Thread: Text output into other applications

is it possible to write a C program that can input text into other programs?

Eg. i have a program that generates random number chains, and i want it to be able to put the text into an application like notepad or word. but i want this to happen in real-time, not saving the text into a .txt file

You could use some win32 api calls like SendMessage, FindWindow and FindWindowEx these 3 should be all that you need.

try search MSDN

could you give an example of how to use these functions with word? the MSDN site is confusing

That code wont work, here is an example of how to send text to notepad:

Code:

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


int main(void)
{
	PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;
	STARTUPINFO si;
	HWND hNotepad, hEdit;

	memset(&si,0,sizeof(si));

	/* Start up notepad */
	CreateProcess(NULL,"notepad",NULL,NULL,FALSE,0,NULL,NULL,&si,&pi);
	Sleep(1000);	/* Wait for notepad to open */
	hNotepad = FindWindow(_T("Notepad"),NULL);
	if(!hNotepad)
	{
		printf("Could not find notepad window\n");
		return EXIT_FAILURE;
	}
	hEdit = FindWindowEx(hNotepad,NULL,_T("Edit"),NULL);
	if(!hEdit)
	{
		printf("Could not find edit window\n");
		return EXIT_FAILURE;
	}
	SendMessage(hEdit,WM_SETTEXT,0,(LPARAM)_T("This text will appear in notepad"));

	/* Close handles */
	CloseHandle(pi.hThread);
	CloseHandle(pi.hProcess);
	return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}

Ofcourse it will. Have you tried it? Try and see

Originally Posted by melchior

no i never tried win32 programming before, but i knew about windows.h for some reason
Im compiling with MinGW.

With your code, notepad opens, but where in the code do i place the text that gets sent to notepad?

Thanks for the help btw

You put your text in variable char s. After the notepad opens itll set Edit control in notepad whatever text is in char s.

Ofcourse it will. Have you tried it? Try and see

First of all, you edited the code since I posted. Second of all, it still wont work the way you have it. Execution will block at the system() call, and your FindWindow() functions wont get called until after the notepad window is closed.

Originally Posted by bithub

First of all, you edited the code since I posted. Second of all, it still wont work the way you have it. Execution will block at the system() call, and your FindWindow() functions wont get called until after the notepad window is closed.

Yes i did edited my reply but not the code only the comment i made coz the grammar was kinda incorrect( im very consciuous about my spelling and grammar ) .

What do you mean be blocked? the findWindow and Findwindowex call will only execute if notepad is already open. So itll perform what it is suppose to do.

He can use WinExec or ShellExecute if theres something wrong with system().