The Old New Thing
Practical development throughout the evolution of Windows.
Latest posts
Intercepting messages inside IsDialogMessage, fine-tuning the message filter
Making sure it triggers when you need it, and not when you don't.
Intercepting messages inside IsDialogMessage, installing the message filter
Using an <CODE>IsDialogMessage</CODE> extension point.
Intercepting messages before IsDialogMessage can process them
Process the message before you let <CODE>IsDialogMessage</CODE> see it.
Customizing the ways the dialog manager dismisses itself: Isolating the Close pathway
Intercepting the flow in your message loop.
Customizing the ways the dialog manager dismisses itself: Detecting the ESC key, second (failed) attempt
Sniffing the synchronous keyboard state is still not precise enough.
The 2026/2027 Seattle Symphony subscription season at a glance
The pocket reference guide for 2026/2027.
Customizing the ways the dialog manager dismisses itself: Detecting the ESC key, first (failed) attempt
Sniffing the asynchronous keyboard state.
Exploring the signals the dialog manager uses for dismissing a dialog
Summarizing the flow.
Could WriteProcessMemory be made faster by avoiding the intermediate buffer?
I guess it could, but why bother?
Microspeak: Escrow
Final build, final, final, final 2, ship this one.
It rather involved being on the other side of the airtight hatchway: Tricking(?) a program into reading files
Is it really a trick when reading the file is the purpose of the program?
How can I distinguish between the numeric keypad 0 and the top-row 0 in the WM_CHAR message?
See if it matches the scan code.
How can I distinguish between the numeric keypad 0 and the top-row 0 in the WM_KEYDOWN message?
Check whether it is an extended key.
How do I suppress the hover effects when I put a Win32 common controls ListView in single-click mode?
You can prevent the item from becoming hot-tracked.
How did Windows 95 get permission to put the Weezer video Buddy Holly on the CD?
Asking nicely, and asking a lot of people.
What should I do if a wait call reports WAIT_ABANDONED ?
It's your one chance to make amends.
How can I prevent the user from changing the widths of ListView columns in version 5 of the common controls?, part 2
Preventing the resize cursor from appearing.
How can I prevent the user from changing the widths of ListView columns in version 5 of the common controls?
Deny changes to the width.
Super Bowl LX creates an opportunity for symphonic friendly wagering
Betting classical music.
How can I prevent the user from changing the widths of ListView columns?
You can ask the header to be non-resizing.
Some small stories about the giant satellite dish antenna that was behind Microsoft Building 11
A little trivia.
Studying compiler error messages closely: Input file paths
Are you even compiling the correct file?
Why not store the SAFEARRAY reference count as a hidden allocation next to the SAFEARRAY?
The case of "Bring your own <CODE>SAFEARRAY</CODE>."
How can I retain access to the data in a SAFEARRAY after my method returns?
Find a way to take ownership.
Why did I lose the data even though I called SafeArrayAddRef?
You have to use the original pointer, but even that won't be good enough.
A digression on the design and implementation of SafeArrayAddRef and extending APIs in general
The concerns when adding a feature to an existing API.
What’s the difference between SafeArrayAccessData and SafeArrayAddRef?
Two ways of preserving the data.
C++ has scope_exit for running code at scope exit. C# says “We have scope_exit at home.”
You can wrap it in an <CODE>IDisposable</CODE>.
A simple helper function for attaching a progress handler to a Windows Runtime IAsyncActionWithProgress or IAsyncOperationWithProgress
It doesn't do much, but it saves typing.
On the proper usage of a custom Win32 dialog class
You are replacing the window procedure, not the dialog procedure.
Microspeak: On fire, putting out fires
Dealing with emergencies.
What was the secret sauce that allows for a faster restart of Windows 95 if you hold the shift key?
An old flag from 16-bit Windows.
How can I get the tab index number from a dialog box control?
The tab index number is an authoring concept, not a runtime concept.
When programs assume that the system will never change, episode 4: Stealing strings
The strings are an implementation detail.
Clipping the focus item when looking for its on-screen location, part 3
Finding <I>all</I> the clipping parents.
Clipping the focus item when looking for its on-screen location, part 2
Finding the correct clipping parent.
Clipping the focus item when looking for its on-screen location
Preventing the cursor from pointing to nothing.
Using Active Accessibility to find out where the focus item is
Looking at child objects.
Using Active Accessibility to find out where the Windows caret is
It's old and rather simple, but we like simple.
How can I find out where the Windows caret is?
You'll have go to a larger scope.
Swapping two blocks of memory that reside inside a larger block, in constant memory, refinement
Could do with a little less rotating.
How can you swap two non-adjacent blocks of memory using only forward iterators?
Applying the rotation trick to our new problem.
How can you swap two adjacent blocks of memory using only forward iterators?
A different algorithm, employing a different kind of cleverness.
Swapping two blocks of memory that reside inside a larger block, in constant memory
A variation on the constant-memory rotation.
2025 year-end link clearance
Another year gets relegated to history.