Interacting with Skinned programs

[quaizywabbit]

Anybody have advice on how to work with these? a different spy tool perhaps?

I'll use windows Media player as an example...

Most of the controls on it are skinned (Volume slider, play and Mute buttons, etc...)

So the AutoIt info tool shows no useful info for them.

Since skinned applications are becoming more and more prevalent, I hope the VERY experienced people here with the capacity to figure out this dilemma will make a "better mousetrap"

Edited March 2, 2005 by quaizywabbit

[Alterego]

did you try using the ctrl + whatever key combinations? looks like most actions can be accomplished that way.

[quaizywabbit]

Not every skinned program is going to have hotkey combinations for every control.....

if i can click it or drag it with the mouse, then there should be some way to identify it to AutoIT.

if a mouse click can momentarily alter that controls appearance(push and release), or a "click and drag" can move a slider, then the OS somehow is involved in that process, therefore, there must be a way that the OS knew what happened, and how to respond. From what I've learned here, even non-standard controls have a hWnd, just detecting the control properly is the shortcoming......

Maybe it would be easier to just get a master list of hWnd's current on the system, and then work in reverse to retrieve things like controlID, classname, etc....

Edited March 3, 2005 by quaizywabbit

[Lazycat]

Not all skinning methods use this technique, so it is not obligatory that these controls will have handles. I seen skins that only one big picture with active "zones" on it. So simple idea (untested): I think possible to create array with predefined coordinates relative to program window. Then you can anytime get window position and calculate position where need to click.

[quaizywabbit]

Thanks Lazycat!