Can't get text from Edit control

[ACS]

I'm experiencing something very interesting and inexplicable.

I'm finding it impossible to retrieve the text from what appears to be a typical Windows Edit box.

More specifically this is the password box in Outlook Express when setting up a new e-mail account.

I've tried the following methods:

- GUICtrlRead

- WinGetText

- WinGetTitle

- _GUICtrlEdit_GetText

- _WinAPI_GetWindowText

- Manually sending a WM_GETTEXT message

- Enumering the child windows of the parent of the control and checking the text of each one

- Enumering the child windows of the Edit control itself (in case the Edit control is merely a container for another control)

- RichEdit text retrieval methods (in case this is a RichEdit control although it doesn't seem to be)

Not even Au3Info can grab this text (since I presume it's using WinGetTitle or one of the other methods above.)

I know it IS possible to get the text of this control because Snadboy's Revelation can do it.

Does anyone have any ideas? Should I bother trying hooking the process and intercepting the messages from the Edit box?

[Siao]

Text retrieving API functions work on a passworded Edit control only if they are called from the process which owns that Edit.

It is possible using window hooks or code injection, which is what all those "revealers" do.

Edited May 11, 2008 by Siao

[ACS]

Text retrieving API functions work on a passworded Edit control only if they are called from the process which owns that Edit.

It is possible using window hooks or code injection, which is what all those "revealers" do.

This is not entirely true.

Retrieving text from a passworded Edit control works very well without the need for Windows or code injection. I know this because I just wrote a utility called StarDestroyer which simply uses WM_GETTEXT and it works just fine.

It's only this particular Edit box in this particular application that's being stubborn.

[Edit]

Ok I just found an interesting article regarding this exact issue. Seems that on Win2K/XP the standard WM_GETTEXT method isn't event supposed to work.

Looks like I have I'll have to try one of the methods listed in this article.

Edited May 11, 2008 by ACS

[Siao]

Seems that on Win2K/XP the standard WM_GETTEXT method isn't event supposed to work.

Isn't supposed to work on a passworded Edit control.

Which is what I said.

The non-IE part of your tool only works on Win95/98, but who uses these OSes anymore?

Edited May 11, 2008 by Siao

[ACS]

Isn't supposed to work on a passworded Edit control.

Which is what I said.

The non-IE part of your tool only works on Win95/98, but who uses these OSes anymore?

Well of course, this was intended to work with ALL OSes.

The problem is I didn't have enough programs with which to test this.