OFFXP: How to Programmatically Hide and Unhide the Windows Taskbar (290150)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 2002
  • Microsoft Access 2002
  • Microsoft FrontPage 2002
  • Microsoft Outlook 2002
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
  • Microsoft Publisher 2002
  • Microsoft Word 2002
This article was previously published under Q290150
For a Microsoft Office 2000 version of this article, see 202099.
For a Microsoft Office 97 version of this article, see 186119.

SUMMARY

Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.

By using API calls in Visual Basic for Applications, you can programmatically hide the Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 taskbar. This article shows you how to create the two functions that you need to hide and unhide the taskbar.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific requirements. To create the functions and to see how they work, follow these steps:
  1. Press ALT+F11 to start the Visual Basic Editor.
  2. Type the following code in a new module:
    Dim handleW1 As Long

Private Declare Function FindWindowA Lib "user32" _
   (ByVal lpClassName As String, _
   ByVal lpWindowName As String) As Long

Private Declare Function SetWindowPos Lib "user32" _
   (ByVal handleW1 As Long, _
   ByVal handleW1InsertWhere As Long, ByVal w As Long, _
   ByVal x As Long, ByVal y As Long, ByVal z As Long, _
   ByVal wFlags As Long) As Long

Const TOGGLE_HIDEWINDOW = &H80
Const TOGGLE_UNHIDEWINDOW = &H40

Function HideTaskbar()
   handleW1 = FindWindowA("Shell_traywnd", "")
   Call SetWindowPos(handleW1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, TOGGLE_HIDEWINDOW)
End Function

Function UnhideTaskbar()
   Call SetWindowPos(handleW1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, TOGGLE_UNHIDEWINDOW)
End Function
  3. On the View menu, click Immediate Window, type the following command and then press ENTER:

    ?HideTaskBar()

    Note that the taskbar is no longer visible.
  4. To restore the taskbar, type the following command in the Immediate Window, and then press ENTER:

    ?UnHideTaskBar()

    Note that the taskbar is now visible.

REFERENCES

For additional information getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

305326 OFFXP: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for Applications

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/11/2006
Keywords:kbhowto KB290150
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