How to resize windows taskbar programmatically

Question

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This autohotkey code works fine to resize the Win 7 taskbar when it is on the left position. Please help me to convert it so it can resize the taskbar when it is in bottom position:

C++

;source: https://github.com/Tebayaki/AutoHotkeyScripts/blob/9c9bb042964b62c3ebe18d28f49ef496584ab872/scripts/ResizeTaskbar.ahk
ResizeTaskbar(170)

ResizeTaskbar(size) {
    pAppBarData := Buffer(48), 
    NumPut("uint", pAppBarData.Size, pAppBarData)
    DllCall("Shell32\SHAppBarMessage", "uint", 0x00000005, 
        "ptr", pAppBarData)
        hTB := WinExist("ahk_class Shell_TrayWnd")
        NumPut("int", -A_ScreenWidth, pAppBarData, 24), 
        NumPut("int", size, pAppBarData, 32)

        SendMessage(0x0214, 2, pAppBarData.Ptr + 24, , hTB), 
                    WinMove(0, 0)
}

What I have tried:

I already attempted with A_ScreenHeight and -A_ScreenHeight, but did not work!

C++

NumPut("int", A_ScreenHeight, pAppBarData, 24), 
NumPut("int", size, pAppBarData, 32)

I accept any programming language as a solution, autohotkey/autoit, Python, C, C++, C#, etc.

If you want to test the script, remember to unlock the taskbar first.

Thank you!

Posted 31-Aug-23 21:44pm

badrelmers

Updated 13-Sep-23 4:10am

Deeksha Shenoy

v3

Add a Solution

4 solutions

Solution 3

Here is my suggestion to the problem that the height can only be increased or decreased gradually.

C

#include <stdio.h>
#include <windows.h>

typedef enum {O_NONE, O_BOTTOM, O_TOP, O_LEFT, O_RIGHT} o_type;

int	GetCurrentHeight(HWND hWnd)
{
	RECT rc;
	GetWindowRect(hWnd, &rc);
	return (rc.bottom - rc.top);
}

void setTB_Bottom(HWND hWnd, int nextheight)
{
	RECT rc;
	GetWindowRect(hWnd, &rc);
	rc.bottom = rc.top + nextheight;
	SendMessage(hWnd, WM_SIZING, WMSZ_BOTTOM, (LPARAM)&rc);
	SetWindowPos(hWnd, NULL, 0, 0, rc.right - rc.left, nextheight, SWP_NOMOVE | SWP_NOZORDER | SWP_NOACTIVATE);
}

int getNextHeight(int currentHeight, int newHeight, int step)
{
	int diffCurrent = abs(newHeight - currentHeight);
	int diffNext = abs(newHeight - (currentHeight + step));
	int diffLower = abs(newHeight - (currentHeight - step));

	int minDiff = diffCurrent;
	int closestHeight = currentHeight;

	if (diffNext < minDiff && (currentHeight + step) >= 0) {
		minDiff = diffNext;
		closestHeight = currentHeight + step;
	}

	if (diffLower < minDiff && (currentHeight - step) >= 0) {
		closestHeight = currentHeight - step;
	}

	return closestHeight;
}

// To use Unicode wide characters, you can use the Microsoft - specific wmain entry point
int wmain(int argc, wchar_t* argv[])
{
	if (argc < 3) {
		wprintf(L"Usage: taskbar_resize.exe(-b | -t | -l | -r) new_size\n");
		return 1;
	}

	HWND hTaskbarWnd = FindWindow(L"Shell_TrayWnd", NULL);
	if (!hTaskbarWnd) {
		wprintf(L"Error: TrayWnd not found!\n");
		return 1;
	}

	o_type tb_loc = O_NONE;

	if (lstrcmpi(argv[1], L"-b") == 0)
		tb_loc = O_BOTTOM;
	else if (lstrcmpi(argv[1], L"-t") == 0)
		tb_loc = O_TOP;
	else if (lstrcmpi(argv[1], L"-l") == 0)
		tb_loc = O_LEFT;
	else if (lstrcmpi(argv[1], L"-r") == 0)
		tb_loc = O_RIGHT;

	long userHeight = wcstol(argv[2], NULL, 10);

	int step = 41;
	int currentHeight, nextHeight;

	RECT rc;
	GetWindowRect(hTaskbarWnd, &rc);

	switch (tb_loc) {
	case O_BOTTOM:
		do {
			currentHeight = GetCurrentHeight(hTaskbarWnd);
			nextHeight = getNextHeight(currentHeight, userHeight, step);
			if (nextHeight != currentHeight) {
				setTB_Bottom(hTaskbarWnd, nextHeight);
			}
		} while (nextHeight != currentHeight);
		break;
	case O_TOP:
         // TODO:
	}
	
	return 0;
}

Posted 3-Sep-23 3:15am

merano99

Updated 3-Sep-23 6:43am

v2

Comments

badrelmers 3-Sep-23 11:04am

thank you for this excellent solution, unfortunately I could not compile it with VS 2013, i got this errors
LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _main
LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _wprintf
LNK2001: unresolved external symbol _wcstol

merano99 3-Sep-23 11:46am

Thanks! It should not be a problem to compile the code with VS2013. There is nothing special included that will cause problems with a MS compiler. I would recommend creating a new Win32 console project and copying the source code into it. Note: The project linked on Github seems kind of weird, I had problems with it too.

Richard MacCutchan 3-Sep-23 12:10pm

Have you got this to work? I have tried a number of times, and even though the call to SetWindowPos returns true, the taskbar remains at its current position.

merano99 3-Sep-23 14:47pm

Unfortunately, I can currently change the height and width with the program under Windows 10, but the position of the taskbar does not change yet. Also SHAppBarMessage(ABM_SETPOS, ..) does not seem to work. At the moment I can only change the position with the mouse and via taskbar settings. There must be a solution with C, but at the moment I can't find one.
Moving is allowed via a registry key, that could be set here: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced] "TaskbarSizeMove"=dword:00000001

Richard MacCutchan 4-Sep-23 3:41am

My tests give the same results. I even downloaded the executable provided by the OP, but that didn't work. However, it's not really important enough to spend any more time on.

badrelmers 4-Sep-23 4:27am

@merano, thank you, yes now it compiles fine after doing what you told me. but nothing happens when I run it, I don t know where is the problem.

@merano @Richard SetWindowPos does not change the taskbar position, it works with the self created appbars but not with the default windows taskbar, so the taskbar_resize.exe is not meant to change the taskbar position at all. to change the taskbar position I use another method but it uses autohotkey, I don t have a C code:
met1:

WinExist("ahk_class Shell_TrayWnd")
SendMessage,0x0231
;WinMove 1866, 0, 58, 1080 ; right
;WinMove -1866, 0, 58, 1080 ; left
;WinMove 1866, 1866 ; bottom
WinMove -1866, -1866 ; top
SendMessage,0x0232

met2: better

;https://github.com/gerdami/AutoHotkey/blob/master/TaskbarMove.ahk
;
; AutoHotkey Version: 1.0.48.5
/*
** TaskbarMove.ahk - Move the taskbar (startbar) around the screen with Hotkeys
**
**   Updated: Sat, Nov 19, 2011 --- 11/19/11, 4:19:19pm EST
**  Keywords: move taskbar, move startbar, move task bar, move start bar
**  Location: r.secsrv.net/AutoHotkey/Scripts/TaskbarMove
**
**    Author: JSLover - r.secsrv.net/JSLover - r.secsrv.net/JSLoverAHK
**		 Web: http://jslover.secsrv.net/AutoHotkey/Scripts/TaskbarMove.ahk
*/

#NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.


#SingleInstance force

; TaskbarMove("Top")
; TaskbarMove("Bottom")
TaskbarMove("Left")
; TaskbarMove("Right")


TaskbarMove(p_pos) {
	label:="TaskbarMove_" p_pos

	WinExist("ahk_class Shell_TrayWnd")
	SysGet, s, Monitor

	if (IsLabel(label)) {
		Goto, %label%
	}
	return

	TaskbarMove_Top:
	TaskbarMove_Bottom:
	WinMove(sLeft, s%p_pos%, sRight, 0)
	return

	TaskbarMove_Left:
	TaskbarMove_Right:
	WinMove(s%p_pos%, sTop, 0, sBottom)
	return
}

WinMove(p_x, p_y, p_w="", p_h="", p_hwnd="") {
	WM_ENTERSIZEMOVE:=0x0231
	WM_EXITSIZEMOVE :=0x0232

	if (p_hwnd!="") {
		WinExist("ahk_id " p_hwnd)
	}

	SendMessage, WM_ENTERSIZEMOVE
	;//Tooltip WinMove(%p_x%`, %p_y%`, %p_w%`, %p_h%)
	WinMove, , , p_x, p_y, p_w, p_h
	SendMessage, WM_EXITSIZEMOVE
}

Solution 4

I was annoyed that there seems to be no solution to change the position of the taskbar with a C-program under Win10. Here is a solution that currently works under Win10. You can convert the AutoHotkey script into an executable file e.g. TaskbarMoveTop.exe. With a C console program you can run this as a background program without displaying additional windows. For the sake of simplicity I copied the executable file "TaskbarMoveTop.exe" into the same directory as the main program.

This external program can be called as follows:

C

int CallAutoHotkey(wchar_t* exePath) 
{
	STARTUPINFO si;
	PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;

	ZeroMemory(&si, sizeof(si)); // init structs
	ZeroMemory(&pi, sizeof(pi));
	si.cb = sizeof(si);

	// create process in background
	if (CreateProcessW(NULL, exePath, NULL, NULL, FALSE, 0, NULL, NULL, &si, &pi)) {
		// wprintf(L"external poc launched.\n");
		WaitForSingleObject(pi.hProcess, INFINITE); // Wait until the process is finished
		CloseHandle(pi.hProcess);
		CloseHandle(pi.hThread);
	}
	return 0;
}

To avoid path problems I have a function for all directions:

C

void StartTaskbarMove(wchar_t *filename)
{
	wchar_t exePath[MAX_PATH];
	GetModuleFileName(NULL, exePath, MAX_PATH);  // absolute path to the executable file

	wchar_t* lastBackslash = wcsrchr(exePath, L'\\');	// search file name
	if (lastBackslash != NULL) 	*lastBackslash = L'\0';	// remove file name
	wcscat_s(exePath, MAX_PATH, filename);				// add to path

	WIN32_FIND_DATA findFileData;
	HANDLE hFind = FindFirstFile(exePath, &findFileData);	// check file

	if (hFind != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
		FindClose(hFind);
		CallAutoHotkey(exePath); // run exeskript
	}
	else
		wprintf(L"Error exePath TB_TOP not found!\n");
}

Now the taskbar is first moved and then gradually adjusted to the desired height.

C

case O_TOP:
  StartTaskbarMove(L"\\TaskbarMoveTop.exe");
  do {
     currentHeight = GetCurrentHeight(hTaskbarWnd);
     nextHeight = getNextHeight(currentHeight, userHeight, step);
     if (nextHeight != currentHeight) 
        setTB_Top(hTaskbarWnd, nextHeight);
  } while (nextHeight != currentHeight);
  break;

From my point of view it is not a nice solution to change the position of the taskbar with an external AutoHotkey file, but I have not found any other solution yet. Alternatively, you could start the script file as a parameter with AutoHotkey, but that makes the construct even shakier. I was first interested to see if it would work at all under Win10.

I did not investigate what the generated executable does exactly. But there are the following dependencies:

WSOCK32.dll, WINMM.dll, VERSION.dll, COMCTL32.dll, PSAPI.DLL, WININET.dll, KERNEL32.dll, USER32.dll, GDI32.dll, COMDLG32.dll, ADVAPI32.dll, SHELL32.dll, ole32.dll, OLEAUT32.dll

Posted 4-Sep-23 3:47am

merano99

Updated 4-Sep-23 4:10am

v2

Comments

badrelmers 5-Sep-23 3:57am

good

Solution 1

I do not recognise the language used above, although it reminds me a little of Pascal. But either way you can check ABM_SETPOS message (Shellapi.h) - Win32 apps | Microsoft Learn[^] for how to adjust the Taskbar size and position.

Posted 31-Aug-23 22:52pm

Richard MacCutchan

Comments

badrelmers 1-Sep-23 6:07am

@Richard MacCutchan
it is in autohotkey, i tested everything possible, but nothing work, this guy https://github.com/m417z/taskbar-resize also gave a solution for right and left positions but not for top and bottom positions, it seems impossible maybe but I hope i m wrong

Richard MacCutchan 1-Sep-23 9:55am

I have never used autohotkey, and do not know how it works. You need to talk to the person who wrote this code.

badrelmers 1-Sep-23 21:12pm

thank you for your time sir, i could not make the autohotkey code to work, but i found a C code that worked after some editing, I posted the source and binary here if someone need it https://github.com/m417z/taskbar-resize/issues/3
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/77022306/how-to-resize-windows-taskbar-programmatically

Richard MacCutchan 2-Sep-23 4:25am

Glad you found the answer. I have created a Solution below from the links you provided. Feel free to edit it if necessary.

Add a Solution

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

Richard MacCutchan · Accepted Answer · 2023-09-01T22:24:00

I have added this solution from the details provided by badrelmers, in a comment above.

I found a C code that worked after some editing, I posted the source and binary here if someone need it how to resize the bottom taskbar ? · Issue #3 · m417z/taskbar-resize · GitHub[^]. See also https://stackoverflow.com/questions/77022306/how-to-resize-windows-taskbar-programmatically[^].

C++

// no need to compile 64, compile only 32 version it works fine with win7 64 

#include <windows.h>
#include <shlwapi.h>

void main()
{
    int argc;
    WCHAR **argv = CommandLineToArgvW(GetCommandLine(), &argc);

    if(argv)
    {
        if(argc >= 3)
        {
            BOOL bBottom = lstrcmpi(argv[1], L"-b") == 0;
            BOOL bTop = lstrcmpi(argv[1], L"-t") == 0;
            BOOL bRight = lstrcmpi(argv[1], L"-r") == 0;
            BOOL bLeft = lstrcmpi(argv[1], L"-l") == 0;
            int nMySize = StrToInt(argv[2]);

            HWND hTaskbarWnd = FindWindow(L"Shell_TrayWnd", NULL);
            if(hTaskbarWnd)
            {
                RECT rc;
                GetWindowRect(hTaskbarWnd, &rc);

                if(bBottom) {
                    rc.top = rc.bottom - nMySize;
                    SendMessage(hTaskbarWnd, WM_SIZING, WMSZ_TOP, (LPARAM)&rc);
                    SetWindowPos(hTaskbarWnd, NULL, 0, 0, rc.right - rc.left, nMySize, SWP_NOMOVE | SWP_NOZORDER | SWP_NOACTIVATE);
                }
                else if(bTop) {
                    rc.bottom = rc.top + nMySize;
                    SendMessage(hTaskbarWnd, WM_SIZING, WMSZ_BOTTOM, (LPARAM)&rc);
                    SetWindowPos(hTaskbarWnd, NULL, 0, 0, rc.right - rc.left, nMySize, SWP_NOMOVE | SWP_NOZORDER | SWP_NOACTIVATE);
                }
                else if(bRight) {
                    rc.left = rc.right - nMySize;
                    SendMessage(hTaskbarWnd, WM_SIZING, WMSZ_LEFT, (LPARAM)&rc);
                    SetWindowPos(hTaskbarWnd, NULL, 0, 0, nMySize, rc.bottom - rc.top, SWP_NOMOVE | SWP_NOZORDER | SWP_NOACTIVATE);
                }
                else if(bLeft) {
                    rc.right = rc.left + nMySize;
                    SendMessage(hTaskbarWnd, WM_SIZING, WMSZ_LEFT, (LPARAM)&rc);
                    SetWindowPos(hTaskbarWnd, NULL, 0, 0, nMySize, rc.bottom - rc.top, SWP_NOMOVE | SWP_NOZORDER | SWP_NOACTIVATE);
                }
            }
        }

        LocalFree(argv);
    }

    ExitProcess(0);
}

NB: for top and bottom positions, you cannot resize to 3 rows from 1 row you have to resize to 2 rows first then resize to 3 rows

the following numbers are based on the taskbar with small icons not the big ones

taskbar_resize.exe -b 60 ===> 1 row
taskbar_resize.exe -b 70 ===> 2 rows
taskbar_resize.exe -b 110 ===> 3 rows
taskbar_resize.exe -b 150 ===> 4 rows
taskbar_resize.exe -b 180 ===> 5 rows
taskbar_resize.exe -b 220 ===> 6 rows
taskbar_resize.exe -b 250 ===> 7 rows

How to resize windows taskbar programmatically

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How to resize windows taskbar programmatically

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