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How to retrieve the selected text from the active window

I am trying to create a simple open source utility for windows using Python that can perform user-defined actions on the selected text of the currently active window. The utility should be activated using a pre-defined keyboard shortcut.

Usage is partially outlined in the following example:

  1. The user selects some text using the mouse or the keyboard (in any application window)
  2. The user presses a pre-defined keyboard shortcut
  3. The selected text is retrieved by our utility or copied to clipboard (both approaches should be fine)
  4. The keyboard shortcut-dependent action is performed on the selected text

What puzzles me is step 3. How the selected text is retrieved from the active window. This should work with all applications.

I use the pywin32 module.

Thanks in advance for your answers and tips.

Update #1:

Turns out that there are two approaches to accomplish the task:

  1. Find the active window, then send a message/keystroke (Ctrl-C) to it in order to copy the selected text to the clipboard. Then the utility can work on the text by accessing it using the clipboard-related functions.
  2. Find the active Window, then retrieve the selected text directly (without copying it to clipboard). This seems more difficult than the 1st approach.

As starting points:

Get the active window ID as Anurag Uniyal has pointed out in his reply.

Or get the window object with the following code:

import win32ui
wnd = win32ui.GetForegroundWindow()
print wnd.GetWindowText()
like image 590
George Notaras Avatar asked Jun 17 '09 13:06

George Notaras


2 Answers

the code below will work only on simple text boxes (just did it in VB6, and ported to python)

edit: it was tested only on python 2.6

from ctypes import *
import win32gui
import win32api
import win32con


user32 = windll.user32
kernel32 = windll.kernel32

class RECT(Structure):
 _fields_ = [
     ("left", c_ulong),
     ("top", c_ulong),
     ("right", c_ulong),
     ("bottom", c_ulong)
 ]

class GUITHREADINFO(Structure):
 _fields_ = [
     ("cbSize", c_ulong),
     ("flags", c_ulong),
     ("hwndActive", c_ulong),
     ("hwndFocus", c_ulong),
     ("hwndCapture", c_ulong),
     ("hwndMenuOwner", c_ulong),
     ("hwndMoveSize", c_ulong),
     ("hwndCaret", c_ulong),
     ("rcCaret", RECT)
 ]



def get_selected_text_from_front_window(): # As String
    ''' vb6 to python translation '''

    gui = GUITHREADINFO(cbSize=sizeof(GUITHREADINFO))
    txt=''
    ast_Clipboard_Obj=None
    Last_Clipboard_Temp = -1


    user32.GetGUIThreadInfo(0, byref(gui))

    txt = GetCaretWindowText(gui.hwndCaret, True)

    '''
    if Txt = "" Then
        LastClipboardClip = ""
        Last_Clipboard_Obj = GetClipboard
        Last_Clipboard_Temp = LastClipboardFormat
        SendKeys "^(c)"
        GetClipboard
        Txt = LastClipboardClip
        if LastClipboardClip <> "" Then Txt = LastClipboardClip
        RestoreClipboard Last_Clipboard_Obj, Last_Clipboard_Temp
        print "clbrd: " + Txt
    End If
    '''    
    return txt



def GetCaretWindowText(hWndCaret, Selected = False): # As String

    startpos =0
    endpos =0

    txt = ""

    if hWndCaret:

        buf_size = 1 + win32gui.SendMessage(hWndCaret, win32con.WM_GETTEXTLENGTH, 0, 0)
        if buf_size:
            buffer = win32gui.PyMakeBuffer(buf_size)
            win32gui.SendMessage(hWndCaret, win32con.WM_GETTEXT, buf_size, buffer)
            txt = buffer[:buf_size]

        if Selected and buf_size:
            selinfo  = win32gui.SendMessage(hWndCaret, win32con.EM_GETSEL, 0, 0)
            endpos   = win32api.HIWORD(selinfo)
            startpos = win32api.LOWORD(selinfo)
            return txt[startpos: endpos]

    return txt

if __name__ == '__main__':
    print get_selected_text_from_front_window()
like image 126
Berry Tsakala Avatar answered Sep 20 '22 04:09

Berry Tsakala


You're far better off using the Ctrl-C method. Fetching text directly will work for something like an edit control, but is useless for retrieving text that an application has painted directly on its own window.

like image 20
Bob Moore Avatar answered Sep 18 '22 04:09

Bob Moore