A nice implementation is available here.

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I thought Bolloon Tips in the system tray are always connected to an icon in the system tray. Maybe wrong though. I would like to have any Delphi form (with whatever I want to place on it, text, images and so on...) to be positioned at the bottom right of the active screen and to display it without it receiving focus.
1

You can check where is Taskbar: 

uses ShellAPI; //... Var AppBar: TAppbarData; //... begin FillChar(AppBar, sizeof(AppBar), 0); AppBar.cbSize := Sizeof(AppBar); if ShAppBarMessage(ABM_GETTASKBARPOS, AppBar) <> 0 then begin //AppBar.rc is TRect end; end;

And then show your form...

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1

You could use Growl for Windows - I don't think there is a Delphi library for it yet, but you can control it via UDP messages, so any network library should do.

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Update: There seems to be some code for controlling Growl at growl.matf.de.
Thx for the tip, but I want to control the messages and view myself without the users having to install addition software.
1

TMsnPopUpNotify

http://www.torry.net/vcl/forms/appearence/tmsnpopup.zip

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1

Check out Snarl, similar to Growl for Windows, but I have found to be better. There is a Pas file to easily interface, and the way it works is very simple, with just sending windows messages.

http://fullphat.net/

It also allows the end user some amount of control of which messages to see, duration before fading, etc.

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Thx for the link, but I don't want to force the end user to install extra software. Although the idea behind Snarl is a good one (just not what I am looking for at the moment).

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