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ChangeDisplaySettings info  Overview  Group

The ChangeDisplaySettings function changes the display settings to the specified graphics mode.

LONG ChangeDisplaySettings(

    LPDEVMODE lpDevMode,

    DWORD dwflags

   );

Parameters

lpDevMode
Pointer to a DEVMODE structure that describes the graphics mode to switch to. The dmSize member must be initialized to the size, in bytes, of the DEVMODE structure. The following fields in the DEVMODE structure are used:

Member

Meaning

dmBitsPerPel

Bits per pixel

dmPelsWidth

Pixel width

dmPelsHeight

Pixel height

dmDisplayFlags

Mode flags

dmDisplayFrequency

Mode frequency

In addition to setting a value in one or more of the preceding DEVMODE members, you must also set the appropriate flags in the dmFields member. The flags indicate which members of the DEVMODE structure are used for the display settings change. If the appropriate bit is not set in dmFields, the display setting will not be changed. Set one or more of the following flags:

Flag

Meaning

DM_BITSPERPEL

Use the dmBitsPerPel value.

DM_PELSWIDTH

Use the dmPelsWidth value.

DM_PELSHEIGHT

Use the dmPelsHeight value.

DM_DISPLAYFLAGS

Use the dmDisplayFlags value.

DM_DISPLAYFREQENCY

Use the dmDisplayFrequency value.

If lpDevMode is NULL, all the values currently in the registry will be used for the display setting. Passing NULL for the lpDevMode parameter and 0 for the dwFlags parameter is the easiest way to return to the default mode after a dynamic mode change.

dwflags
Indicates how the graphics mode should be changed. May be one of the following:

Flag

Meaning

0

The graphics mode for the current screen will be changed dynamically.

CDS_UPDATEREGISTRY

The graphics mode for the current screen will be changed dynamically and the graphics mode will be updated in the registry. The mode information is stored in the USER profile.

CDS_TEST

The system tests if the requested graphics mode could be set.

CDS_FULLSCREEN

The mode is temporary in the nature. Under Windows NT, if you change to and from another desktop, this mode will not be reset.

CDS_GLOBAL

The settings will be saved in the global settings area so that they will affect all users on the machine. Otherwise, only the settings for the user are modified. This flag is only valid when specified with the CDS_UPDATEREGISTRY flag.

CDS_SET_PRIMARY

This device will become the primary device.

CDS_RESET

The settings should be changed, even if the requested settings are the same as the current settings.

CDS_SETRECT

The lParam message parameter specified in the WM_DISPLAYCHANGE message sent to all applications should be treated as a pointer to a RECT structure. This structure indicates the position of the display device in a multi-screen environment. An lParam of NULL means that the display device should be detached from the multi-screen environment.

CDS_NORESET

The settings will be saved in the registry, but will not take affect. This flag is only valid when specified with the CDS_UPDATEREGISTRY flag.

If CDS_UPDATEREGISTRY is specified and it is possible to change the graphics mode dynamically, the information is stored in the registry and DISP_CHANGE_SUCCESSFUL is returned. If it is not possible to change the graphics mode dynamically, the information is stored in the registry and DISP_CHANGE_RESTART is returned.

Windows NT: If the information could not be stored in the registry, the graphics mode is not changed and DISP_CHANGE_NOTUPDATED is returned.

Specifying CDS_TEST allows an application to determine which graphics modes are actually valid, without causing the system to change to that graphics mode.

Return Values

Returns one of the following values:

Value

Meaning

DISP_CHANGE_SUCCESSFUL

The settings change was successful.

DISP_CHANGE_RESTART

The computer must be restarted in order for the graphics mode to work.

DISP_CHANGE_BADFLAGS

An invalid set of flags was passed in.

DISP_CHANGE_BADPARAM

An invalid parameter was passed in. This can include an invalid flag or combination of flags.

DISP_CHANGE_FAILED

The display driver failed the specified graphics mode.

DISP_CHANGE_BADMODE

The graphics mode is not supported.

DISP_CHANGE_NOTUPDATED

Windows NT only: Unable to write settings to the registry.

Remarks

Using the DEVMODE returned by the EnumDisplaySettings function ensures that the DEVMODE passed to ChangeDisplaySettings is valid and contains only values supported by the display driver.

When the display mode is changed dynamically, the WM_DISPLAYCHANGE message is sent to all running applications with the following message parameters:

Parameters

Meaning

wParam

New bits per pixel

LOWORD(lParam)

New pixel width

HIWORD(lParam)

New pixel height

See Also

CreateDC, DEVMODE, EnumDisplaySettings, WM_DISPLAYCHANGE