Function name: GetSystemMetrics

Defined in : User32

Requirements : Windows NT 3.1 or later; Windows 95 or later

Declaration:

Declare Function GetSystemMetrics Lib "user32" Alias "GetSystemMetrics" (ByVal nIndex As Long) As Long

Parameters:

* nIndex Specifies the system metric or configuration setting to retrieve. All SM_CX* values are widths. All SM_CY* values are heights. The following values are defined: SM_ARRANGE Flags specifying how the system arranged minimized windows. For more information about minimized windows, see the following Remarks section. SM_CLEANBOOT Value that specifies how the system was started: 0 Normal boot 1 Fail-safe boot 2 Fail-safe with network boot Fail-safe boot (also called SafeBoot) bypasses the user’s startup files. SM_CMOUSEBUTTONS Number of buttons on mouse, or zero if no mouse is installed. SM_CXBORDER, SM_CYBORDER The width and height, in pixels, of a window border. This is equivalent to the SM_CXEDGE value for windows with the 3-D look. SM_CXCURSOR, SM_CYCURSOR Width and height, in pixels, of a cursor. These are the cursor dimensions supported by the current display driver. The system cannot create cursors of other sizes. SM_CXDLGFRAME, SM_CYDLGFRAME Same as SM_CXFIXEDFRAME and SM_CYFIXEDFRAME. SM_CXDOUBLECLK, SM_CYDOUBLECLK Width and height, in pixels, of the rectangle around the location of a first click in a double-click sequence. The second click must occur within this rectangle for the system to consider the two clicks a double-click. (The two clicks must also occur within a specified time.) SM_CXDRAG, SM_CYDRAG Width and height, in pixels, of a rectangle centered on a drag point to allow for limited movement of the mouse pointer before a drag operation begins. This allows the user to click and release the mouse button easily without unintentionally starting a drag operation. SM_CXEDGE, SM_CYEDGE Dimensions, in pixels, of a 3-D border. These are the 3-D counterparts of SM_CXBORDER and SM_CYBORDER. SM_CXFIXEDFRAME, SM_CYFIXEDFRAME Thickness, in pixels, of the frame around the perimeter of a window that has a caption but is not sizable. SM_CXFIXEDFRAME is the width of the horizontal border and SM_CYFIXEDFRAME is the height of the vertical border. Same as SM_CXDLGFRAME and SM_CYDLGFRAME. SM_CXFRAME, SM_CYFRAME Same as SM_CXSIZEFRAME and SM_CYSIZEFRAME. SM_CXFULLSCREEN, SM_CYFULLSCREEN Width and height of the client area for a full-screen window. To get the coordinates of the portion of the screen not obscured by the tray, call the SystemParametersInfo function with the SPI_GETWORKAREA value. SM_CXHSCROLL, SM_CYHSCROLL Width, in pixels, of the arrow bitmap on a horizontal scroll bar; and height, in pixels, of a horizontal scroll bar. SM_CXHTHUMB Width, in pixels, of the thumb box in a horizontal scroll bar. SM_CXICON, SM_CYICON The default width and height, in pixels, of an icon. These values are typically 32x32, but can vary depending on the installed display hardware. The LoadIcon function can only load icons of these dimensions. SM_CXICONSPACING, SM_CYICONSPACING Dimensions, in pixels, of a grid cell for items in large icon view. Each item fits into a rectangle of this size when arranged. These values are always greater than or equal to SM_CXICON and SM_CYICON. SM_CXMAXIMIZED, SM_CYMAXIMIZED Default dimensions, in pixels, of a maximized top-level window. SM_CXMAXTRACK, SM_CYMAXTRACK Default maximum dimensions, in pixels, of a window that has a caption and sizing borders. The user cannot drag the window frame to a size larger than these dimensions. A window can override these values by processing the WM_GETMINMAXINFO message. SM_CXMENUCHECK, SM_CYMENUCHECK Dimensions, in pixels, of the default menu check-mark bitmap. SM_CXMENUSIZE, SM_CYMENUSIZE Dimensions, in pixels, of menu bar buttons, such as multiple document (MIDI) child close. SM_CXMIN, SM_CYMIN Minimum width and height, in pixels, of a window. SM_CXMINIMIZED, SM_CYMINIMIZED Dimensions, in pixels, of a normal minimized window. SM_CXMINSPACING SM_CYMINSPACING Dimensions, in pixels, of a grid cell for minimized windows. Each minimized window fits into a rectangle this size when arranged. These values are always greater than or equal to SM_CXMINIMIZED and SM_CYMINIMIZED. SM_CXMINTRACK, SM_CYMINTRACK Minimum tracking width and height, in pixels, of a window. The user cannot drag the window frame to a size smaller than these dimensions. A window can override these values by processing the WM_GETMINMAXINFO message. SM_CXSCREEN, SM_CYSCREEN Width and height, in pixels, of the screen. SM_CXSIZE, SM_CYSIZE Width and height, in pixels, of a button in a window's caption or title bar. SM_CXSIZEFRAME, SM_CYSIZEFRAME Thickness, in pixels, of the sizing border around the perimeter of a window that can be resized. SM_CXSIZEFRAME is the width of the horizontal border and SM_CYSIZEFRAME is the height of the vertical border. Same as SM_CXFRAME and SM_CYFRAME. SM_CXSMICON, SM_CYSMICON Recommended dimensions, in pixels, of a small icon. Small icons typically appear in window captions and in small icon view. SM_CXSMSIZE SM_CYSMSIZE Dimensions, in pixels, of small caption buttons. SM_CXVSCROLL, SM_CYVSCROLL Width, in pixels, of a vertical scroll bar; and height, in pixels, of the arrow bitmap on a vertical scroll bar. SM_CYCAPTION Height, in pixels, of normal caption area. SM_CYKANJIWINDOW For double-byte character set versions of Windows, height, in pixels, of the Kanji window at the bottom of the screen. SM_CYMENU Height, in pixels, of single-line menu bar. SM_CYSMCAPTION Height, in pixels, of a small caption. SM_CYVTHUMB Height , in pixels, of the thumb box in a vertical scroll bar. SM_DBCSENABLED TRUE or nonzero if the double-byte character set (DBCS) version of USER.EXE is installed; FALSE, or zero otherwise. SM_DEBUG TRUE or nonzero if the debugging version of USER.EXE is installed; FALSE, or zero, otherwise. SM_MENUDROPALIGNMENT TRUE, or nonzero if drop-down menus are right-aligned relative to the corresponding menu-bar item; FALSE, or zero if they are left-aligned. SM_MIDEASTENABLED TRUE if the system is enabled for Hebrew/Arabic languages. SM_MOUSEPRESENT TRUE or nonzero if a mouse is installed; FALSE, or zero, otherwise. SM_MOUSEWHEELPRESENT Windows NT only: TRUE or nonzero if a mouse with a wheel is installed; FALSE, or zero, otherwise. SM_NETWORK The least significant bit is set if a network is present; otherwise, it is cleared. The other bits are reserved for future use. SM_PENWINDOWS TRUE or nonzero if the Microsoft Windows for Pen computing extensions are installed; zero, or FALSE, otherwise. SM_SECURE TRUE if security is present, FALSE otherwise. SM_SHOWSOUNDS TRUE or nonzero if the user requires an application to present information visually in situations where it would otherwise present the information only in audible form; FALSE, or zero, otherwise. SM_SLOWMACHINE TRUE if the computer has a low-end (slow) processor, FALSE otherwise. SM_SWAPBUTTON TRUE or nonzero if the meanings of the left and right mouse buttons are swapped; FALSE, or zero, otherwise.

Returns:

If the function succeeds, the return value is the requested system metric or configuration setting. If the function fails, the return value is zero. GetLastError does not provide extended error information.

Related functions:

Examples:

Sorry, this function has no examples yet.