DOCUMENT:Q186431  01-JUN-1998  [vbwin]
TITLE   :HOWTO: Bring an Application Window to the Top with Focus
PRODUCT :Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
PROD/VER:WINDOWS:4.0,5.0
OPER/SYS:WINDOWS
KEYWORDS:kbVBp400 kbVBp500

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The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Visual Basic Learning, Professional, and Enterprise Editions
   for Windows, version 5.0
 - Microsoft Visual Basic Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Editions,
   32-bit only, for Windows, version 4.0
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SUMMARY
=======

This article describes how to use the BringToTop and FindWindow API
functions to bring another window to the foreground with the focus.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Step-by-Step Example
--------------------

1. Start a new Standard EXE project in Visual Basic. Form1 is created by
   default.

2. Add three CommandButtons to Form1. You might want to increase the size
   of Command2 and Command3 to allow you to read the caption.

3. Copy the following code to the General Declarations section of Form1:

      Option Explicit
      Dim THandle As Long

      Private Declare Function BringWindowToTop Lib "user32" (ByVal _
         hwnd As Long) As Long

      Private Declare Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias _
         "FindWindowA" (ByVal lpClassName As Any, ByVal lpWindowName _
         As Any) As Long

      Private Sub Form_Load()
         Command1.Caption = "Run the Calculator"
         Command2.Caption = "Find Calculator's Handle"
         Command3.Caption = "Bring Calculator To The Top"
         Command2.Enabled = False
         Command3.Enabled = False
      End Sub

      Private Sub Command1_Click()
         Dim X As Long
         X = Shell("Calc.exe", 1)
         If X <> 0 Then
            Command2.Enabled = True
         End If
      End Sub

      Private Sub Command2_click()
         THandle = FindWindow(vbEmpty, "Calculator")
         If THandle = 0 Then
            Command3.Enabled = False
            MsgBox "Sorry, the calculator is running"
            Exit Sub
         End If
         Command3.Enabled = True
      End Sub

      Private Sub Command3_click()
         Dim iret As Long
         iret = BringWindowToTop(THandle)
      End Sub

4. Run the Program. When you click Command1, the calculator will appear and
   Command2 will be enabled. Enlarge the size of this program to maximize
   screen usage and then click Command2. If it finds the window handle for
   Calculator, it will enable Command3.

5. Click Command3, and note that the Calculator window will be brought to
   the front so that it has the focus.

REFERENCES
==========

For more information about API calls and API functions, search using the
keywords "API" or "Declare" in the Visual Basic On-line Help.

For information about creating a form that always stays on top, please see
the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q184297
   TITLE     : HOWTO: Create a Form That Always Stays on Top

(c) Microsoft Corporation 1998, All Rights Reserved. Contributions by
Richard T. Edwards, Microsoft Corporation

Additional query words: SetTopMostWindow topmost kbDSupport kbDSD kbVBp500
kbSDKWin32 kbAPI kbVBp400
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Keywords          : kbVBp400 kbVBp500
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0,5.0
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

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