AlwaysOnTop, take 2!!!

Ok, I have created a very simple applicaation that when pressing one button should make the application always TOPMOST and pressing the other will turn that function off. Can someone please tell me why this isn't working and point me in some direction which may assist? The code I am using.. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- using System; using System.Drawing; using System.Collections; using System.ComponentModel; using System.Windows.Forms; using System.Data; using System.Runtime.InteropServices; namespace OnTop { ///

/// Summary description for Form1. ///

public class Form1 : System.Windows.Forms.Form { private System.Windows.Forms.Button btnYes; private System.Windows.Forms.Button btnNo; private System.Windows.Forms.Label lblAlwaysOnTop; ///

/// Required designer variable. ///

private System.ComponentModel.Container components = null; public Form1() { // // Required for Windows Form Designer support // InitializeComponent(); // // TODO: Add any constructor code after InitializeComponent call // } #region API for always on top public class Win32 { [DllImport("user32.dll", EntryPoint="SetWindowPos")] protected static extern int SetWindowPos( int hwnd, int hWndInsertAfter, int x, int y, int cx, int cy, int wFlags); public enum WindowPlacement { HWD_NOTOPMOST = -2, HWD_TOPMOST = -1, HWD_TOP = 0, HWD_BOTTOM = 1 } [Flags]public enum WindowPosition { SWP_NOSIZE = 0x1, SWP_NOMOVE = 0x2, SWP_SHOWWINDOW = 0x40 } public static void SetWindowPosition(System.Windows.Forms.Form form, WindowPlacement windowPlacement) { Win32.SetWindowPosition(form, windowPlacement, WindowPosition.SWP_NOMOVE | WindowPosition.SWP_NOSIZE | WindowPosition.SWP_SHOWWINDOW); } public static void SetWindowPosition(System.Windows.Forms.Form form, WindowPlacement windowPlacement, WindowPosition positionFlags) { Win32.SetWindowPos((int)form.Handle, (int)windowPlacement, 0, 0, 0, 0, (int)positionFlags); } } #endregion ///

/// Clean up any resources being used. ///

protected override void Dispose( bool disposing ) { if( disposing ) { if (components != null) { components.Dispose(); } } base.Dispose( disposing ); } #region Windows Form Designer generated code ///

/// Required method for Designer support - do not modify /// the contents of this method with the code editor. ///

private void InitializeComponent() { this.btnYes = new System.Windows.Forms.Button(); this.btnNo = new System.Windows.Forms.Button(); this.lblAlwaysOnTop = new System.Windows.Forms.Label(); this.SuspendLayout(); // // btnYes // this.btnYes.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(8, 8); this.btnYes.Name = "btnYes"; this.btnYes.TabIndex = 0; this.btnYes.Text = "Yes"; this.btnYes.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.btnYes_Click); // // btnNo // this.btnNo.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(200, 8); this.btnNo.Name = "btnNo"; this.btnNo.TabIndex = 1; this.btnNo.Text = "No"; this.btnNo.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.btnNo_Click); // // lblAlwaysOnTop // this.lblAlwaysOnTop.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(88, 8); this.lblAlwaysOnTop.Name = "lblAlwaysOnTop"; this.lblAlwaysOnTop.TabIndex = 2; this.lblAlwaysOnTop.Text = "Always On Top?"; this.lblAlwaysOnTop.TextAlign = System.Drawing.ContentAlignment.MiddleCenter; // // Form1 // this.AutoScaleBaseSize = new System.Drawing.Size(5, 13); this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(280, 37); this.Controls.AddRange(new System.Windows.Forms.Control[] { this.lblAlwaysOnTop, this.btnNo, this.btnYes}); this.Name = "Form1"; this.Text = "Form1"; this.ResumeLayout(false); } #endregion ///

/// The main entry point for the application. ///

[STAThread] static void Main() { Application.Run(new Form1()); } private void btnYes_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { Win32.SetWindowPosition(this, Win32.WindowPlacement.HWD_TOP); } private void btnNo_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { Win32.SetWindowPosition(this, Win32.WindowPlacement.HWD_NOTOPMOST); } } }

3 Replies

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ytram521y ago
As I'm typing this, I have the window staying on top of all of my other open applications(in this case right now, the browser) using only the TopMost property of the form. The description in VS .NET states: "Determines whether the form is above all other non-top most forms, even when deactivated." I have no idea why one computer would keep a window on top, while another one wouldn't, unless it's a version issue with the .NET framework. There may also be a way in Windows that I'm not aware of that disables any application from being TopMost.
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Boblysan21y ago
In a recent post to this board I was told to NOT use the TopMost property as it only related to which window (within the same application) should be on top. I was told that if I want a particular "application" to always remain in the foreground then I would need to use one of the Win32 API's. Is this not accurate? Shoudl the TopMost form property be sufficient for keeping an application window always in the foreground over all other applications? Also, I have one partular computer that will not keep the application on top using either of these methods. Any suggestions? Thanks, Bob
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ytram521y ago
Rather than using the user32.dll, just use the TopMost property associated with a Windows form in C#. This is a snippet of code I just used to tie the TopMost property to one button: private void button1_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { this.TopMost = !this.TopMost; } So the button I coded acts as a toggle. You could also change the Text of the button to indicate the current state of the toggle.
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