Is there a Windows API hook for "this application wants attention"?

Question

In Windows XP, when a program wants the user's attention, it'll flash its taskbar button orange. Anyone with an IM program is probably familiar with this behavior. But when I'm playing a fullscreen-mode game, I don't see that, and messages go unanswered.

Now I'm writing a game engine of my own, and I'd like to be kind to my users. Is there any Windows API call I can write a hook for that will notify my program whenever any other program just set its taskbar button to "orange flashing mode"? That way, I could notify the user when it happens.

I'd be surprised if this isn't available. I saw a Mac OS Classic screensaver that was able to do this way back in the mid-90s. That's where I got the idea from.

EDIT: This got flagged as a duplicate of how-can-i-programmatically-determine-if-an-application-is-flashing-in-the-taskb but I reopened it because the answers are better on this one, and to encourage more people to discuss possible solutions, if any exist.

Answer 1

It looks like this question has been asked before on SO: How can I programmatically determine if an application is flashing in the taskbar

Short answer: doesn't appear to be possible.

Answer 2

I don't think there is such a thing. You might be able to achieve it with API hooking, although I'm not sure Vista will allow you to do that. Works on XP though.

There are however a few other ideas in this direction that might be "the next best thing":

• Don't take exclusive ownership of sound devices, so that sounds from other programs can be heard. I'm not sure how this is done, but some games block other sounds, some don't;
• Allow user to switch away from your game with ALT-TAB and other key combinations;
• If another window tries to become active, allow it to and gracefully minimize;

Other general tips include:

• Try to keep minimize/restore times down. I don't know anything about game programming, but for some games this takes ages.
• Properly restore picture when minimizing/restoring. Some games have issues with this.
• Auto-pause on minimize. If it's a network game and not possible to pause, perhaps send a message to other players so they know.
• Somewhat unrelated, but I love it when games show the clock somewhere (real clock, not some game time). This way I can easily tell if I should go to bed already without minimizing the program. :)

Answer 3

Of course it's possible. It's even a Win32 FAQ (for years...) see Adv. api ng news://comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32

Answer 4

Here are few links to get you started on Api hooking

www.internals.com/articles/apispy/apispy.htm www.wheaty.net/

Vista in general has no issue with API hooking other than the fact that it does not allow you to hook protected processes.

Answer 5

It is fully possible to do. I'm doing it on Windows 7 so I'm pretty sure it's possible to do on Vista as well.