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Thanks @donnyh13 for all your feedback 😀

I understand that F1 is use by VSCode does a Autoit:help using F1 is solution

it is conflicting with workbench perhaps a autoi:!Toogle comment line is needed Thanks

That's a very good point. I shouldn't have used a hardcoded path like that. I like the creative way that you used the @AutoItExe macro to get the AutoIt install directory. Thanks for sharing. This was a really fun example. Thanks for sharing. I didn't expect that a child GUI would work in this type of situation, so that was a neat surprise.

to test different patterns simultaneously ; https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/212981-move-window-behind-desktop-icons/page/2/#findComment-1544444 #include <WinAPI.au3> #include <GUIConstantsEx.au3> #include <WindowsConstants.au3> Opt("MustDeclareVars", True) Example() Func Example() Local $hWorkerW = _GetDesktopWorkerW() If @error Then Exit MsgBox(16, @ScriptName, "! Error - Couldn't find WorkerW under Progman", 30) ConsoleWrite("WorkerW = " & $hWorkerW & @CRLF) ; Overlay GUICreate Local $hGUI = GUICreate("Overlay", @DesktopWidth, @DesktopHeight, -1, -1, $WS_POPUP, $WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW) Local $BkColor = 0x000000 GUISetBkColor($BkColor, $hGUI) GUISetFont(12) _WinAPI_SetParent($hGUI, $hWorkerW) _WinAPI_SetWindowLong($hGUI, $GWL_EXSTYLE, BitOR(_WinAPI_GetWindowLong($hGUI, $GWL_EXSTYLE), $WS_EX_LAYERED)) _WinAPI_SetLayeredWindowAttributes($hGUI, 0, 150, $LWA_ALPHA) GUISetState(@SW_SHOWNOACTIVATE) Local $aChildGui[10] = [9], $aLbl[10] = [9] Local $iW = @DesktopWidth * 0.33, $iH = @DesktopHeight * 0.33, $iX = 0, $iY = 20, $iCnt = 0 For $i = 1 To 3 For $j = 1 To 3 $iCnt += 1 $aChildGui[$iCnt] = GUICreate("Child_" & $iCnt, $iW, $iH, $iX, $iY, $WS_CHILD, $WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW, $hGUI) $BkColor = "0x" & Hex(Random(0, 255, 1), 2) & Hex(Random(0, 255, 1), 2) & Hex(Random(0, 255, 1), 2) ConsoleWrite("$BkColor=" & $BkColor & @CRLF) GUISetBkColor($BkColor, $aChildGui[$iCnt]) $aLbl[$iCnt] = GUICtrlCreateLabel("Child_" & $iCnt & ", BkColor:" & $BkColor, 0, 0, $iW, 25) GUICtrlSetFont(-1, 18) GUISetState(@SW_SHOWNOACTIVATE) $iX += $iW Next $iX = 0 $iY += $iH Next $iCnt = 0 While GUIGetMsg() <> $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE Sleep(50) $iCnt += 1 If $iCnt > 40 Then $iCnt = 0 For $i = 1 To $aChildGui[0] $BkColor = "0x" & Hex(Random(0, 255, 1), 2) & Hex(Random(0, 255, 1), 2) & Hex(Random(0, 255, 1), 2) GUISetBkColor($BkColor, $aChildGui[$i]) GUICtrlSetData($aLbl[$i], "Child_" & $i & ", BkColor:" & $BkColor) Next EndIf WEnd EndFunc ;==>Example Func _GetDesktopWorkerW() Local $hWorkerW = 0, $hProgman = _WinAPI_GetShellWindow() _WinAPI_SendMessageTimeout($hProgman, 0x052C, 0, 0, 3000, $SMTO_NORMAL) ; same as _SendMessage() Local $aEnumWindows = WinList("[CLASS:WorkerW]") For $n = 1 To $aEnumWindows[0][0] Local $hWnd = $aEnumWindows[$n][1] If _WinAPI_GetParent($hWnd) = $hProgman Then Return SetError(0, $hProgman, $hWnd) Next Return SetError(1, $hProgman, 0) EndFunc ;==>_GetDesktopWorkerW

... Local $sFile = StringLeft(@AutoItExe, StringInStr(@AutoItExe, "\", 0, -1) -1 ) & "\Examples\GUI\logo4.gif" Local $hImage = _GDIPlus_ImageLoadFromFile($sFile) ;create an image object based on a file Global $hWorkerW = _WinAPI_FindWindowEx($hProgman, 0, "WorkerW", "") If Not $hWorkerW Then ; dah Local $aEnumWindows = _WinAPI_EnumWindows(False) For $n = 1 To UBound($aEnumWindows) - 1 If $aEnumWindows[$n][1] <> "WorkerW" Then ContinueLoop If _WinAPI_GetParent($aEnumWindows[$n][0]) = $hProgman Then $hWorkerW = $aEnumWindows[$n][0] ExitLoop ; but is likely one at the end of the Z-order EndIf Next EndIf If $hWorkerW = 0 Then Exit MsgBox(16, "ERROR", "Couldn't find WorkerW under Progman", 30) ... OnAutoItExitRegister(CleanupResources) While GUIGetMsg() <> $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE WEnd CleanupResources() Func CleanupResources() Local Static $iRunOnce = 0 If $iRunOnce Then Return ConsoleWrite('+ Func CleanupResources() - WinExists: ' & WinExists($hGUI) & ' - ' & (IsInt(Execute("@exitCode")) ? 'TrayExit' : 'GuiClosed') & @CRLF) ;cleanup resources _GDIPlus_BrushDispose($hTexture) _GDIPlus_ImageDispose($hImage) _GDIPlus_GraphicsDispose($hGraphics) _GDIPlus_Shutdown() GUIDelete($hGUI) $iRunOnce = 1 EndFunc ... ...be mindful of everyone and everything ?

Here is an example, built on top of @UEZ's example, that fills the entire desktop with a tiled image. It's just using a built-in AutoIt image for the sake of this example. But my plan is to use a blurred tile that would act as a way to blur the wallpaper with various texture(s). Thanks to @InnI for helping me with the tiling image. ;Code by UEZ build 2025-07-18 beta #include <WinAPI.au3> #include <GUIConstantsEx.au3> #include <WindowsConstants.au3> #include <WinAPIGdi.au3> #include <Array.au3> #include <GDIPlus.au3> DllCall("User32.dll", "bool", "SetProcessDpiAwarenessContext" , "HWND", "DPI_AWARENESS_CONTEXT" -4) Global $aPrimary = GetPrimaryMonitorCoords() If @error Then Exit MsgBox(16, "Error", "Unable to get primary monitor") Global $hProgman = WinGetHandle("[CLASS:Progman]"), $hWorkerW, $i If Not $hProgman Then Exit MsgBox(16, "ERROR", "Couldn't find Progman", 30) _WinAPI_SendMessageTimeout($hProgman, 0x052C, 0, 0, 250, $SMTO_NORMAL) _GDIPlus_Startup() Local $sFile = "C:\Program Files (x86)\AutoIt3\Examples\GUI\logo4.gif" Local $hImage = _GDIPlus_ImageLoadFromFile($sFile) ;create an image object based on a file Global $hWorkerW = _WinAPI_FindWindowEx($hProgman, 0, "WorkerW", "") If $hWorkerW = 0 Then Exit MsgBox(16, "ERROR", "Couldn't find WorkerW under Progman", 30) Local $aOrigin = GetDesktopOrigin() Local $iX = $aPrimary[0] - $aOrigin[0] Local $iY = $aPrimary[1] - $aOrigin[1] Global $hGUI = GUICreate("GUI behind Desktop icons", $aPrimary[4], $aPrimary[5], $iX, $iY, $WS_POPUP, $WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW) _WinAPI_SetParent($hGUI, $hWorkerW) _WinAPI_SetWindowPos($hGUI, $HWND_BOTTOM, 0, 0, 0, 0, BitOR($SWP_NOMOVE, $SWP_NOSIZE, $SWP_NOACTIVATE)) _WinAPI_SetWindowLong($hGUI, $GWL_EXSTYLE, BitOR(_WinAPI_GetWindowLong($hGUI, $GWL_EXSTYLE), $WS_EX_LAYERED, $WS_EX_TRANSPARENT)) _WinAPI_SetLayeredWindowAttributes($hGUI, 0, 120, $LWA_ALPHA) GUISetState(@SW_SHOWNOACTIVATE, $hGUI) Local $hGraphics = _GDIPlus_GraphicsCreateFromHWND($hGUI) ;create a Graphics object from a window handle _GDIPlus_GraphicsClear($hGraphics, 0xFF000000) ;clear graphic handle with dark grey (background) _GDIPlus_GraphicsSetSmoothingMode($hGraphics, $GDIP_SMOOTHINGMODE_HIGHQUALITY) ;sets the graphics object rendering quality (antialiasing) Local $hTexture = _GDIPlus_TextureCreate2($hImage, 5, 4, 59, 59) ;create texture brush only from a defined rectangle _GDIPlus_GraphicsFillRect($hGraphics, 0, 0, $aPrimary[4], $aPrimary[5], $hTexture) While GUIGetMsg() <> $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE WEnd ;cleanup resources _GDIPlus_BrushDispose($hTexture) _GDIPlus_ImageDispose($hImage) _GDIPlus_GraphicsDispose($hGraphics) _GDIPlus_Shutdown() GUIDelete($hGUI) Func _WinAPI_FindWindowEx($hParent, $hAfter, $sClass, $sTitle = "") Local $ret = DllCall("user32.dll", "hwnd", "FindWindowExW", "hwnd", $hParent, "hwnd", $hAfter, "wstr", $sClass, "wstr", $sTitle) If @error Or Not IsArray($ret) Then Return 0 Return $ret[0] EndFunc ;==>_WinAPI_FindWindowEx Func GetPrimaryMonitorCoords() Local $tPoint = DllStructCreate("int x;int y") $tPoint.x = 0 $tPoint.y = 0 Local $hMonitor = _WinAPI_MonitorFromPoint($tPoint, $MONITOR_DEFAULTTOPRIMARY) If Not $hMonitor Then Return SetError(1, 0, 0) Local $tMI = DllStructCreate("dword cbSize;long rcMonitor[4];long rcWork[4];dword dwFlags") DllStructSetData($tMI, "cbSize", DllStructGetSize($tMI)) Local $aCall = DllCall("user32.dll", "bool", "GetMonitorInfoW", "handle", $hMonitor, "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tMI)) If @error Or Not $aCall[0] Then Return SetError(2, 0, 0) Local $iLeft = $tMI.rcMonitor(1) Local $iTop = $tMI.rcMonitor(2) Local $iRight = $tMI.rcMonitor(3) Local $iBottom = $tMI.rcMonitor(4) Local $iWidth = $iRight - $iLeft Local $iHeight = $iBottom - $iTop Local $a[6] = [$iLeft, $iTop, $iRight, $iBottom, $iWidth, $iHeight] Return $a EndFunc ;==>GetPrimaryMonitorCoords Func GetDesktopOrigin() Local $minX = 0, $minY = 0, $x, $y Local $i = 0, $tDevice, $aRet, $tDevMode, $aED While True $tDevice = DllStructCreate("dword cb; char DeviceName[32]; char DeviceString[128]; dword StateFlags; char DeviceID[128]; char DeviceKey[128]") $tDevice.cb = DllStructGetSize($tDevice) $aRet = DllCall("user32.dll", "bool", "EnumDisplayDevicesA", "ptr", 0, "dword", $i, "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDevice), "dword", 0) If @error Or Not $aRet[0] Then ExitLoop If BitAND($tDevice.StateFlags, 1) Then $tDevMode = DllStructCreate( _ "byte dmDeviceName[32]; word dmSpecVersion; word dmDriverVersion; word dmSize; word dmDriverExtra; dword dmFields;" & _ "long dmPositionX; long dmPositionY; dword dmDisplayOrientation; dword dmDisplayFixedOutput;" & _ "short dmColor; short dmDuplex; short dmYResolution; short dmTTOption; short dmCollate; char dmFormName[32];" & _ "ushort dmLogPixels; dword dmBitsPerPel; dword dmPelsWidth; dword dmPelsHeight;" & _ "dword dmDisplayFlags; dword dmDisplayFrequency; dword dmICMMethod; dword dmICMIntent;" & _ "dword dmMediaType; dword dmDitherType; dword dmReserved1; dword dmReserved2; dword dmPanningWidth; dword dmPanningHeight") $tDevMode.dmSize = DllStructGetSize($tDevMode) $aED = DllCall("user32.dll", "bool", "EnumDisplaySettingsA", "str", $tDevice.DeviceName, "dword", -1, "ptr", DllStructGetPtr($tDevMode)) If Not @error And $aED[0] Then $x = $tDevMode.dmPositionX $y = $tDevMode.dmPositionY If $x < $minX Then $minX = $x If $y < $minY Then $minY = $y EndIf EndIf $i += 1 WEnd Local $a[2] = [$minX, $minY] Return $a EndFunc ;==>GetDesktopOrigin

By the way, this is a combination of Move window behind desktop icons and tiling an image on that GUI which is on top of the desktop wallpaper but below the desktop icons.

See example in helpfile for _GDIPlus_TextureCreate()

ByRef parameter cannot have default value. You must to use ByRef something like this $sOut = "" RunCmd("CmdLine", $sOut) ConsoleWrite($sOut & @CRLF) ; changed Func RunCmd($sCmd, ByRef $sOut) $sOut = "changed" EndFunc

From what I understand from the above, something is wrong on line 11, and it has to do with $sOut (probably has no value) Here it would help if you could show us your code so we can understand more.

#include <ButtonConstants.au3> #include <GUIConstantsEx.au3> #include <WindowsConstants.au3> #Region ### START Koda GUI section ### Form= $Form1 = GUICreate("Form1", 370, 128, 192, 114) $Button1 = GUICtrlCreateButton("Enable Hotkey", 121, 37, 113, 40) GUISetState(@SW_SHOW) #EndRegion ### END Koda GUI section ### Global $HotkeKeyState=0, $HotkeKeyStateNotification=0, $HotkeKeyTimer=-1 While 1 $nMsg = GUIGetMsg() Switch $nMsg Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE Exit Case $Button1 If $HotkeKeyState=0 Then $HotkeKeyStateNotification=1 $HotkeKeyTimer=TimerInit() $HotkeKeyState=1 GUICtrlSetData ($Button1,"Disable Hotkey") Else Exit EndIf EndSwitch If $HotkeKeyStateNotification=1 Then IF TimerDiff($HotkeKeyTimer)<=5000 Then $MP=MouseGetPos() ToolTip ("Hotkey is enabled",$MP[0]-30,$mp[1]-50) Else $HotkeKeyStateNotification=0 ToolTip("") EndIf EndIf WEnd

I was so grouchy at the thought of blasting away my Windows partition to reinstall Windows but thankfully I figured it out before I got that far. In Advanced System Properties (SystemPropertiesAdvanced.exe) in the Performance settings dialog - Visual Effects tab, there is a checkbox labelled "Animate controls and element inside windows". Apparently that simple little checkbox controls whether or not a WorkerW window is even allowed to be created under Progman. I have always disabled any and all animation effects in Windows for years. And this was one of them. After checking this box, WorkerW is able to be created under Progman and all is good now. All examples work on my machine now. I would have reinstalled Windows and it still would have failed because disabling animation effects is one of the first things that I do after a clean install. 😄

Always no good, 100%. I am just weirdly curious about doing a desktop sized GUI like this, below the desktop icons but just above the wallpaper, and experiment with adding blur to it to blur the wallpaper or possibly shades of colors. I might end up reinstalling Windows though because nothing seems to be able to successfully create a WorkerW window under Progman on my system. I even tried a few C++ programs that do some neat things that also involve creating a WorkerW under Progman and they fail too on my system. It's an up-to-date 24H2 Win11 Pro but for whatever reason this consistently fails for me.

So..., what changed ?, what are you up to ? ( no good I'd guess ) What's been done in the past is to get the background image and add whatever it wants to be shown to it and set that edited image as the background image. That should work from Windows v.whatever until the holographic monitors comes out 🤔 So..., what are you up to ?

I remember following this thread with great interest and curiosity. But at the time, I just did not have any project that could use it. So I did not dig too deep into it. This one finds WorkerW and seems to work. However, the window is drawn over top of the desktop icons and not under the icons. Screenshot: This one also works, but similar to the screenshot above, it also goes over the icons and not under. I was especially curious about this one because it makes a fullscreen GUI. I really wanted to play around with this one. But I get the "Couldn't find WorkerW under Progman" error no matter what. I even uncommented the section that relates to forcing WorkerW under Progman and I still get the error. I will mess around with all of these examples some more for the next few hours and see if I can make something happen. There are close to 20 WorkerW windows under explorer.exe, so I assume it has something to do with Z-order. EDIT: I see what is happening now. None of the scripts are able to get a handle for WorkerW for some reason. EDIT2: It appears that none of the WorkerW windows are actually going under Progman. Not only that, but it seems that the force creation of a WorkerW window seems to be failing.

"OrdoWebview2 is an ActiveX control (32bits ocx) developed to replace the aging VB6 webview control based on a deprecated Internet Explorer !" You'd have to take the complain to the coder of the OCX 🤷‍♂️