From HWND to control

Question

Im using the FindWindow method from user32.dll to find a window and get the handle, but is it possible to get the form control from the handle? and the use it like an ordinary form? Example:

int myhwnd = FindWindow(null, "MyWindow");
form myform = SomeMagic.GetFormFromHandle(myhwnd);
myform.Visible = false;

or do I have to continue to use the methods in user32.dll to send a message to the window?

Answer 1

If it's a managed window (you've created it with System.Windows.Forms, and it has inherited from System.Windows.Forms.Control) you can get a reference to the Control object with

Control.FromHandle(myIntPtr);

Then you just get the parent of the control until you get the form.

If not, you can't get a Control object, what you can do though is to is to create a NativeWindow, and assign the IntPtr handle to the object with the AssignHandle. That will at least give you some access to the WndProc, and similar, but that's it.

Answer 2

Have you tried Control.FromHandle()? Forms are (inherit from) Controls. If you hit a nested control, you'll have to search up through its parents until you hit your Form.

This assumes there actually is a Form somewhere, and you've just used the user32 methods to locate its HWND.